Landing Gear History & Specs

[Rob58]

Getting ready to rebuild the gear on my 14-19-3. The engineer in me likes to have specifications with tolerances and the like, but I was not able to obtain this from the folks in Alexandria (not sure why?). Specifically I would like to know the correct clearance between the strut piston and the bushings that the strut rides in. It seems to me that there should be minimum clearance here so that the gear doesn’t have any slop. Is there an engineering drawing available somewhere? I’m also wondering about the evolution of the gear in the “nosedragger” Bellancas. Is the -3 gear the same as the -3a? When did they upgrade to the oleo struts? Feedback and knowledge are much appreciated! --Rob

 

[blimpy]

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[twheel47]

Phooey. The factory can support the gear legs on a -3 because they are actually the legs that were being made for the soon-to-be-released 14-19. The un-friendly split of BAC and the Bellanca family severed rights and responsibilities at the Cruiser to Cruisemaster point because the "new" company got the right to only the aircraft then in production; the Cruisemaster Type Certificate.

Alexandria HAS WORKED on the struts on my airplane because they are off a -3. It's a no-brainer to install them, zero modification required. Also neat is that any aviation grinding/plating facility has the specs for the Cruisemaster gear.