6 Gear Alignment

Hey Ya'll,
I've noticed much more wear on outside of left main tire. The new to me 6 only has about 20 hours TT.

Is there a method for checking/adjusting gear alignment on mains?

Thanks
Pat

Tire Wear

Pat, it's somewhat typical to have more wear on the outside of the left main than the right. This is because of torque on takeoff and the heavier weight on the left side of the fuselage if you fly from the left seat. There could be other factors, but these are definitely contributors. Also, if you fly from the left you may be touching down slightly biased to the left side, but this is just a theory of mine. Obviously you may have an alignment problem, but it's not unusual to have more wear on the left. Solution is to rotate tires left to right once a year or so. I also rotate the tire on the wheel at the same time to even out the outboard/inboard wear.

Barnstormer said:

Hey Ya'll,
I've noticed much more wear on outside of left main tire. The new to me 6 only has about 20 hours TT.

Is there a method for checking/adjusting gear alignment on mains?

Thanks
Pat

Click to expand...

"MUCH more wear" at 20 hours sounds a bit soon to be noticing such wear. There is no easy way to adjust the gear alignment. You probably are not doing this, but make sure that you are not applying any pressure to the brake when landing. I fly in stocking feet so my toes can feel the side rail of the rudder pedal and keep my big foot (shoe) off the brake. Enough air pressure (probably "yes"). Wheel not rubbing on the wheel pant (probably not). Is the caliper releasing fully so the left wheel spins as freely as the right side?
That kind of runs me out of ideas for an "easy" fix.

Good Luck!

Tire Wear

Thanks, I haven't even flown the airplane yet but it gives me things to watch out for.
Pat

As others have said, I think it is torque on takeoff. A little bit of right aileron on the takeoff roll will help, as will letting the aircraft fly off the ground tail low instead of pinning it to the runway until you reach 60+ knots.

I try and follow these practices, but still get a little more wear on the left tire than the right.

RV6 Gear alignment

Could be many things, and I think everyone sees some uneven tire wear. Best remedy I know is to get some Michlen Air tires. It is amazing the difference it makes. They will last forever. You will get tired of them before they wear out. Also they hold air much better over longer periods. However, you will need to follow the advice above regarding rotation from side to side and reversing the tires on the wheels. Put on a set of these tires and you can literally fly for years (100s of hours) without problem. Price is higher, but if you consider the longivity you get it is probably cheaper.