In article ZAFZe.367234$_o.200869@attbi_s71,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:
And don't feel bad about someone using engine oil on your yoke shafts -- at
least it wasn't graphite. That's what some genius used on ours, and --
three years after buying the plane -- we're STILL getting that awful black
crap on a rag every time we lube the shafts with silicone spray.

Others have suggested Teflon spray, and that may work better--last
longer--but DC4 works better than silicone spray, though it is "more
messy." In any case, any of this stuff should prevent the yokes from
sticking. I'm always amazed at how often I hear the "sticky yoke"
complaint, and how the solution seems to be to modify your flying
behavior to work around it--doesn't seem logical to me.

I'm not sure what the previous owner(s) of our airplane used, but I also
have a nice collection of black gunk accumulate on the tubes. I suspect
that the tubes have been hit with just about everything over the years.
I suppose the only way to "fix" the problem is to pull the tubes and
bushings and clean them out.



JKG