Best Skymaster gear expert?

[Todd Gessel]

I have a '77 33G, non-turbo, non-pressurized. The left main gear is not locking into place as it seems the locking actuator is extending before the gear is in full down position and is hitting the extended actuator, thus preventing it from moving into place.

Does anyone know who the worlds best Skymaster gear expert is?

Thanks,

Todd
Phoenix, Arizona (however, the plane is currently in SE Texas)

[JeffAxel]

if you are a Cessna Pilots Assoc. member, give Tom Carr a call at www.Cessna.org.
He is one of the most knowledgeable Skymaster guys I have met!

[stackj]

Todd,

I'm no expert on the gear, but I know you can extend/retract the gear using the hand pump instead of a mule. This may slow down the operation so you can see exactly what is going on.

Good Luck


By the way... Don Nieser has a pretty good grasp of the skymaster systems. He usually sells us parts but knows the airframe pretty well too.

[hharney]

Just a word of caution; do not over use the hand pump. It can actually increase the pressure that the system normally sees and it is made to use in emergencies only. Like any componant in the aircraft it has a life cycle. I don't think you want to shorten the life of that pericular componant.

[Todd Gessel]

I want to thank everyone for the help. The mechanic worked on it some more and found that the hydraulic hoses were routed in a way that caused the problem. A slight adjustment to the location of the hose routing seems to have corrected the problem.

[Dave Underwood]

The routing of the hoses is the problem. You want the hoses positioned so down locks are held in the up position until the gear strikes them and causes them to start to swing. At that time the movement opens a valve and causes them to pressurize and lock down.

If the locks start to pressurize too early you will have problems.

Good luck.