A few weeks ago my build partner, David DeFord,
and I were out doing some pattern work and were
having problems with our landings. The plane was
bouncing rather badly, even on what would usually
be considered a good touch-down. We later
removed the main gear shock assembly and
inspected the dampers. We had borrowed
a pair of new ones from a fellow builder, and
compared them to our old ones, which have
about 100 hours on them now. Our old ones
felt the same as the new ones, but we noticed
some oily fluid at the bottom of one.
We replaced the old dampers with the new
ones and then went out to check the landings.
The bounce was gone, the dampers really
work well.
I just hope our bad one was an anomaly,
not the norm, as this could get expensive,
at about $250 every 100 hours or so (not
counting the half day it takes to replace them).
Has anyone else had this happen?
If these do wear out this fast, is there
an alternative damper that might last
longer?
Terry Seaver
A135 / N135TD
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