I was rooting around the rudder pedals in the process of removing some redundant cables and a ?transformer, when I noticed all of the rudder pedals had an extra pair of holes aft of where the brake cylinders are attached.

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/images ... f37455.jpg

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/images ... b91d47.jpg

Because of my size 12 shoe size, I have to be very careful not to accidently put in a little braking while landing. Is it possible this is an adjustment in the rudder pedal that will move the top part of the pedal a little further away from my big foot? Has anybody tried this or already be working through the aft holes?

Thanks

Looks like the brackets wouldn't fit in those hole because of the taper of the pedals anyways. I can't remember those holes on mine, but that doesn't mean they aren't there

My advice is to leave it alone, and get used to the pedals the way they are. Concentrate on keeping the balls of your feet on the lower portion just prior to touchdown, and sooner or later you won't even think about it.

Right or wrong, I always use brakes and pedal concurrently while landing. I guess I'm always practicing getting slowed or stopped as soon as possible, and using brakes heavily in the process. Just after landing with flaps 0-10 and tail low, I can damn near lock them up without the worry of nosing over. However, I have a later model with the swept forward gear. I haven't flown an early model with the original gear leg sweep...YMMV

Even though I have small feet, I had a similar problem with the pedals in my skywagon. Full pedal deflection got me some (unwanted) braking, even with my heels on the floor. It's like the pedal angle is too upright. Never had this problem in my old C170 or my C150TD.

I made up some rudder pedal blocks, similar to what I'd seen in a couple other skywagons, that mount to the lower part of the pedal. Mine are teak, 5" x 1-1/4" x 3/4" thick. Now full pedal deflection just gets me rudder, but I can still get all the brake I want when I need it.

hotrod180 wrote:Even though I have small feet, I had a similar problem with the pedals in my skywagon. Full pedal deflection got me some (unwanted) braking, even with my heels on the floor. It's like the pedal angle is too upright. Never had this problem in my old C170 or my C150TD.

I made up some rudder pedal blocks, similar to what I'd seen in a couple other skywagons, that mount to the lower part of the pedal. Mine are teak, 5" x 1-1/4" x 3/4" thick. Now full pedal deflection just gets me rudder, but I can still get all the brake I want when I need it.

Do you have any pics of your setup? We might be interested in something similar. Logbook entry required?

The teak pedal 'boost' soumds interesting. How are they attached?

If you have the old, round top pedals, switch to the late model thermoplastic pedals. They have a much larger bottom portion, which has the same effect that hotrod is describing with the blocks.

Believe it or not, these plastic pedals are relatively inexpensive. My old ones wore out in the 170, and rather than rebuild them, I switched to these, and liked them a lot better.

But, the key is to keep most of your foot on the floor, with just your tippy-toe on the bottom of the pedals......as the man said, it's hard at first, but with some practice, it becomes natural.

MTV

Here do you find the thermoplastic pedals? Are they the pedal extenders from Air Boss?

jrc111 wrote:Here do you find the thermoplastic pedals? Are they the pedal extenders from Air Boss?

They are a Cessna part. Last I heard, Yingling is the distributor, but it's been a while.

They look sharp and wear like iron. Mine cost $85 the set of four, some years ago.

MTV

CapnMike wrote: Do you have any pics of your setup? We might be interested in something similar. Logbook entry required?

"Don't ask, don't tell".
I'll try to get a couple pics of them today.

jrc111 wrote:The teak pedal 'boost' soumds interesting. How are they attached?

Stainless machine screws, countersunk in the teak and with nylock nuts on the back of the pedals.

mtv wrote:If you have the old, round top pedals, switch to the late model thermoplastic pedals. They have a much larger bottom portion, which has the same effect that hotrod is describing with the blocks.
.....

My 1964 C150D TD had the later pedals, I believe they were cast aluminum.
I see the Spruce catalog has some "rudder pedals for Cessna aircraft", page 220 in their 2014-15 catalog.
Cast aluminum, powder coated. $123 each. Also similar looking (?) ACS rudder pedals, $69 / pair (page 297).

Booster pedals.
There are two rows of rivets on the pedal area where the boosters go, I used a rat-tail file to relieve the blocks so they would sit good and flush.

The teak booster's certainly look like they would help with the unsolicited braking; I think they would pass the Part 43 Appendix A minor alteration test with only a logbook entry. The only thing I could think that would be better would be a tab on each side to prevent foot slip, but I imagine the teak isn't nearly as slippery as the aluminum.

The A2000-1 pedals are FAA-PMA for C180F and beyond. Has anybody tried them on the earlier Cessna's?

Ron

hotrod180 wrote:Booster pedals.
There are two rows of rivets on the pedal area where the boosters go, I used a rat-tail file to relieve the blocks so they would sit good and flush.

Thanks, Hotrod - those look really nice!

Had my mechanic adjust my rudder pedals to the other hole. Solved the unwanted "Brake Barking" on takeoff...BUT, 15 hours later I had a brake failure on the right pedal. Seems that the brake pedal was contacting the master cylinder rod and the rod broke. The Left brake rod was also bent. Fortunately there was no wind on landing and a qualified shop on the airport. The Cessna parts were NOT cheap: $900 ea.
Following the repair, the very next landing was in Page AZ with a 15 G 20 kt X- wind. When your "Guardian Angel speaks.....Listen "

https://backcountrypilot.org/me/my-phot ... toid=46687
https://backcountrypilot.org/me/my-phot ... toid=46688

WhiskeyMike wrote: Had my mechanic adjust my rudder pedals to the other hole....

Not sure just what "other hole" you're referencing.
The hole that they pivot on?
Ive had the rudder pedals out of my 170, my 150TD, and my 180,
and I don't recall there being any extra sets of holes.

I did have trouble with the bottom flange (on the back) of the aluminum pedal of the 180 hitting the master cylinder,
that tended to make the brake self-apply.
I used a big rotary file to relieve that flange until the interference went away.

The Rudder pedals have 2 holes ( photo ). The rudder attachment was placed in the hole above the brass eyelet. I don't know if the eyelet was relocated to the this hole. The top of the rudder pedal was then forward of the original location. With heels on the floor, I could push the pedal without applying brake.

Following the failure, the rudder pedal was reattached to the original holes. Pushing the pedal with my foot ( heels on the floor) applies the brake. The bottom of the pedals need to be pushed with the tips of my boots for rudder and I need to slide my foot up on to the pedal to get a brake. IMHO: a P.I.A in a tail dragger.

On the RV-6, Super Decathlon and Citabria that I've owned, I could place my heels on the floor and push the rudder pedal without applying brake. Braking was achieved by pushing the top of the pedals. Much better.

A pal has a mid 80's 185 with different pedals (photo) These pedals have a bigger area on the bottom similar to the wooden blocks in the previous posting on this topic. He can push the rudder pedal with his foot without applying brake.

There are several pedals like this on Ebay, but I don't know if they will fit my 180. The new metal pedals available at Aircraft Spruce and McFarlane are the replacement pedals for these mid 80's pedals.

I always thought you were supposed to push on the bottom of the pedals for just rudder and then transition up for brakes. My heels are on the floor during every landing until I need to start braking. Even in the airliner I fly for work it’s the same way.

One would have to keep the tips of their toes pointed back towards themselves pretty aggressively to avoid braking if the whole foot was up on the pedals.

It's hard to do as described when you have size 14 kicks. I too wish that there was an additional set of hole to raise the pedal to make it more comfortable. It was certainly not designed with a large shoe size in mind. Winter flying with large boots is even more of a challenge.

Not really a continuation of the above thoughts, but how many threads are needed on C180 rudder pedals?

I've purchased two new pedals off McFarlane for the pilot side.

I'm a little amazed at the rattling fit of the scissor links behind them. The manual calls it 'link - dual' and 'bell crank assy'.

I think the purpose of these links is to provide braking from both sides, with the pilots side linking directly to the master cylinders, and the co-pilots side springs providing the return of the pedals. Is that correct?

What have others done to take the rattle out of those links?

While the pedals are out any other jobs I should be doing? Service the master cylinders?

Lastly the long pins that join the linkage and top of the pedal for braking (part number 0411778-2 on mine) are hollow. Any idea why? I'm thinking of replacing with solid and holes for cotterpins either end.

Appreciate any war stories on rudder pedal problems.

Cheers,
Texmex.