ADJUSTMENT (CORRECTING "WING-HEAVY" CONDITION). (Refer to figure 4-1.) If
considerable control wheel pressure is required to keep the wings level in normal flight. a
"wing-heavy" condition exists. To remedy this condition, proceed as follows:
a. Remove wing root fairing strip on "wing-heavy" side of aircraft.
b. Loosen nut (10) and rotate eccentric bushings (8) simultaneously until the bushings
are positioned with the thick sides of the eccentrics up. This will lower the trailing
edge of the wing. and decrease "wing-heaviness" by increasing the angle-ofincidence
of the wing.
CAUTION
Be sure to rotate the eccentric bushings simultaneously.
Rotating them separately will destroy the alignment
between the off-center bolt holes in the bushings, thus
exerting a shearing force on the bolt. with possible
damage to the hole in the wing spar fitting.
It won't fly straight and level without right aileron input. ...Any ideas?
Have you checked the cable tensions and control surface rigging? Is there any indication it was recently subjected to an over-g condition, say, on a high-g rolling pull-out? Note that the g-loads on the wing in a rolling pull-out can be higher than the g-load indicated on the cockpit accelerometer.
Right. That "wing-heavy" procedure from the manual should be looked at only as a last resort after other less drastic causes have been eliminated. It's hard to imagine how an airplane could suddenly have a change in the incidence angle of one wing if it's been flying fine all along unless it were over-g'd, and that would be a serious situation in which simply re-adjusting the wing might just be treating the symptom rather than the disease.Make sure a mechanic looks the wings/airframe/cables over thoroughly before trying to solve it with adjustments at the wing attachments or elsewhere. Otherwise you might be putting a band-aid over a serious structural problem.
When were the control surface rigging and cable tensioning last checked?The plane has about 6,500 TT. It's no spring chicken.
.. I was flying a 152 for awhile that had a 'heavy wing' and looking through the service manual provided instructions on correcting this situation. They involved removing the wing root covers and adjusting the bolts that hold the wing to the airframe.
If the airplane's in-flight behavior has changed that dramatically, all at once, I would be VERY concerned about it, and I'd have it gazed at intently by a qualified A&P.
It is possible that something broke, or someone bent a trim tab or something worse. Sudden changes in aircraft behavior are not to be trifled with!