Tost brake bolt shears off - the answer

Nearly a month ago I reported on my Tost brake failure on landing. I
finally was able to get the plane to someone knowledgeable (Tom
Stowers) to look at it and the answer is that the brake was
incorrectly installed.

The axle spacer was placed on the wrong side of the hub, making the
hub off-center such that the anti-rotation bolt just barely extended
into the hole on the frame. I was able to get away with using it that
way for around 12 flights, since I never used the brake on landing,
only with light taps while taxiing the motorglider, The first time I
did have to use it on landing, it gave way. What I had thought was a
sheared off bolt was really the _end_ of the bolt with a small chip
taken off its edge (probably the tiny bit that extended into the
hole). So the bolt itself was not a problem and no photos of it are
needed.

Jack

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:30:27 -0700, Jack Glendening
wrote:

Nearly a month ago I reported on my Tost brake failure on landing. I
finally was able to get the plane to someone knowledgeable (Tom
Stowers) to look at it and the answer is that the brake was
incorrectly installed.

The axle spacer was placed on the wrong side of the hub, making the
hub off-center such that the anti-rotation bolt just barely extended
into the hole on the frame. I was able to get away with using it that
way for around 12 flights, since I never used the brake on landing,
only with light taps while taxiing the motorglider, The first time I
did have to use it on landing, it gave way. What I had thought was a
sheared off bolt was really the _end_ of the bolt with a small chip
taken off its edge (probably the tiny bit that extended into the
hole). So the bolt itself was not a problem and no photos of it are
needed.

Jack

digital cameras are gods gift to dismantling parts.
take lots of photos as you dismantle. you'd be surprised at how often
a photo of something has the answer to a problem sitting in the
background.

Stealth Pilot