Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

[tabranch]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Well Tom to reply by item:
1. Perhaps you didn't notice that I have an F model. They are much newer and heavier planes. I hope mine will last 70 more years!
2. I really believe that the 4130 would have held up much better.
3. The design change is probably the more important. But I will have both the design change and the 4130 for a little extra money and a much stronger strut.
4. The factory struts are stronger due in part to a larger cross section and are made of 4130 which has several properties that are better than 1025.

ps I am pro factory as I hope that they are able to stay in business to provide me with parts for the life of my plane.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Perhaps one of the engineers with knowledge in this area can chime in and say whether 4130 is more corrosion resistant than 1025.

Cross sectional area is a two way street. You can put solid (not tubular) struts on and create a stronger, longer lasting product. However you get a big increase in weight. If you want to use up a bunch of useful load on heavy struts because you have 118 or more horsepower, then you can... but what about the guys with 65 horsepower where the weight is more a factor?

I wonder if anyone at the "factory" has done aerodynamic testing on the larger cross section struts to see if they have any negative effects on spin recovery. Minor contour changes in engine cowlings, tail surfaces, etc. have created some surprising and serious changes in spin behavior in more than one airplane. If I wanted to design my own struts out of material with a thicker X-section, what do you think the "factory" would say? Maybe I should "drop a dime" on Harry like he did to us...

[3Dreaming]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Well Tom to reply by item:
1. Perhaps you didn't notice that I have an F model. They are much newer and heavier planes. I hope mine will last 70 more years!
2. I really believe that the 4130 would have held up much better.
3. The design change is probably the more important. But I will have both the design change and the 4130 for a little extra money and a much stronger strut.
4. The factory struts are stronger due in part to a larger cross section and are made of 4130 which has several properties that are better than 1025.

ps I am pro factory as I hope that they are able to stay in business to provide me with parts for the life of my plane.

Tom, I know that 4130 is a stronger material. But stronger is not always better, it is just stronger. In some cases making something stronger just creates a problem somewhere else.
Are you replacing the struts on your airplane? Did they fail the inspection, or is it just to get rid of the inspection? If your struts did fail the inspection I would guess it was stored in some kind of adverse conditions. If maintained correctly your original struts should have lasted your airplane for life.
Tom

[tabranch]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Tom, I know that 4130 is a stronger material. But stronger is not always better, it is just stronger. In some cases making something stronger just creates a problem somewhere else.
Are you replacing the struts on your airplane? Did they fail the inspection, or is it just to get rid of the inspection? If your struts did fail the inspection I would guess it was stored in some kind of adverse conditions. If maintained correctly your original struts should have lasted your airplane for life.
Tom

Tom,
Replacing the struts to avoid the recurring inspection. I believe my struts would last forever. However the front struts do not have a drain hole, so some doubt exists. Both front and rear struts are 4130 and the front struts are the larger ones as are now now in production.

[tawadc95]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

geez 3D,bad day at work?
so what if TA is pro factory,it's his airplane.

[Len Petterson]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Composition of 4130 and 1025 are:
4130 = C .28 - .33 Mn .40 - .60 Ni 0 Cr .80 - 1.10 Mo 0.15 - 0.25
1025 = C .22 - .28 Mg .30 - .60 P .04 S 0.050
From Machinery hand book 21 edition.
As 4130 containes crome ( Cr ) it should be more corrosion resistans but is far from corrosion proff.
Len

[cpirrmann]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

geez 3D,bad day at work?
so what if TA is pro factory,it's his airplane.

Absolutely right. If after all that's been exposed about the current factory, if he still wants to throw his money at them, he is absolutely within his rights.

The rest of us who don't like losing our money, or waiting indefinitely for parts, or receiving parts off someone elses airplane as new, or being victimized by a feckless,complicit government agency and a scheming business owner, will take our business elsewhere.

I had a good experience last time I bought parts from the factory, but being kissed while taking it in the rear doesn't make it feel any better. I whole-heartedly support a thriving factory that can provide us with parts for many years to come. As soon as one comes along with a reputable, trustworthy owner, I'll give them my support.

[3Dreaming]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

geez 3D,bad day at work?
so what if TA is pro factory,it's his airplane.

I didn't think I was having a bad day. It wasn't him being pro factory, it was the statement that the factory parts are better.
As an aircraft owner, A&P, with IA I think the AD stinks. The original struts were not of a poor design. The problem is with improper maintenance. Most people are replacing the struts on their airplanes to get rid of the AD, not because they were bad. That is what the factory wanted IMO. The people that are replacing the struts to get rid of the AD are also giving the factory more justification for the AD. The factory can say see these struts were bad because they replaced them, while in fact many were replacing good struts. Less of the struts that were in use are being tested, because they are being replaced without testing.
Now to get this thread back on topic. I wish the factory would give a realistic delivery date and stick to it, instead of making excuses. Tom

[1938BF50]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Tom......Very well said and exactly to the point.

[Buell Powell]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Tom,
You are absolutly correct. The original struts on mt 41 by all indications short of X-Ray, NDT, Ultra-sound, are in very good condition. The F19 that I am working on also does not have a strut problem. But rather than take them off, pay to have them shipped and back or take them somewhere, re-install them we are considering just getting it over with and replacing our good struts. I really hate to change the ones on my 41 because I believe they were made from a very high quality steel(I have never seen any rust even where the clamps are attached) I'm not sure the replacements would be as good. I also would rather keep the original size-with the original gross weight I just don't need larger-stronger struts.To me the AD has just created a problem rather than solved one.Not sure what I will do yet but if I replace them it will be because the AD has forced me to choose it a the lesser of 2 bad choices and not because my struts are bad.

[tawadc95]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

3D,

I understand what you and most people on here think of the A.D. and the
factory. Just keep the vitriol aimed at the perps and not a fellow member who is doing what he thinks is best for his bird.
There are as many proper answers out there as there are new strut manufacturers (I hope).

[matsuthunder200]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

I will be getting a set of struts from airframes later on after the rush is over..
I was at his factory today dropping off a set of gear legs. lee is going to rebuild them for me. I have one brand new rear strut well one month old that is on my plane it is a unavair seald strut i will sell it for 450. I just payed around 680 for it. The other rear strut is not seald but it has been exrayd and is fine. The two front struts have both been spliced problbly not worth much... I haft to have a set from air frames They are stronger than the factorys. As far as waight they are two pounds lighter for a set of four. So if you have a 65 hp you coud have 2 lbs more gas..

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Time will tell , later today I will post e-mail from Lee Budde at Airframes Inc. ; they are legal to sell and install. He sent me this over week-end. Back today full steam. It is great to see America's freedom of speech working.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

I'll say it again, ANYBODY who is getting new struts and has old (smaller) struts PLEASE do not destroy the old struts! Those of us who LIKE the original stuff WANT your old struts and I, personally, am willing to wait out the insanity and use those old (and still good) struts when the logic returns to the FAA. Even if you have a spliced old strut DO NOT DISTROY IT!!!! When this is all over I expect I will have a tension test set up (the only REAL way to know if your strut is safe, at least on the day you test it) and manufacture jig and hope to weld up new struts for my own use. (When I do, I would certainly be willing to let anyone else use the fixtures to make their own "owner manufactured" struts.) Putting new streamline tube on old (hard to build) end pieces will ease the process and with the end fitting off it would be easy to make them sealed too.
If the rules allow me to make a wholesale repair on pretty much ANY part of the plane I should certainly be allowed to repair the struts with new streamlined tube.

[barnstmr]

Re: Anyone received their new factory struts yet?

Hank,

I SECOND THAT! I will buy old struts if reasonable price and within reasonable driving distance. They would make excellent Pietenpol struts if need to have the lower ends cut off.