Vision jet goes for a swim

Someone said something about a brake locking up. Someone else wondered if the nose gear is steerable or does it use differential braking to steer
It looks like the plane turns 30° to the left and then goes straight. If a brake locked, would it straighten out or continue turning?
 
It looks like the plane turns 30° to the left and then goes straight. If a brake locked, would it straighten out or continue turning?
If it stayed locked and the right brake wasn’t working I guess so. What the pilot said to Ground was he lost braking.
 
It looks like the plane turns 30° to the left and then goes straight. If a brake locked, would it straighten out or continue turning?
It could also straighten out when the pilot jammed on the right brake really hard in response. If he was already having trouble and going too fast, it could have been too late to keep him from going downhill into the water.

90 days from now, we'll see a very interesting listing on Controller and Trade-a-Plane.
 
It was more creative version of the accidental gear up landing.

:biggrin:
 
Pilot told me the right brake failed. The nose wheel is free-castering, so there’s no steering control at taxi speeds without them. Great design, Cirrus!
There are many thousands of small planes built that way.
 
Pilot told me the right brake failed. The nose wheel is free-castering, so there’s no steering control at taxi speeds without them. Great design, Cirrus!

Also Grummans. And Columbias. And my Sky Arrow. And no doubt others. It’s a design choice with pros and cons.

As far as taxi speed, a little extra allows the rudder to do most of the work.
 
That's a slam dunk!

... or a crying shame.
 
My Lancair, and I believe all Lancairs, have the free castoring nosewheel. Directional control is really not difficult using rudder alone with any speed above a slow taxi. One recommendation I have seen advocated on the Lancair forum is to test the brakes prior to touchdown. Doing this may give an indication of unilateral brake failure before directional control is lost on the ground.
 
If the plane is pressurized, the engine top mounted, would it stay mostly dry if you powered across and out the other side? I'd try it.
 
Not doubting you, but which Cessnas and Pipers have free castoring nosewheels? Most of the most common ones certainly don’t.
Skycatcher and Pipersport.

Also I don't remember if the Cessna (Columbia) 400 had a steering linkage or not.
 
Two VJ incidences in one week. Our insurance underwriters are updating their rates upward as we read this thread.
 
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