Aircraft Landing Gear Overhaul

Introduction to Landing Gear Overhaul

What is landing gear overhaul?

Landing gear overhaul is a critical maintenance procedure designed to keep your aircraft’s landing systems operating at peak performance. Whether you are flying a single engine aircraft or corporate jet, your landing gear must be properly inspected and maintained to ensure proper and safe operation. 
Why is landing gear overhaul critical for safety and compliance? 
Because landing gear is exposed to all types of environmental conditions, corrosion, wear and tear is all too common. Landing gear overhaul can prevent failures that lead to downtime and safety hazards.

AAI’s Landing Gear Overhaul Process

AAI can help with overhaul, repair, exchange, troubleshooting, testing, and restoration.

Here’s a breakdown of how we overhaul your landing gear:

1. When AAI receives your landing gear, a work ordered is generated to maintain traceability throughout the overhaul process and checked to make sure every component is accounted for.    
2. The landing gear moves to the technicians. Every component is inspected to make sure there are no missing or additional parts.
3. The landing gear is fully disassembled to see what is going on and ensure there aren’t any hidden issues that can’t be seen just by looking at it.   
4. The landing gear is stripped down. Primary coating, primer, cadmium plating, etc. to the bare metal as required to check for any hidden issues.   
5. Visual and dimensional inspection is completed to see what parts need to be replaced or reconditioned.   
6. Non-destructive testing is done to check for hidden issues that can’t been seen with naked eye   
7. Cadmium plating, anodizing and other metal treatments are added to the part as a base layer of protection.   
8. Required repairs such as re-chroming, oversize hole repairs and bushing replacement are completed.   
9. Paint is applied to the part for an added layer of protection   
10. The landing gear is fully reassembled back to operational condition.    
11. After the landing gear is reassembled, extensive testing is done to make sure the landing gear is up to the best possible standard.   
12. Final quality inspections are completed, and airworthiness certifications are issued.    
13. You get your gear back and your plane back in the air!    

Landing Gear Regulatory Compliance and Documentation

FAA Requirements

If you’re an aircraft owner, understanding FAA requirements for your aircraft is critical. Aircraft owners should pay attention to TBO recommendations from manufacturers. For Part 135 operators and Part 91 Operators, there are different maintenance requirements.

In the United States, part 135 operators are required to comply with the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance programs, including TBO recommendations. This means they must adhere to the manufacturer’s specified intervals for engine and component overhauls.

Here is the list of required maintenance for part 91 operators according to the Code of Federal Regulations:

• The aircraft must have an annual inspection (and 100-hour inspections if required).  
• All airworthiness directives must be complied with.  
• The Airworthiness Limitation Section of a manufacturer’s manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness must be complied with.  
• The aircraft must be maintained in an airworthy condition.  

Learn more about overhaul requirements under part 91 from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Maintenance records/traceability  

When you send your landing gear in for overhaul at AAI, a work order is generated to maintain traceability throughout the overhaul process and checked to make sure every component is accounted for. Traceability guarantees that each component fitted to an aircraft has a document origin and complies with rigorous aviation safety standards.

Overhaul Workflow and Station Capablities

Step-by-step Overhaul Process

Here’s a breakdown of how we overhaul your landing gear:

1. When AAI receives your landing gear, a work ordered is generated to maintain traceability throughout the overhaul process and checked to make sure every component is accounted for.    
2. The landing gear moves to the technicians. Every component is inspected to make sure there are no missing or additional parts.   
3. The landing gear is fully disassembled to see what is going on and ensure there aren’t any hidden issues that can’t be seen just by looking at it.   
4. The landing gear is stripped down. Primary coating, primer, cadmium plating, etc. to the bare metal as required to check for any hidden issues.   
5. Visual and dimensional inspection is completed to see what parts need to be replaced or reconditioned.   
6. Non-destructive testing is done to check for hidden issues that can’t been seen with naked eye   
7. Cadmium plating, anodizing and other metal treatments are added to the part as a base layer of protection.   
8. Required repairs such as re-chroming, oversize hole repairs and bushing replacement are completed.   
9. Paint is applied to the part for an added layer of protection   
10. The landing gear is fully reassembled back to operational condition.    
11. After the landing gear is reassembled, extensive testing is done to make sure the landing gear is up to the best possible standard.   
12. Final quality inspections are completed, and airworthiness certifications are issued.    
13. You get your gear back and your plane back in the air!    

How long does landing gear overhaul take?

It depends, but a landing gear overhaul can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months, with common time frames being 30-45 days for many aircraft.

Some factors that influence turnaround time are: 

• Aircraft type 
• Condition of gear 
• Spare parts 
• Exchange programs 
• Shop capabilities 

How much does landing gear overhaul cost?

AAI quotes standard rate inspection that include all the necessary labor and parts to disassemble, clean, inspect, reassemble, and test. Once the landing gear is inspected, there may be items that are considered “above and beyond” standard overhau

Items that may be considered “above and beyond” standard overhaul:  

• Corroded parts such as piston tubes and trunnions  
• Bent, broken or missing parts  
• Parts that require replacement due to airworthiness directives or service bulletins  

These repairs can take more time, but the cost benefits often outweigh not having an airplane for a few weeks.

   

Common Findings and Repair Actions

Common Findings

The landing gear takes a beating every time it is used due to the force of it hitting runways consistently. This causes a lot of stress, which is why it is so important to stay on top of maintenance.

Identifying corrosion early can save you money, especially on landing gear. There are different types of corrosion, including uniform surface attack, intergranular corrosion, stress corrosion, crevice or deposit corrosion, and filiform corrosion.  

Landing gear-related accidents (LGRAs) are very common, but also very avoidable.

Here are a few types of LGRAs according to AOPA: 

• The “oops, I forgot,” or classic gear-up landing (like my near-LGRA experience). 
• The gear collapses on the landing roll, but not because of any known mechanical problem. Chances are the squat switch failed when the pilot inadvertently put the gear switch in the up position. A side load during a too-vigorous turn may open the squat switch momentarily, allowing the gear to retract. 
• The true mechanical failure, in which there’s nothing that can be done from the cockpit to completely extend the gear. 

Options AAI Provides 

Once we inspect your landing gear, it’s typical we’ll find some sort of corrosion and wear. At that point, we’ll either offer to repair it or replace it.  

Check out this video for more information about the process: