Check Gear

My Xmas present is a set of machined fittings. I pick them up Jan 3 and plan on giving him 200 bucks for the effort. I will ask if he is willing to make any more. Lynn the CRATE
 
Before I make a bunch of the welded ones we should see photos of Lynn’s cool billet ones they are probably much better.
 
I am interested in either the billet or welded set, if this is a weak point, I think I will just go ahead and replace them.
-Adam
 
Boys, in regards to making fittings this nation is full of lawyers and they will kill there mothers for a buck. My friend is not willing to make something for someone he doesn't know. Sad that we have come to this. If you have never messed with this fitting (you will eventually) here is how you change it. The plane should be on jacks. Retract the gear just enough to take the pressure off the down lock (kick down) spring. Now you can remove the bolt that holds the actuating cylinder. There are two long bolts that run through the rear spar that secure the fitting. The nuts are viewed in the access hole with the flap extended. The aileron bar is in the middle of this so you are not getting your hand on those nuts. There are also a number of washers used as spacers so be sure you put them back or you will bottom the bolt on the shank before the fitting gets tight. To install you will need two people one to crank the bolt and the other to hold the nut with a long pair of forceps.A dry silicon spray really helps with this. You will probably need assistance to remove the bolts too. Tighten the bolts on the fitting without crushing the wood. Now you can reinstall the retract cylinder and perform a retraction test. Lynn
 
I can certainly understand the fear of getting a law suit over trying to help, but I don’t want to see any of these old birds damaged and scraped because no parts were available to replace failing old ones either, so here goes.

I have a small run of brackets in process. They are 4130 stock from Aircraft Spruce, the bottoms are .098 for some extra strength over the .071 originals. The cylinder mounting tabs are .071 that was working for the original. The welds are TIG using ER70-S2 rod. I can get these done for $50 each.

I am not a licensed engineer and I do not know if there is some fatal flaw in these brackets. No stress/fatigue analyses has been done. If you decide to use one of these parts you are responsible for doing a careful quality control and engineering check on them. You will need to be sure they are suitable for use.
I will post some photos here as soon as the brackets are done.
 
I finished several of the brackets last night and should get the rest of the batch finished this evening. :D
 
Ralph, my machined brackets required some more machining and to install they will need all new size mounting hardware. This makes your brackets a very very good deal. You should alert AAC of their availability. At your price it is one hell of a good bargain! Lynn
 
A couple of annual inspections back, on N9800B the right gear bracket was found cracked.
It was not too bad, so TIG welding satisfied the IA.
I approve of the newly made improved parts, the originals are minimal, and are not getting younger...
 
Have dissasembled my right main gear...47 cruiseair...packing bushings? Does anybody have a source for new bushings?
Michael
 
Michael, I just ran across the extra seals left over from rebuilding my gear. They were purchased from a company that shows MSC Industrial Supply Co. and the empty bag shows QTY 5, NU6226-30. On the front of the bag it says BUNA-NU-CUPS 5/16 HIGH--1, 7/8" ID X 2 1/2" OD PK5. I think any good hydraulics shop could supply or order these. I seem to remember being told it should take 5 of these seals per side, but I was only able to get 4 per side into my gear. I have no idea why. I hope this helps. Grant.
 
Ralph, is there any chance you'll be doing another run of the brackets? I could use 2 sets.

Thanks, Phil
 
View attachment 1
My "owner made parts" (Thank's Ralph!) ended up seeing use MUCH sooner than expected. The second picture is off the right wing and was found at annual a couple of weeks ago.
The first picture is the left wing bracket. The left wing bracket was the scavenged part we installed last year when the original left wing bracket cracked. It was already starting to crack.
 
50 Each plus shipping.
Send me your address and I will get a quote from ups for shipping.
ralph at rookmetering dot com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top