National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

Hello,
Looking for two servicable no bounce landing gear case frames for my 57 7EC Champ. If you have any, or know someone who does, please let me know! Thanks,
Ray Franke 610-417-0041 rayfranke@hotmail.com

Ray,

Believe that any of the 7/11 series landing gear case frames will work.

The no-bounce landing gear is an insert that then is installed into the case frame but will work with any of the standard Chief/Champ landing gear frames.

Joe A

Joe is right the case frames are the same its the oleo's that are different.

I have a complete landing gear with wheels and mechanical brakes for $650.00. I am in Georgia. 678-230-0182

Jeff,

What kind of wheels and brakes? If these are Cleveland, then thats a very good price.

Joe

Thanks for info guys, I thought all the case frames were the same but I put in no bounce just in case. been too damn busy to do the research!
Sedan looks nice Joe! I just bought a Swift, trying to not let it distract me from the Champ too much!
Buying gear from Jeff
Thanks, Ray

Hi Ray, forgot to mention there is one slight mod you have to do to the case frames to use the Long stroke (no bounce) oleo's, the top bolt used with the long stroke oleo's is a -5 vs a -4 for the original oleo's so either you drill out the upper hole or make a bushing to go in the oleo.

Gary,
That must be why my gear legs are slightly different. I noticed it this fall when I took the floats off. One leg has a bushing and the other doesn't.
Keith
PS. When is this wind going to let up so I can burn some fossil fuel? Only been up for a few minutes in the last three weeks. Guess i should get to work on my skis.

Mnflyer wrote:Hi Ray, forgot to mention there is one slight mod you have to do to the case frames to use the Long stroke (no bounce) oleo's, the top bolt used with the long stroke oleo's is a -5 vs a -4 for the original oleo's so either you drill out the upper hole or make a bushing to go in the oleo.

I am working on my Oleo's right now and I have one that is different than the other. One looks like the drawing for a bounce strut. Retainer holds the spring in place. Then small bolt goes through the retainer bushing.

On the other one there is no retainer but a small plug that goes at the end of the piston. this slides up and the larger bolt goes through the hole thing. You can here the spring flopping around in side if you tip it over.

I measured both springs and they are almost 11 inches. They are the same length. Is it bad to have two differnt kinds on at the same time?

Dan

DMichaels wrote:Is it bad to have two differnt kinds on at the same time?

Dan

Only if you want to look funny on the ground!

Dan,
If you are saying you have one no bounce and one regular oleo then you certainly don't want to try to operate with one of each.

Tim

Tim Juhl wrote:Dan,
If you are saying you have one no bounce and one regular oleo then you certainly don't want to try to operate with one of each.

Tim

Well I have looked at the drawing for the no bounce and the housing does not look the same as the bounce housing. I have two bounce housings, but one of the housings has a AN 5 bolt holding the piston in and the other has a AN 4 bolt that goes through a spring retainer and bushing.


something is just not right and I have not figured it out yet. I thought that the spring reatiner had broken on the one, but the bolt is different and by reading this thread it sounds like the larger an5 bolt may be a no bounce piston in a regular strut housing. When you work on something that others have fixed before and cobbled together it is hard to know if it is right or not.

Dan

The caseframe is the same for both types of oleos. I replaced my standard oleos with NB types and simply had to drill out the hole for the retaining bolt. The oleos are secured into the caseframe in the same manner - spring up. As others have said, the standard oleo is secured by a AN4 bolt, the no-bounce by a AN5. The actual piston is inside the fluid chamber. It sounds like one of your struts might be missing it's aluminum spring retainer.

Perhaps if you included some photos we might be able to better understand what you've got.

Tim

Tim Juhl wrote:
Perhaps if you included some photos we might be able to better understand what you've got.

Tim

Strut housings one on left has bigger hole







The one on the left uses the bigger bolt. That part goes inside the piston. There was no retainer but it looks like something is still in the housing. Does not look like the retainer though.

The one on the right was fastened with the retainer and came out as a unit. There was no pressure on the spring to remove the bushing.

Dan

Dan,
It looks to me like you have a few problems to deal with... Pictures can't show everything but here are my observations based upon what I can see:
1.) It appears that the caseframe on the right has been damaged at some time in the past. The piece across the top looks like it has been bent and some welding repair has been made. It doesn't look like the repair was of the highest quality. I'm also curious as to the condition of the bronze bushings that the oleo struts ride in. There is a good chance it may be worn and need replacement.

2.) Your oleo struts are of the original type (not no bounce.) They look a bit worn and I am concerned about their overall condition. The oversize hole in the piston rod assembly (small tube) of one unit is because it is overly worn. The end has also been deformed which indicates that it has been exposed to some abuse. Considering the fact that the oleo is held in the caseframe by an AN4 bolt through an aluminum retainer, bushing and this hole, failure would result in the oleo dropping out of the caseframe and your landing gear dangling uselessly from the aircraft. The small insert was apparently someone's attempt to reinforce the end but it does not belong. The larger aluminum retainer should be used on both oleos....somewhere along the line a previous owner must have lost one.

While you are inspecting the oleos, remove the brass plug and push the piston rod assembly into the housing until you can see the piston through the hole. If the piston is phenolic instead of aluminum, the oleo MUST not be used.

Due to the rough condition of the oleos in general, it wouldn't surprise me if the packing in the stuffing box is worn which would let the oil leak out.

The fact that the spring was not compressed by the retainer indicates that the spring is weak.

Bottom line, if these were my oleos I would be looking at getting them rebuilt or replaced. There is no way I would put them back on my airplane in their present condition. I would also have the caseframes gone through and brought up to snuff. While you're at it, you should be checking the landing gear fittings on the airframe and axle strut for slop and consider repairs as needed.

I hope that some of the other guys will chime in as many on this list have had to deal with landing gear issues. Obviously it isn't an area that you can ignore.

You've probably already seen this but there is a write up on oleo maintenance at <http://www.hangar9aeroworks.com/Aeronca ... strut.html>

Good luck!

Tim