Jammed Trim Wheel

[Knucklez]

My trim system is jammed in the full nose down position. I know that I need to access the exterior side panel. Does anyone have any advice to remove the panel to gain access to the trim wheel assembly?

 

[Snowbirdxx]

Unscrew Panels and Push them Up, or, unscrew, them Roll them Up top the winstank Cover. Loosen a screw If the Cover and use safetywire around the loose screw and theou a hole of the sidecover.

Lube all, but the wheel and internal friction spring.

 

[jliltd]

Remove the panel on the left side of the aircraft under the boot cowl (the one that exposes the pilot's left rudder pedal). Let's call that panel 1. Then remove the screws from the second panel that is under the pilot's side window. Let' call that panel 2. Do not remove this panel from the window sill since it is sealed into the window frame. Roll the panel up by lifting the lower edge to bend it up in an arc exposing the trim mechanism. Take a piece of safety wire and tie up the bottom edge of the panel using one of the wing tank cover screws to keep it bent up out of the way. It is also a good idea to place some masking tape to the leading edge of the front lift strut to protect it from the edge of the curled up panel 2. Here is a photo depicting this. The only panel shot I could find had panel 2 released with the safety wire tether loose. I only curled up the panel when working as I didn't want it to take a permanent set by being bent a long time. I also included a photo of the trim mechanism assembly. The red circles show where my hardware was scraping the interior of the cockpit side panel. I went back with dry lube instead of grease since I live in the dusty desert but this means I need to lube it more often.




I had to replace the two items in the bottom right corner of the following photo. The green thingy and the cad colored thingy:

 

[Knucklez]

Gentlemen, thank you so much for your help. I’m headed over in less than an hour to get that panel “peeled up”, and get the trim issue resolved.

 

[Ak Kurt]

Question…. Why peel it up? Last 3 airplanes I helped working on including mine for trim issues we removed all the screws and just removed the panel. No risk of bending or bumping the panel. This also gave us an oppportunity to do the longer on chaffing service bulletin. Worked good.

 

[Jeb]

Yeah. With some care to not scratch against bottom end of vertical window framing, those panels come right out.

 

[jliltd]

My window has a silicon sealant where the plexi meets the panel. Didn't want to break that seal. But it's good to know it can come on out.

 

[Kent Wien]

Mine didn’t have any silicon. Perhaps it’s no longer used? We were the first to ever pull that panel off of the airplane when we did it at 150 hours on a 2015 model.

 

[jliltd]

2006 A-1B. Fixed triangle window (prior to larger sliding full-length window). The fixed window is sealed into the panel. The sliding window is not sealed naturally (which is why panel #3 is removed in the photos). Perhaps you were not first with respect to the newer sliding window.

 

[Jeb]

Aha! Mine is 2007. Both slide. Cheers!

 

[Knucklez]

While I’ve got mine in a serviceable condition, after reading replies, is the trim system a known issue?

 

[Snowbirdxx]

With the Side Panels Open and having a sn below 1290, Check the Bolt that connects the flapcable to the flap actator arm. Several chafed through. Later sn Had a doubler welded top the arm.

 

[Mbbaumer]

Not sure what the consensus here is but my understanding is that using the wrong lubricant on trim wheel components can cause big problems. Any recommendations from the group?

 

[Tango Foxtrot]

I had the same issues with my trim system. A bolt head was rubbing on the interior panel. 2007 A1B Munson window. The service bulletin on the panel screws is a Pain. My epoxy paint needed repair. Use caution when putting the correct screws in or you get to do it again next annual
VLB