Azusa Brakes
BlueMax
The drum is apparently out of round, because the brake shoes "hit and
miss" as the brake drum turns. When I have to apply brakes hard- it
causes the whole gear leg to shake violently fore and aft. It is worse
on pavement. The brakes were part of my Aerosport 103 kit. I am
certainly thinking about replacing them, but will the next set be the
same? Are they just crummy brakes? I'd go with discs (hydraulics) but
I don't want to lose my wheelpants. Any suggestions?
Ted ooms
We have ran in to several Azusa brake complaints< it seems that they all
are out of round.
I suppose you get what you pay for.
Mark Smith
A suggestion.
remove the wheel and drum and spin it on a dummy axle held in a vise.
while spinning, hold a majic marker lightly against the inside of the
drum. this will show the point furthest inward.
slightly loosen the bolts and tap the drum at the marked spot and
recheck.
see if it is better,,,,,,,,
I do this for my brakes, and it usually makes for a much smoother stop,
also allows a tighter setup for the cable and less motion to apply the
brakes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
let us know the results !!!!!!!!!
--
Mark Smith
Tri-State Kite Sales http://www.trikite.com
1121 N Locust St
Mt Vernon, IN 47620 mailto:ma...@trikite.com
JK
BlueMax <blu...@voyager.net> wrote in message
news:39d51682$0$56655$2bfe...@news.tdin.com...
> I have the 6" Azusa wheels, with the 4.5" Azusa shoe-brakes and drums.
> The drum is apparently out of round, because the brake shoes "hit and
> miss" as the brake drum turns. When I have to apply brakes hard- it
> causes the whole gear leg to shake violently fore and aft. It is worse
> on pavement. The brakes were part of my Aerosport 103 kit. I am
> certainly thinking about replacing them, but will the next set be the
> same? Are they just crummy brakes? I'd go with discs (hydraulics) but
> I don't want to lose my wheelpants. Any suggestions?
>
The best way to sort it out is to have the drums machined in a
lathe.......not that costly and works well provided the drums are not
completely out of shape.
Mark Smith
Azusa drums come machined,,,,,,,,,,ID or OD as you order them
JK
issued for service......either that or the guy doing the final machining is
on dope or doesn't give a damn what the end product is like...either way it
is un-satisfactory...my suggestion simply was a way around the issue..
regards,
JK
Mark Smith <ma...@trikite.com> wrote in message
news:39D5CC...@trikite.com...
Drew Hammond
BlueMax
spin forever, just like a bicycle wheel. As soon as you hit the brakes, however,
it "hits and misses". I'm just going to order a new brake assembly and drum (with
a flange, this time) and see what happens. If they're still bad- I'll have me
buddy "turn" me a good pair on his lathe. He said they should be turned while the
drum is mounted on the wheel, and on a 5/8" dummy axle.
>
> Are you sure that its out of round, and not just hitting on a bolt internally
> as it spins? Sometimes the internal spacers need a slightly longer length. I am
> referring to the bolts which hold the drum to the rim. If one hits while the
> wheel rotates, your gear leg can have that abrupt fore / aft motion. Remove the
> wheel and see if there is a shiny spot on a bolt head. Jim
>
> Jim Ratte
> Recreational Mobility
> http://www.recreationalmobility.com
> Aventura and Flightstar aircraft kits, ultralight parts and accessories
IFLYAMPHIB
>The drum is apparently out of round, because the brake shoes "hit and
>miss" as the brake drum turns. When I have to apply brakes hard- it
>causes the whole gear leg to shake violently fore and aft. It is worse
>on pavement. The brakes were part of my Aerosport 103 kit. I am
>certainly thinking about replacing them, but will the next set be the
>same? Are they just crummy brakes? I'd go with discs (hydraulics) but
>I don't want to lose my wheelpants. Any suggestions?
Are you sure that its out of round, and not just hitting on a bolt internally
RexAndrew1
I don't know why AeroWorks still putting those defective, crappy brakes on
their planes. Everyone who own one has exactly the same problem.
Rex
Mark Smith
drum and then change it by shimming or differential bolt tightening ??
I have seen drums poorly centered by fully thighteneing one bolt first
and then the others.
This grossly distorts the plastic wheels and even the cast aluminum ones
somewhat.
I find the drums are very true, and just need some TLC during assembly
BlueMax wrote:
>
> No- it's not a bolt head. I can now mount the wheel and give it a spin- it will
> spin forever, just like a bicycle wheel. As soon as you hit the brakes, however,
> it "hits and misses". I'm just going to order a new brake assembly and drum (with
> a flange, this time) and see what happens. If they're still bad- I'll have me
> buddy "turn" me a good pair on his lathe. He said they should be turned while the
> drum is mounted on the wheel, and on a 5/8" dummy axle.
W4JLE
anything other than an "I think..."
"JK" <jon...@esatclear.ie> wrote in message
news:8atB5.4686$Bw1....@news.indigo.ie...
> Obviously the quality control is crap at the source where the drums are
> issued for service......either that or the guy doing the final machining
is
> on dope or doesn't give a damn what the end product is like...either way
it
> is un-satisfactory...my suggestion simply was a way around the issue..
> regards,
> JK
>
> Mark Smith <ma...@trikite.com> wrote in message
> news:39D5CC...@trikite.com...
> > JK wrote:
> > >
> > > BlueMax <blu...@voyager.net> wrote in message
> > > news:39d51682$0$56655$2bfe...@news.tdin.com...
> > > > I have the 6" Azusa wheels, with the 4.5" Azusa shoe-brakes and
drums.
> > > > The drum is apparently out of round, because the brake shoes "hit
and
> > > > miss" as the brake drum turns. When I have to apply brakes hard- it
> > > > causes the whole gear leg to shake violently fore and aft. It is
> worse
> > > > on pavement. The brakes were part of my Aerosport 103 kit. I am
> > > > certainly thinking about replacing them, but will the next set be
the
> > > > same? Are they just crummy brakes? I'd go with discs (hydraulics)
> but
> > > > I don't want to lose my wheelpants. Any suggestions?
> > > >
> > >
> > > The best way to sort it out is to have the drums machined in a
> > > lathe.......not that costly and works well provided the drums are not
> > > completely out of shape.
> >
> >
> > Azusa drums come machined,,,,,,,,,,ID or OD as you order them
Bobby Hester
Because the better parts you use in a kit the higher the price gets. You can
get a good set of hydraulic brakes for $400 but I will just keep using my
crapy old mechanical brakes instead. I don't use them much any way, only when
I'm on the ground :-)
--
Surfing the Web from Hopkinsville, KY
Visit my web site at: http://www.geocities.com/hester-hoptown/
And see my Rans S12xl experimental aircraft
Updated 9/22/00 - New Look!
RexAndrew1
good job in putting this UL together. It's a shame they have to include these
brakes. I don't like the idea of having to re-engineer (grid, hone, balance or
turn) a brand new set of brakes.
Luckely I don't need them much as I fly out of a grass strip.
Rex
David J. Ervin
mine also. I am scrapping them for discs.
David
Scott
drum brakes to mechanical disc brakes and they work great. When I apply
the brakes now, I notice no shake at all and the stopping force has
improved. The calipers are on floating pins that allow them to move with
the wobble of the wheel. By the way, after having a new drum machined from
a solid chunk of steel, I found the "shaking" still existed. Thats why I
went to a disc system. As it turns out, the wheel is the problem on
mine... not the drums... for what its worth.
Geoff Thistlethwaite
thanks
Geoff Thistlethwaite
"Scott" <buck...@cox-internet.com> wrote in message
news:39D89269...@cox-internet.com...
KHP33
outer edge of the drum. I also did a little sanding of the shoes when I noticed
they were not contacting uniformly.
KH
Scott
plate that mounts the rotor to the Azusa wheel. I have penciled some plans with
the intent of some day converting them to a CAD drawing if anyone is
interested. The brakes cost me $135.00 plus a little extra for hardware from
the local hardware store. I will eventually have pictures posted on the
following site.
http://www.zing.com/member/?name=sbuck01&c=1
Irondack
you can,put them on a a stub axle and put a dial indicator to the drum and see
if they run true. Loosen the three bolts and adjust the drum until it does.
There are better brakes out there, but not for the price of Asuzas.