Patent ID: 8544791

Claim:
An apparatus for operating an aircraft nose wheel steering mechanism including: right and left pedals having a neutral position and being operatively interconnected so that forward displacement of one pedal results in rearward displacement of the other, a steering assembly connected between the pedals and a nose wheel and operable to turn the nose wheel either right or left from a centered position in response to forward displacement of either the right or left pedal, respectively, a biasing assembly operatively connected to the pedals and urging the pedals to their neutral position, said neutral position corresponding to the centered position of the nose wheel, whereby when a forwardly displaced pedal is released, the biasing assembly returns the pedals to their neutral position and causes the nose wheel to return to its centered position, and wherein said biasing assembly is only operable to urge the pedals to the neutral position when the aircraft is on the ground, wherein the biasing assembly includes first and second springs, each spring being connected to a respective pedal so that the springs resist forward displacement of their respective pedal, and wherein each spring exerts a spring force resisting pedal movement until the spring is completely compressed and, after the spring is completely compressed, the compressed spring no longer exerts further spring force resisting pedal movement.