Cessna 150 Main Gear Strut bent inward?

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Joffreyyy

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Joffreyyy
I noticed after my annual was done one of the struts (the right side) was bent inwards a bit too much it is hard to explain so I will attach a picture of the 2 sides even the left side looks SLIGHTLY bent inwards.

Is this normal? Or is this a bad sign?



vl3yc.jpg
(right side from cockpit)
vrppps.jpg
(left side from cockpit)
 
If you rotate the plane in a tight radius using brakes one main will tuck a little. The same can happen if the plane is tied down and rocks in the wind. Don't be too concerned about it unless it doesn't straighten out next time you taxi.
 
Stewartb said:
If you rotate the plane in a tight radius using brakes one main will tuck a little. The same can happen if the plane is tied down and rocks in the wind. Don't be too concerned about it unless it doesn't straighten out next time you taxi.
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its been this way for a week now I mean the picture is hard to tell but I do turn the plane very sharply to park it every time.. Maybe this is why. I will have to taxi around and take a look.

(Today I did a hard left turn to park it to push back in a tight spot) would that make the right main tucked in?

if so from now on I will just park it straight and push it the whole way into the turn.
 
Don't worry about it, those legs are spring steel. You'd probably rip the gear box out before you could bend them. Turning will cause them to either spread or converge. Just taxi or pull the airplane straight forward then look at them. No concerns as to how they may look after turning into a spot it's not going to hurt the.
 
Silvaire said:
Don't worry about it, those legs are spring steel. You'd probably rip the gear box out before you could bend them. Turning will cause them to either spread or converge. Just taxi or pull the airplane straight forward then look at them. No concerns as to how they may look after turning into a spot it's not going to hurt the.
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Ives seen a nasa crash testing video where the bottom of the fuselage contacted the ground bending the flat springs up to the doors and it still rolled on the flat mains away from the impact after springing back :eek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1yWkbJuqkE

Starts at 7 minutes
 
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bnt83 said:
Ives seen a nasa crash testing video where the bottom of the fuselage contacted the ground bending the flat springs up to the doors and it still rolled on the flat mains away from the impact after springing back :eek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1yWkbJuqkE

Starts at 7 minutes
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Almost too good, looks like it catapulted the tail end of those 182's back into the air after the initial impact.
 
Joffreyyy said:
its been this way for a week now I mean the picture is hard to tell but I do turn the plane very sharply to park it every time.. Maybe this is why. I will have to taxi around and take a look.

(Today I did a hard left turn to park it to push back in a tight spot) would that make the right main tucked in?

if so from now on I will just park it straight and push it the whole way into the turn.
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Pull out and roll straight a bit, then look. If it is still that way, look inside and out at the attach point area for tears, wrinkles, or other obvious defects. If none are found, don't worry about it. If the plane tracks straight on just the mains on landing, that's all you care about. The leg itself is a big assed hunk of spring steel, even if somehow it got recurved a bit, it's not going to kill you.

If it is a shift from tight turns into parking, now you know wat it is. If you can turn a bit earlier so you roll straight the last couple of feet, that should solve it. If not, don't worry about it.
 
Silvaire said:
Almost too good, looks like it catapulted the tail end of those 182's back into the air after the initial impact.
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I would really like to have seen the fuel tanks full and whether or not they rupture in that test.
 
More fuel on one side?

Life the others said, your gear box will deform way before those gear will. I cant think of anything done in a annual that could possibly cause that.

Also I see they are painted, I'd imagine for how far you would have to bend the gear legs for them to be "out of true" your paint would have had obvious signs of damage.

I'd put my money on you're OK
 
Watch your tread wear, if it does not appear to be scuffed "toe in / toe out" then you're ok.
The T-41B I fly appears to have an obvious bend on one side. The tires wear perfectly. Measure wing tips to the ground and one is about 1.5 inches lower. Watch it taxi away and you can see it if you pay attention. We know it was run off the runway at Grand Cayon about 20yrs ago. Got pranked there. Checked everything where the gear legs attach, nothing bent, cracked or otherwise damaged. Just one gear leg got a little "unsprung".
 
as a follow up I taxied around in a straight line for a good distance and it was still bent inward.

I feel like it does cause issues on landings it seems to move the plane very slightly to the other side (There is no damage to anything relating to the gears It is just the weird angle it appears to be at I made 100% sure)


Also was worried about what someone else posted one side of the tire wearing much faster then the other.


Anyways thanks for the replies Guess I will have to live with it
 
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Joffreyyy said:
as a follow up I taxied around in a straight line for a good distance and it was still bent inward.

You have a problem. get it fixed.

I feel like it does cause issues on landings it seems to move the
Anyways thanks for the replies Guess I will have to live with it
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No you don't, get it fixed. Some thing in that aircraft is bent. find it, fix it.
 
There are various tapered shims between the axle flange and the gear leg to permit wheel alignment. Someone might have had your apart and got something reversed. Better look at that end.

Dan
 
Dan Thomas said:
There are various tapered shims between the axle flange and the gear leg to permit wheel alignment. Someone might have had your apart and got something reversed. Better look at that end.

Dan
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I agree with this going to have an A&P take a look thanks.
 
Henning said:
Also report the shim wedge orientation between the axle and leg.
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Let me know if this is what you meant
( from left from in cockpit to right)
Back
6/32 rib one left
8/32 rib two
8/32
7/32 right


Front
6/32
6/32
7/32
6/32


The wedges are hard to see but it looks like there are 4 plates on the bent wheel and 2 on the good one it is hard to see as I didnt have much time to look from my lunch break

Im no expert so if you meant something else if you can clarify I can better provide answers.
 
Joffreyyy said:
Let me know if this is what you meant
( from left from in cockpit to right)
Back
6/32 rib one left
8/32 rib two
8/32
7/32 right


Front
6/32
6/32
7/32
6/32


The wedges are hard to see but it looks like there are 4 plates on the bent wheel and 2 on the good one it is hard to see as I didnt have much time to look from my lunch break

Im no expert so if you meant something else if you can clarify I can better provide answers.
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Nope. Pick the middle rib on left and right tire, now measure from mid on left to right tire at the back side of the tires, then measure between the same ribs on the front side of the tires. What you are trying to measure is how close the two wheels are to parallel with each other.
 
Henning said:
Nope. Pick the middle rib on left and right tire, now measure from mid on left to right tire at the back side of the tires, then measure between the same ribs on the front side of the tires. What you are trying to measure is how close the two wheels are to parallel with each other.
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Ah I understand now few hours will update
 
I think "Light Plane Maintenance " had an article on aircraft wheel alignment and toe in/out effects. I forget if it was Mike Bush or one of the other authors. Might be worthwhile to find and have someone experienced in this take a look.
 
BillTIZ said:
I think "Light Plane Maintenance " had an article on aircraft wheel alignment and toe in/out effects. I forget if it was Mike Bush or one of the other authors. Might be worthwhile to find and have someone experienced in this take a look.
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Well to my surprise it looks like the wheel is crooked

The back is 76" the front is 75" ( these were at low points at the ground id imagine it to be worse if i had someone holding the other side midway up the wheel)

How do i see the wedges? Do i need to take anything off?
 
Joffreyyy said:
Well to my surprise it looks like the wheel is crooked

The back is 76" the front is 75" ( these were at low points at the ground id imagine it to be worse if i had someone holding the other side midway up the wheel)

How do i see the wedges? Do i need to take anything off?
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1" is far too much. Look where the the bolts go through the spring leg and into the axle flange. Between the flange and leg are the wedge shims. Most likely with the thick ends all the rear.
 
Henning said:
1" is far too much. Look where the the bolts go through the spring leg and into the axle flange. Between the flange and leg are the wedge shims. Most likely with the thick ends all the rear.
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My annual he changed the right tire ( the one thats bad ) he did a bad job huh? Trying to find the wedges now
 
Joffreyyy said:
My annual he changed the right tire ( the one thats bad ) he did a bad job huh? Trying to find the wedges now
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Changing the tire would have no possible effect. You have to go further into disassembly to change the toe of the spindle, or you have to bend something.

You may not have any shims, and you may have to remove the pant to spot them.
 
Henning said:
Changing the tire would have no possible effect. You have to go further into disassembly to change the toe of the spindle, or you have to bend something.

You may not have any shims.
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Interesting could I have caused it?
 
Not to my knowlegde my landings are very good usually and never side loaded

I will wait until my A&p takes a look. It somehow happened after the annual before I even took it out of there. ( i didnt think much of it at first until now)

Thank you guys for all the info learning a ton
 
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Using the tread grooves isn't an accurate measurement of wheel alignment. These horrible aircraft quality tires are often rather sloppily made compared to auto tires. Shoot, they're still bias-ply, something automobiles abandoned about 40 years ago.

As per the Cessna manual, you use a nice straight board and set it on blocks in front of, and against, the centerline of the tires. Then you use a carpenter's square and a wooden block, accurately cut, to fit between the wheel's rim and the square. The angle between the board and the block against the wheel determines toe-in/toe-out. It's still a crude method but far more accurate than the tire tread.

Then the block and an inclinometer is used to determine camber. In the OP's case, the camber is way off.

Dan
 
Camber is the measurement from top to bottom, toe is the measurement from front to rear. I don't care how crap a tire is, if you can measure an inch of toe in with a tape measure, you have a problem.
 
BillTIZ said:
I think "Light Plane Maintenance " had an article on aircraft wheel alignment and toe in/out effects. I forget if it was Mike Bush or one of the other authors. Might be worthwhile to find and have someone experienced in this take a look.
Click to expand...

The Cessna 100 service manual has the proper procedure.

Having 2 in one side and 4 in the other tells ya somptin.
 
Henning said:
Camber is the measurement from top to bottom, toe is the measurement from front to rear. I don't care how crap a tire is, if you can measure an inch of toe in with a tape measure, you have a problem.
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The proper method is to lay a yard stick along the brake disk on each side and measure the difference at the ends of the yard stick.
 
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