Landing gear strut

[waltermrich]

I like what Scott said , to drill a hole big enough to place a bore scope into the flat end of the bungee mount area at the top of the strut and look down inside and weld a patch over it when done, no damage will be done to the strut, a surprise awaits.

[Jim Herpst]

Jim Im glad you are so adamant about this issue, it really is a serious problem as I see it, its an accident waiting to happen just a couple of weeks ago some one with a Taylorcraft on the Taylorcraft Facebook page had a hard landing and broke the gear strut and substantially wrecked his airplane, the lower strut is a perfect pace to collect moisture and rust ,these pieces of metal are 80 to 77 years old, Im in agreement with Hank most of the gear is heavier material but the gear strut is thin walled stuff , a good welder can salvage one, but they all need a Thurow inspection now. I checked into buying 2 new ones but at $2500 each from Univair i could spend it on a really good rebuilt replacement, But if money was no object I would buy new.

We are getting to a point on
Taylorcrafts in particular that it is no longer an inexpensive plane as they were known to be over the years (and suffered the neglect we are now seeing. ) Compared to a lot of the flying junk Spam cans that are selling North of 40 k it is still a great deal however as one can see through my posts in a complete teardown and rebuild done properly is not for the faint of heart.

Your point on the gear is a good one as in repairing. A good welder can do it today and I hope more folks start to understand this before they wipe out their plane.

The Facebook page in particular seems to have a lot of younger owners which is a delight. They just need to realize the age of these birds now and be willing to fork out substantial time and money to safely keep them in the air.

[waltermrich]

Yes I agree with everything you said.

[Ragwing nut]

Jim, don't toss the gear (I agree I would NOT sell it, but when/if we get a fixture it will certainly be worth rebuilding!). Once we have fixtures for rebuilding the next hurdle will be getting new streamline tube. The steel used around WW-II was a lot more malleable and easier to roll into streamline shape than 4130. I am afraid the reason we are having trouble getting replacement tube is it is cracking along the tight radius at the trailing edge. We may have to open up the shape to closer to an oval than streamline to prevent that and that will cause problem with the FAA accepting it as a substitute unless they have someone who actually understands steel tubing.
It is STILL worth keeping these gear till we can properly repair them!

Hank

I've been hearing that for years and no one has got it done yet.

[Scott]

Not quite understanding the problem. 4130 streamlined tubing is available. Perhaps not the exact size but slightly larger is acceptable.

If the gear leg is in otherwise servicable condition, there is no need for a fixture of any description. Remove the clevis bolt. If the holes remain lined up, the gear is good, and the new or repaired strut is fitted so that the holes line up and the bolt slides in.

If the bolt slides in, the gear is the same shape as it was before the repair.
S