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Europa Flyer - Inspector's Corner - the LG03 Bolt Exchange

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italianjon

Joined: 05 Aug 2015
Posts: 68

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 7:09 am Post subject: Europa Flyer - Inspector's Corner - the LG03 Bolt Exchange

All,



I read with interest the article in Europa Flyer on the "G-OMIK" event. Last year my Europa suffered a failure of an external support strut, in the hangar, while the gear was retracted. It has been repaired, but there was some evidence of a previous ground loop, or a high sideways stress landing, discovered. (i.e. before I bought it) So I haven't got a crystal clear picture of the history.



Although, quite rightly, the failure mode is not speculated upon in the article, I

can't quite see that any stresses were introduced to my bolts during my

incident, mainly due to the lack of forward speed. My thoughts are that when the top of the tyre impacts the top of the tunnel, that induces a large longitudinal force on the landing gear frame in the aft direction. (But just my thought). During the repairs of my aircraft the landing frame has been subject to two independent NDTs and

neither found any cracks.



So, I am thinking of replacing these bolts are a precaution. At the end of the day they are a few quid to save a lot of money and effort in repairs.



Has anyone yet followed the advice laid out in Europa Flyer? And exchanged the 4 off 5/16" UNC x 2.25" Long bolts which hold the two LG03s in place? I'm asking about experiences in completing the job - these are the question in my mind at the moment: -



1) Is it a simple case of swapping the bolts?

	- What I am asking is are there any special precautions to

take. Is this case of supporting the aircraft on blocks, then carefully

removing/replacing one bolt at a time, before finally setting the

torque correctly and wire locking.



2) Would it make more sense to do this job with the gear retracted?

	- My thoughts here is that the bungee cord is at minimum

tension when retracted. 



or 3) Is it better to remove and replace the bungee cord?



4) Are there any "gotchas" that have been experienced, when doing this

job?



Very best,



Jon

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pjeffers(at)talktalk.net
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 8:05 am Post subject: Europa Flyer - Inspector's Corner - the LG03 Bolt Exchange

Sorry Jon I meant to get back to you a while ago but other matters in life

got in the way. Changing the bolts is quite straight forward and should

ideally be accomplished with the gear retracted and the weight off if

possible.  Change one bolt at a time but do the final torqueing and wire

locking after all new bolts are in position. I am not aware if anyone has

taken my advice since I have no authority to mandate this action. It just

seems a wise (and cheap) precaution to take following any form of u/c

collapse after a ground looping incident. 

Incidents in the hangar may be considered differently.  The GOMIK incident

and other similar were NOT hangar incidents.

Pete

Ps I hope Wife and Kids OK and you may be getting a bit more sleep

now.................perhaps?



--

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italianjon

Joined: 05 Aug 2015
Posts: 68

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 9:41 am Post subject: Re: Europa Flyer - Inspector's Corner - the LG03 Bolt Exchan

Hi Peter,



Thanks for the reply, don't worry about not getting back to the PM. I fully understand what life can be like. Hope all is well with you back in Blighty. Things my end are going OK. Albeit I have forgotten what sleep is, and have to feed the twins every 2 to 3 hours. Janine is recovering well and should be back to 100% in the next 3 to 4 weeks. It was a bit of a traumatic arrival, but now that all is well, I can say I had fun with the ambulance ride to the hospital - it was scary at the time though.



I guess I should apologies to you too for jumping on the forum and not waiting a bit longer for your reply; it's just with the change of family situation, I've had my weekend pass (rightfully) revoked for the time being, and have an opportunity to do this job, with Christoph (who helps/assists/double checks things with me on my Europa) during the week, next week.



Thanks for the information on the bolt change, it sounds pretty straight forward and I agree with what you say, a cheap and easy precautionary act, which should save a lot of potential hassle in the long run. Plus more peace of mind in cross wind landings, knowing things are newer and (hopefully) stronger there.



Best



Jon

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