With 26hrs on our 4P we had an issue, upon landing my partner said the plane
started going right and couldn't stop it. Needless to say it went off the
runway to the right and the rest is repairable...  No one hurt.. But my
problem seems to be upon inspection of the nose gear.  You could turn the fork
about 20 degrees on the shaft when it was in the lock or straight position.The
fork seemed to be unscrewing. Further study and disassembly shows the locking
collar was not even finger tight. The allen screw that locks is nesttled
behind the four bolts that hold the yoke or fork for the front wheel.  I
suggest if you have the ESCO front fork you should check to make sure yours
can't turn. 

Jeff, et al,

 

Some years back when I had my nose gear strut updated by Lancair, it was returned with the collar loose so that final adjustment could be made.  Moral? Trust but verify.

 

I had the internals of the strut begins to disintegrate because ESCO didn't "locktite" some internal screws.  I have had a leak start for the 2 safety wired bolts in the front of the strut - even though they were safety wired, they had become "loose" and required a half turn to re-tighten before re-safetying.  I have also checked the allen bolts at the bottom of the strut body and tightened those.

 

The strut is a good piece of hardware to check each annual - and check that all the bolts, nuts and fastening devices are secure.  Hmmmm, good to check before the first flight, too.