Rudder Question

[DavidCaswell]

Hello all,

I'm a new Maule owner with an MT-7-235, and I've noticed that my rudder has quite a bit of play in it even when the rudder pedals are clamped tight by my gust lock device. It moves about 1/3 of the way to the stops on each side and feeds real loose.

Is that normal, or do I have an issue here? I just got an annual done, so i gotta believe its been looked at recently.

Thanks,

David C.

[maules.com]

First, and this is for all, check the tightness of the bolts and boltholes which attach the rudder steering horn to the rudder post.
On the trigear, it's possible that the nosewheel steering rod is set but the rudder cables are loose and need tightening. The self centering springs which are bridled to the cables in the tailcone may be fooling the person checking adjustment. See parts manual and rigging in maintenance manual.