Understanding how your aircraft landing gear motor works is the first step in making sure it is well-maintained and doesn’t cause issues in your aircraft. In this article, we are going to explore landing gear motors, required maintenance, the different components, and what repairs are required to keep your landing gear motor in optimal condition.
How does an aircraft landing gear motor work?
An electric retractable landing gear uses an electrically driven motor for gear operation. Electric retractable landing gear is lighter weight and requires less maintenance. It is also found on three popular Beechcraft models that use electric motors to operate the landing gear and flap:
🛩️ Bonanza
🛩️ Baron
🛩️ King Air
Because landing gear on these models are powered through electrical energy, they are prone to heavy wear that breaks down the metal and electrical components. This causes smaller parts such as wires and electric brushes to go bad, which if not corrected causes major parts like the armature and field assembly to break down.
Check out this helpful video from SUU Aviation to learn more about how a Beechcraft Bonanza and Baron landing gear system works:
Check out our blog post about aircraft electrical systems to learn more about how landing gear motors work.
Aircraft Landing Gear Motor Components
An aircraft landing gear motor consists of several different parts:
↪️ Housing
↪️ Armature
↪️ Field Assembly
↪️ Bearings
↪️ Brushes
↪️ Wires
INSIDER TIP:
Send your landing gear motor for overhaul at manufacturers recommended TBO (time between overhaul) to extend the life of your motor. Postponing maintenance can cause internal parts to damaged past point of repair, leading to expensive bills and long lead times.
During overhaul, the electrical components must go through proper cleaning processes and electrical testing to ensure they are in excellent operational condition. There can’t be any shorts and they must be able to withstand the energy that goes through them when in use. Every armature and field assembly must not only pass visual and dimensional inspection, but they must also undergo electrical testing to ensure the windings are strong enough to perform their job. If these parts are bad, the motor will not produce the required speed and power needed to retract and extend the gear. This condition also degrades the motor’s ability to stop or brake as required, which will cause internal damage to the gear system or airframe.
AAI offers electrical rewinding so that the entire motor doesn’t have to get thrown away when it is sent in for overhaul. Additionally, AAI manufacturers FAA approved replacement brushes to avoid high cost and long lead times found with the OEM. This is more cost effective, and you get a part that is as good as new instead of having to buy a brand new one.
Aircraft Landing Gear Maintenance and Repairs
When the landing gear motor gets old, general wear and tear happens. Electrical components wear, wires wear, and unfortunately, there isn’t a lot you can do in terms of preventative maintenance. The best tip is adhering to Beechcraft’s time between overhaul recommendation of 2,000 hours.
For Bonanza and Baron, we recommend following American Bonanza Society’s procedure to check the dynamic brake function. If your gear system fails this check, most of the time the motor is to blame. Check out the American Bonanza Society’s landing gear inspection checklist and repair guide.
Additionally, be sure to check for a burning smell, loose wires and connections and check the retraction and extension speed.
AAI Can Repair and Overhaul Your Beechcraft Aircraft Landing Gear Motor
AAI can help you save money and time when it comes to landing gear motor repair. We make our own FAA approved brush assemblies in house that saves thousands for operators. Additionally, we control the cost and lead times, which helps you get your plane back in the air faster. We also offer armature and field assembly rewind so that the entire motor doesn’t have to get thrown away when it is sent in for overhaul.
We make it easy for you to get the parts you need:
1. Call AAI
2. Get a quote
3. Fix your plane and fly