I've got a Maule MT-7-235 that I keep on a tie-down, facing into the predominant wind. Every now and then we get a real blow from the other direction - maybe a gusty 20-30kts from the back end. When that happens my flaps tend to lift off of the little catch and then slam down to full the 40 degrees and stay there. Its a little alarming, and I'm always wondering if its doing any damage.

Does this happen to anyone else, and if so, what do you do about it?

Thanks!

It should'nt happen. In cruise does the -7deg jump out of detent also.
Most likely, the curved ratchet has been bent to a tighter curve than original by a strong pull Before pressing the button.
sometimes the plastic handhold on flap lever slides up a bit and then it is dificult to get the button down completely.
The ratchet probably needs replacing.
Jeremy

REREADING....I GUESS YOUR SITUATION IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM MINE


But anyway,

I cannot believe that it is good for the flaps. To prevent this...I have a set of flap locks. They are two sets of little round, flat plastic discs with padded foam in the middle. About 4 inch discs. There is a bolt that goes down through the middle of the disks keeping them together, like a stack of two pancakes.

By loosening the bolt: one slides the bolt between the gap of the aileron and the flap...with one disc on the top and one on the bottom of the flap/aileron gap. Then the bolt is tightened down making a tight sandwich that keeps the flaps from banging around.



Good luck,

Bob

p.s. Mine is an M-5. Maybe we are talking about a different flap situation. But my flaps will bang around in the wind, against a spring tension....unless I lock them.

When I bought my M7 it did that and I followed Jeremys advice. The parts were relatively inexpensive and no more problems.

m7flyer wrote:When I bought my M7 it did that and I followed Jeremys advice. The parts were relatively inexpensive and no more problems.

Ditto!

Sounds like I need a new flap ratchet, and maybe a set of flap locks too. Thanks for the advice!

Looks like the wind also did something funky to your tailwheel:~)

Yup. It kept breaking off on crosswind landings, so I just glued it on the front. Works good now

Make sure to get both ratchet and other locking part. We got just what we needed and they didn't mate up and we had to place another order before we were done.

N131CP wrote:Yup. It kept breaking off on crosswind landings, so I just glued it on the front. Works good now

hahaha! Good one! Did it require a new endorsement?

We kept our M-7 on floats in a freshwater dock north of Atlanta for several years. Several times, I found our flaps in the full down position. We replaced the ratchet as Jeremy suggests. I did not install the locks as we eventually moved to a hangar. One thing to check is your flap alignment. Our plane had this happen during a microburst over the lake. The flaps came down so hard that it bent the metal rods to which the flaps attach. Our A&P had to bend them back into shape and do thorough inspection to make sure no other damage had occurred. It surprised me that it was possible for the wind to slam them down that hard. After the repair, no problems. Many happy hours on floats and wheels before selling it last year in Quebec.

PS. I'd listen to anything Jeremy says about Maules. He kept me out of trouble for years. Thanks