Aircraft Maintenance Technology

APR 2013

The aircraft maintenance professional's source for technological advancements, maintenance alerts, news, articles, events, and careers

Issue link: http://amt.epubxp.com/i/122613

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 39

MRO OPERATIONS Regional Jet Landing Gear Systems The gold standard for reliability By Charles Chandler Charles Chandler began his aviation career as a junior mechanic for American Airlines and retired after 27 years of service. 6 April 2013 Photo provided by Av-Reps. A fter many years as a passenger and a considerable number of jump seat trips, I can truly say that my most enjoyable part of the flight is when the landing gears are either in the "down and locked" or the "up and locked" positions. I love the sight of three green lights and the sound of landing gears doing precisely what they are supposed to do. I have also noticed that landing gears don't get much press until they don't do exactly what they are supposed to. Modern landing gear systems exemplify the concept of aircraft quality and those on regional jets flying short haul flights are probably the gold standard for reliability. These gears are in service for eight to 10 years and go through 10,000 to 15,000 cycles before coming in for overhaul. I find it amazing that all those links, actuators, and the strut perform as designed, and without fail, even during winter operations. I thought that it would be interesting to discuss this mystery with some experts in servicing aircraft landing gears and in cold winters. Aviation Representatives Inc. (Av-Reps) is a Canadian company specializing in component repair and overhaul for regional and larger commercial aircraft. It began operations in 2000 and has grown to occupy a 27,000-square-foot complex located in Mississauga, Ontario near Pearson International Airport (YYZ). It is certified to maintain and supply components by Transport Canada, EASA, Bombardier and is FAA accepted through the U.S. and Canada bilateral agreement. In the regional markets it supports the Canadair CRJ 100/200, CRJ 700/900, Bombardier DHC-8, ATR 42/72, and Challenger CL601/CL604. Its expertise is exchange, repair, and overhaul for DHC-8, Q400, ATR, and CRJ series aircraft landing CRJ Nose Landing Gear during final assembly and return to service at Av-Reps. gear systems. These include the main and nose assemblies, drag struts, yoke assemblies, stab stay, and steering components. The majority of AV-Reps' business is from repeat customers and referrals. It has a reputation for quality service and employing top-notch technicians that save its customers money. Technical staff Av-Reps has about 35 experienced, welltrained maintenance technicians that were recruited from the military, automotive industry, airlines, and local machine shops. Aircraft Maintenance Technology • www.AviationPros.com • www.AMTSociety.org

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Aircraft Maintenance Technology - APR 2013