REFLECTOR:Gear Speed

[reflector@tvbf.org]

At 12:48 AM 12/27/03 -0500, Dave Black wrote:
>
>Yet, we have documented these problems:
>1) Weak gas strut (failure to push/hold linkage overcenter)
>2) Gear caught in well (inadequate side guides)
>3) Gear mechanism binds; fails to drop with authority
>4) Gear door stuck closed for reasons unrelated to air loads, such as sequence
>valve stuck or side arms too tight
>5) Overcenter linkage adjusted improperly (hard to push overcenter or won't
>stay there)
>6) Gas strut seized, freezing gear in 'UP' position

The odds of a gas strut seizing are very, very low, in the 10,000 to 1 
range.  It's just an unusual failure mode that I wanted to point out.  The 
odds of it happening on the very same gear extension as a hydraulic failure 
are down in the 6 sigma range, literally a million to one.  If it does 
happen, it will happen with a working hydraulic system.

Then, the outcome depends on how strong the mounts for the balls are, and 
how strong the hydraulics are.  I suspect it would rip the ball out.

Remember, a nose gear failure in a Velocity is nothing compared to a nose 
gear failure in a tractor RG.  It's a few weekends to repair.  In a Lancair 
4 it's $25k for a new prop and an engine teardown.