"Ed Wischmeyer" wrote in message
...
I have trouble steering my homebuilt, which is simular of PA-20 and
suspect the steering springs are weak. Of coarse excessive tension would
be too much stress on the rudder steering yoke. Does anyone know the
correct spring rate for the steering springs on a PA-20?

Don't forget to check your landing gear alignment. It should be toed
*out* very slightly. See deja for past discussions on this topic. You
could also check the caster angle on the tailwheel, in addition to the
steering springs.

Ed Wischmeyer

Also, don't forget to check for tailwheel alignment. Sometimes, corrosion
in the rear fuselage can cause a bend that is reflected in a mis-aligned
tailwheel and will reflect itself in hard steering (pre-flighted a Champ
once where moving the rear of the fuse side-to-side to check tailwheel
breakout tension showed more fuse movement than tailwheel movement).

I don't know if the PA-20 is subject to such a problem, but if the other
excellent suggestions don't pan out, check this. Heck, for safety's sake,
check it anyhow. I saw a FlyBaby with a similar problem - water had been
trapped in the rear and the wood had rotted - same symptom, very im-precise
steering, lots of give in the fuse.

Michael Pilla