Excessive friction in the aiteron circuit in SZD-55

Thanks Udo, that's where I was heading with wing tips to simulate
flight loads, I was just trying to find out if this is normal for the
type. Not sure yet how to apply bending loads to a single wing in
order to check if the problem is specific to one side only, but
certainly worth a try.

Cheers

Paul

Udo wrote:
I can not directly talk about the 55.
I have a 27 which had a sticky problem.
I simply isolated, (disconnect the links from the stick)
Fortunate, I did not have to go further, as I discovered that the
2 bearings, that control the pitch were kaput.
In any case the above procedure should apply for isolating any sort of
excessive friction or bad bearings.
You did not say if it was in pitch or lateral control.
If lateral control is an issue you should have friends lift the
wingtips
and operate the stick under bending load while on the ground.
Udo


Hi

I have recently acquired SZD-55. �The glider was manufactured in 1996
and has some 450 hrs. �As far as I can tell the glider was maintained
very well by German workshop. �Whilst I was aware that the 55 has quite
a heavy stick, I have only flown one other, this one seems to require
quite a force to move the stick whilst in flight. �The friction force on
the ground is negligible. Whilst I found the glider great to fly,
responsive etc., the force required to move the stick becomes tiring
after a while. �I also find that I tend to "overshoot" small
corrections, static friction requiring more force to overcome compared
to sliding friction. �Has anyone had similar experience and if so how
could it be overcome.

Also I have noticed that when the stick is at dead centre, both ailerons
are deflected down by about 3mm (1/8").

Any help appreciated.

cheers

Paul