Tag: landinggear

155 – My Retractable Landing Gear is Not Moving!

September 26, 2020 / Dean Showalter / 0 Comments

This is what Josh discovered recently in his Beechcraft Debonair while getting some training in his airplane with an instructor as part of the Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program (BPPP.) The gear motor was the culprit.

Josh’s story is the main feature in today’s episode, but first I want to thank PilotWorkshops for sponsoring the podcast.

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I had the privilege of helping to edit the engine book and provide photos, and I can say with confidence it’s a GREAT resource for pilots!

Now back to Josh and his gear motor.

Sometimes the gear would retract and extend, and sometimes not.

Listen to the story in today’s episode to find out how things turned out with Josh’s instructor that day, as well as why they ended up carefully towing the airplane back to the hangar by hand, and how the aircraft finally ended up on jacks in the shop at Classic Aviation LLC at KSHD, where the landing gear motor could be removed for repair.

The gear motor is on its way to Kevin O’Halloran for repair. I was totally impressed with the procedure he uses to repair these 12 volt “Lamb” gear motors. (Those are the only ones he works on.)

We’re also changing all 3 nose gear rod ends, hardware, down spring, and shear pin at this time (as recommended by ABS.)

Here’s the existing nose gear down spring, shear pin, idler arm rod end and hardware…a portion of the parts we’ll be replacing (looks like they’ve been there for a LONG TIME.)

Josh will be good to go for a long time as far as the landing gear goes.

I found a sketchy-looking entry about the gear motor in the airframe log from 1996. The best I can tell, here’s what it says:

“Removed landing gear motor, cut armature, new brushes, new bearings, replaced overhauled motor, retract tested.”

Sorry, but for me, sloppy maintenance entries makes me wonder if the work was also sloppy.

It’s always best to type maintenance record entries.

And one last thing that’s not a big deal, but it indicates the maintenance manual procedure was not quite finished, is the shimmy dampener. The cotter pin should be slightly spread apart to allow inserting a small measuring rod or wire to determine when the fluid is low.

If you’d like me to travel to your airport for some very specific maintenance oriented training with you, then send me an email: dean@airplaneownermaintenance.com

Or, to set up a virtual call:

Schedule a FaceTime call with me in 2 simple steps

Go to my calendar and pick a time spot that’s good for you.

Click here to schedule a time.

2. Go to my PayPal link and make a $100 payment.

Click here to pay $100 in PayPal.

On the scheduled day, I’ll call you and we can discuss and examine your airplane concerns. (Many prefer FaceTime for this.)

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133 – The Firetrucks Rolled When a Navajo’s Landing Gear Did Not Extend

January 26, 2020 / Dean Showalter / 0 Comments

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I was sitting in my car that day, having lunch with my friend Matt, when we noticed the airport fire trucks were rolling out toward the runway. Although they exercise these trucks regularly, this time seemed different.

And sure enough, a Piper Navajo made a low pass and it was obvious the landing gear was not extended. I decided to go inside and try to find out what was going on.

After some conversation with the unicom people, I offered to talk with the pilot. They gladly agreed.

Thankfully, we had maintained several Navajos in the past at Classic Aviation, so I was reasonably familiar with the landing gear system. I spoke with the pilot on the radio, and confirmed he was able to extend the gear with the emergency extension hand pump, and the gear selector handle had returned to neutral, with all three gear down lights on.

This seemed promising, and we anticipated an uneventful landing. A low pass confirmed the gear now appeared to be extended.

A successful landing was a relief to everyone.

After landing, the nose baggage compartment was opened, and it became obvious the hydraulic fluid in the power pack was very low… apparently so low the engine driven pump could not pump the gear down.

Here’s where a good understanding of the system is helpful.

There is a “standpipe” in the hydraulic power pack that has a unique function. If the fluid level gets too low, the standpipe reserves enough remaining fluid for the emergency hand pump to pump the gear down. It’s a great safety feature in this airplane, and others with hydraulic landing gear.

We filled the power pack with MIL-5606 aviation hydraulic fluid, and recommended the pilot get the system checked for leaks.

Listen to the audio for the complete information on this one, but the main lesson is “Be familiar with your retractable landing gear system, especially the emergency procedures.”

Here are a several suggestions to make this happen:

Practice your emergency landing gear extension procedure, in flight, with a competent and knowledgeable instructor or pilot, at least once a year.
Visit your maintenance shop during the annual inspection and operate the emergency gear system with the airplane on jacks.
Watch the gear operate on jacks, from outside the airplane, so you can have a visual picture of what is actually happening when you retract and extend the landing gear.
Memorize your landing gear emergency procedures, and keep the manual/checklist in a convenient and accessible location in your airplane.
Finally, make sure your landing gear system is well maintained and properly adjusted, with full hydraulic fluid (if applicable) to ensure safe and reliable operation.

Other podcasts mentioned in this episode:

Aviation Careers Podcast episode 255

Stuck Mic AvCast episode 229