14-19-2 Gear Actuator Bracket Failure

MNCruisemaster

MNCruisemaster

New member
Hi Everyone. I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. Unfortunately, its not a happy topic.

I recently had the landing gear retract actuator mounting bracket fail on takeoff and figured I should do a PSA to the group about it.

My plane is a '58 14-19-2, SN 4071. I have the later style gear from what I understand, and AAC said they have never heard of this bracket failing before and I wasn't able to find any threads about it using the search function. The one on the right side failed completely, breaking into 3 pieces, the left one was cracked and showed what everyone should look for.

The factory does not stock this part anymore, but they were able to fabricate new ones for me and have them to me in a week. They only charged $101 each, most likely because they are going off a really old price list.

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Overall they are not too difficult to replace. I took pictures so I can go step-by-step if I need to. The most difficult part was the bolt with the sheared head. I had to use a punch to push it back into the wing, and the top wing skin interfered with it coming out in one piece so I had to cut it into chunks as it came out with a hacksaw with about 1/2" movement. It took 1.5 hours for each cut piece... I also hired a 9 year old kid in my neighborhood to fit his hands up in the wing to put the nuts and washers back on :D

-Ryan
 
Ryan, welcome to the forum and to the world of Cruisemaster maintenance. Your problem is well-known and has been discussed often on this forum. I would suggest that you simply enter the term "bracket" into the search window and begin going through the various posts. One of our fellow owners has recently had replacement brackets fabricated with some improvement to the gauge of the metal and generally higher quality than the factory originals. I purchased a set which I have not used yet in case you want some replacements asap. Now on to your comment that AAC has not heard of this part failing - not sure who you spoke to, but that seems like a very uninformed piece of information that they gave you. I am curious to know the outcome of the failed bracket experience... did your gear extend by virtue of the kickdown springs? Were you able to land successfully without incident?

Landing gear failures of one sort or another have been the nemesis of the Cruisemaster fleet. Anyway, the folks on this forum will be a solid resource for you. Let us know how we can help. BTW, your bird must have been a stable mate to mine, N1313B, S/N 4072. Keep us posted... Rob
 
Thanks Rob.

The kickdown spring did extend the gear and it held over center. I couldn't get anyone on unicom to answer to verify my gear position, so I was pretty nervous when I landed . When I called over to AAC - from the airport after I landed - I gave them my SN and they claimed that I had a later version of the bracket that was not supposed to be prone to failure. They could have easily been mistaken.

My biggest concern at the time was how to get home! They said to put a hose clamp on the kickdown spring cylinder to lock it into position and fly slow, so that is what I did.

I must have been too impatient with my search.

-Ryan
 
Ryan, welcome to the forum. There is much info on that bracket on this forum. I for one have had two failures and have been pretty vocal about it. ( Check Gear, Nov 14, 2016) You will find AAC is not very helpful with the -2. Whoever you talked to is full of -. The fitting is strut to rear spar and the part # 18941-10.this is from Bellanca drawing 194216. I had a couple new brackets machined for use on my crate. There is also a great -2 owner that Rob mentioned who made new stronger brackets that he will sell you. Lynn the crate -2 1958 N9818B s/n 4090.---
 
If you still need them I have brackets. They are not certified, you must use them as owner supplied parts and do a carful inspection to make sure they will work correctly. $50 each + shipping.

If the factory can supply brackets they will be certified so they are probably the better deal.

PM me with your address and I will get a shipping quote for you.
Ralph

PS. Can we box up your 9-year-old assistant and send them out to assist with bracket installs? That hole in the back of the wing is too small! :D
 
Ken McCune sent me an email but the email I sent back has bounced.
Ken, please send me another email at: ralph <at> rookmetering <dot> com
 
Thanks for the offer on the brackets. I already had the new ones installed when I originally posted. I'm going to look for the thicker ones next time these fail.

-Ryan
 
I have also had a bracket failure on my hand pump hydraulic Cruisair gear. What I had thought was the proper over-pressure relief valve turned out not to be. The STC doesnt call for a gauge so I have no idea what pressure the hand pump was putting on the flimsy bracket when I retracted the gear. I pulled the cylinder right off of the rear spar, but the kick down springs worked as they are supposed to. I am in the middle of a very extensive annual right now and a gauge and proper relief valve is in the works. There is a thread from a few days ago titled HYDRAULIC POWER PACK FILTER which I found interesting concerning the power-pack not keeping pressure on the retract cylinders after the gear is down and the gauge showing the power-pack pressure rather than the cylinder pressure. In my way of thinking, you could drop the gear entering the pattern and if you had a small internal leak in a cylinder, you could have zero pressure by touch down and still be showing pressure on the gauge. That seems like a very poorly thought out system. A second gauge would seem to make sense. I have also parted out enough Bellancas (including Vikings) to not think that there is a newer/heavier bracket. Viking brackets are the same as the 14-19 parts that I have. I have a cigar box full of bent and or cracked brackets. _____Grant.
 
Hey Grant, I can't wait to see you Cruisair back in the air! As to your comment about the hydraulic system in the -2s & -3s you are exactly correct it is certainly possible to put the gear down and by the time the wheels touch the runway there might be zero residual pressure in the gear actuator circuit. This places the responsibility of "down & locked" mainly on the over-center adjustment combined with the rather wimpy kickdown springs. However the hydraulic system will provide back pressure that would resist the reversal of the cylinder travel (unless there was a complete open circuit somewhere). Regarding the pressure gauge in the -2, yes it really does not serve a very useful function. The Bellanca factory must have come to this same conclusion as they eliminated the gauge in the -3. Landing gear accidents account for a substantial portion of Bellancas that end up in a salvage yard - I have been on a quest to identify the specific cause of these accidents over the years. No question about it the brackets are definitely a weak link in the chain...Rob
 
I think that I would re-plumb the gauge to read the important pressure (cylinder) rather than where it could give you false information. Just my thoughts _____Grant
 
RE: pressure guage plumbed into gear extension line........Great idea Grant I am studying how to do this, as I have been thinking that that is what we need to know. If the pressure is up we know that the gear cylinders are extended.
 
There certainly is a case for placing the gauge in the cylinder extension circuit. However just because the cylinder is fully extended and the gauge confirms pressure, this does not guarantee that the gear is down and locked. For instance if the cylinder were to break lose due to a bracket failure you might get a false sense of security here. Ken, as you put your plane back together don't forget that there is a visual indicator that pops up near the leading edge of the wing - make sure you have that part properly attached. I have thought about installing a camera in each landing gear well so that I could make a visual inspection of the entire gear mechanism if needed - it would be fairly easy to do.
 
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