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New RV-10 brakes

S

Strasnuts

Well Known Member
I have SN:40936 with 380 hours on it. I had the original brakes from Vans until recently. Van's RV-10 brakes seem inadequate to me comparing to other aircraft I have flown.

First off, I know there are a bunch of RV-10's out there that have original calipers and have had no problems with the brake system. Even though I believe they are undersized for the weight, I'm sure there are trouble free operations out there.
I had some problems with my brakes that I will share. The way the pedals are mounted is sloppy to me. You really can't tighten the bolts and have the pedal geometry right for the actuator with loose bolts. The pedal does not want to return and release the brake fluid after use. I think this was my first problem. I found my brakes dragging and heating up the brakes after a long taxi. I finally installed some return springs on the master cylinder pistons. Using this configuration was a little better but I didn't like the springs rubbing on the cylinder pistons so I designed a way to return the pedal using clock springs.

2w3pz5x.jpg


This worked well so I made a kit for four pedals.

Time went by and my pedals were returning back but there was still brake dragging and heat so I took my calipers apart and discovered the pucks had an interference fit in the caliper. At first I thought it was a manufacturer defect but later thought it was probably caused by me overheating the brakes by taxiing long distance without the pedals returning and releasing fluid.
I was sick of my brakes and wanted better parts. I new I had to do something quick since I had a big trip to the Bahamas coming up so I took the pucks out and sanded the calipers out so the puck would fit better. I opened them enough so when taking the o-ring of the puck it could be rotated by my thumb freely. I polished the inside and slapped them back together. Now the brakes worked as designed even though (in my opinion) they were inadequate for the RV-10 gross weight. I also knew my fix was probably temporary.

Matco Manufacturing is located at KBTF which is where I finished my RV-10. I spoke to George on occasion about the parts he makes for aircraft. One day I asked him about the RV-10 brakes and he told me they were working on a set. I was pretty excited and told him I wanted to buy a pair. The day came I could finally buy them so I called him up and read off my credit card.

The parts came and they looked beautiful. Here are some pics of the calipers and wheel set.

edmiw.jpg


I installed them and conditioned them after reading the manual. These brakes feel great and can definitely stop the airplane. I know we don't use a lot of runway and really don't need to get on the brakes BUT when you need to and you don't want them to fade off while aborting a takeoff it's nice to have a set that can handle the weight!

More pics to come....
 
You can see by the pics there is twice the liner area making four liners on each wheel. You can really feel the difference when landed and it gives me a lot more confidence in short runways or if I had to abort a takeoff.
 
O. K., I like the looks of the triple piston dual puck design, but the way it is mounted to the inner radius of the disk is a bit of a strange departure from what I think of as normal.

I am trying to figure out the mounting sequence of the assembly, and all I can think of is that the main part of the caliper is mounted first, then the disk, then the clamping half of the caliper, and then the wheel ------- and finally the disk is mounted to the wheel????

It would be really nice if they made the unit to retrofit on a standard "Top Hat".
 
Mike, it was an easy retrofit and you can replace liners without taking the wheel off. The last operation is installing the three screws through the rotor into the rim.

I believe they could take orders now over the phone.
BTW I have no vested interest in Matco, I just think they make great parts.
 
Are the pads Matco proprietary or something that would be in most airport shops? That seems to be one of the concerns with the stock setup. ie unavailable at most local shops.

Thanks,
Maxwell
 
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I've thought about installing better brakes on my RV-10. I had an aborted takeoff on a 6000' runway from 70kts and the brakes faded to nothing - I almost didn't get it stopped before the end of the runway. The brakes were useless for steering or stopping until they cooled. They work ok for normal operation, but they can't handle an emergency situation very well.....

I'm interested to see how these new brakes perform.

Kevin Belue
RV-10
 
Without making any judgement on this setup which may be absolutely perfect, there is caution to be had in having too much brake on a light aircraft especially without anti-skid.

I know of a commercial operator of a fleet of Cessna 200 series working airplanes who upgraded brakes only to find that tire wear including square offs and blow outs soared dramatically. Often in out of the way places that were expensive to take care of.
After one season they scrapped the new brakes and went back to the standard issue.

I'm a big fan of Matco products. Just food for thought.
 
woxofswa said:
Without making any judgement on this setup which may be absolutely perfect, there is caution to be had in having too much brake on a light aircraft especially without anti-skid.
Click to expand...

I would suspect that would only be a problem with rental aircraft or aircraft that have multiple pilots. I fly aircraft with anti-skid and have/had no problem with small planes with large brakes. Some small twins without anti-skid have huge brakes that are easy to skid so I know what you are talking about.

So far they feel really good with a lot of control with foot pressure, although I would rather blow a tire than go off the runway.

When I did the initial brake conditioning I left the main wheel pants off for heat. I ran down a 6900' runway that is 5500 elevation, ran the plane up to 40kts and came to a quick stop four times in a row on the same run. I felt the fade out but it still stopped the plane in a short distance. After the liner was transferred to the disc they had a lot more stopping power.
 
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New RV-10 Brakes

Sean,

Was this a plug n' play, no mod required? It certainly has a lot more contact surface so I bet they are powerful. What is MATCO asking for these beauties?
 
pnp

Nukeflyboy said:
Sean,

Was this a plug n' play, no mod required? It certainly has a lot more contact surface so I bet they are powerful. What is MATCO asking for these beauties?
Click to expand...

Yes, this is an easy install. You have to turn your thru-axle AN6 bolt around and one other brake plate bolt for clearance but that's it. With the new rims you need to pack the new bearings. The price is on the website here:

http://www.matcomfg.com/WHLBRKWI600225KftlbenergyeXtraTorqueRV10CONFIG-idv-3814-4.html
 
New wheel too, huh?

The price is pretty high but apparently it includes a new wheel as well...correct? Not sure why you need to repack wheel bearings other than it's a good idea to do it while you have it off? Or do new bearings come with the wheel?

Thanks for testing this. I think I'll stick with mine for a little while longer as I don't seem to be using much brake pad. Still, I like the idea of more robust brakes and cheaper/easier to find pads.
 
Do they come with Antisplat's wheel bearing mode
or do I send them directly to Allan for the upgrade?
Sure would be nice to have all the fixes in one place.

BTW: A little more brake effectiveness is nice improvement.

Can't have it all I guess.:rolleyes:
 
Brake pads

Hey Bryan,

You will be happy to know that RAPCO has come out with brake pads for the 10 that are way cheaper than the only source previously. Aircraft Spruce has them for under $9 if I remember correctly. P/N RA66-112.
 
douglassmt said:
The price is pretty high but apparently it includes a new wheel as well...correct? Not sure why you need to repack wheel bearings other than it's a good idea to do it while you have it off? Or do new bearings come with the wheel?

Thanks for testing this. I think I'll stick with mine for a little while longer as I don't seem to be using much brake pad. Still, I like the idea of more robust brakes and cheaper/easier to find pads.
Click to expand...

I am like Bryan...I rarely use them for anything other than runway turn-off, taxiing and run up. Mine have worn less than 1/16". No fading experienced and I don't land on anything less than 2000' unless it is an emergency.
 
douglassmt said:
The price is pretty high but apparently it includes a new wheel as well...correct? Not sure why you need to repack wheel bearings other than it's a good idea to do it while you have it off? Or do new bearings come with the wheel?
Click to expand...

The kit comes with new wheels. The disc is mounted to the rim so new wheels are needed.

I feel it is not a question if the original brakes are adequate for normal conditions. I had problems with mine and felt they would be inadequate in certain situations.
 
We upgraded the Cleveland brakes on the MKIV I helped my buddy build with Matco's. The improvement in braking was dramatic. Definitely an improvement on safety factor for shorter/marginal length runways. I am contemplating swapping mine out on the -10 before I move it to the airport.
 
dlm34077

My building partner and I were one of the first to prototype the Matco RV10 brakes. We supplied the drilling points for the torque plates and the caliper location. The brakes are very effective. I have told the pilots who fly my plane that if they really have to stop, stand on the brakes and we will change the tires. In addition to the advantages of "beefier" brakes, the owner can have Matco refinish a set of brake shoes for just the price of the pads.The advantage of the small extra hole that needs to be cut in the pant near the bleed valve (for brake expansion as the pads wear) serves as a convenient way to bleed the brakes (if needed) without removing the pants. I carry a prepared extra set of padded shoes around in my spare parts box. These may be needed because an experimental aircraft implies the owner is the mechanic. I have found that many FBOs have insurance policies prohibiting work where they don't have continued airworthiness instructions.
 
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