Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironflight
It is actually fairly rough duty for a little AN3 Heim joint stem I think - and it has seen a lot of bouncing around in 500 hours. Actually, if I recall correctly this Silver bullet we got used from someone - so it might be more than that. We'll probably rebuild both ends when I get a few spares in hand Alex.
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Concur Paul. I've had 5 failures in 1000 hours out of Stead (grand canyon expansion joins here). 3 different brands of link...2 links failed at the weld, and 3 bearings failed at the insertion point. All the bearing failures were at the aft end of the link, just like Paul's photo. Haven't seen a problem at the front, but Axel's point is good.
Its always been very controllable on the landings. Typically I haven't realized the TW steering was gone until turning off the runway, so it hasn't been dicey. I race with no link and a 4" TW too, so its not a horrid controllability concern, IMHO. Of course, the Super Six is docile on the ground...long and tall like a Rocket, and wider as a SBS, so YMMV.
As for root cause analysis?agreed Pete, we want to know why?but since you can hear an RV taxiing a mile away across the field here (sounds like a base drum at every joint), it seems logical. Tough TW duty here, as Paul said.
I know there is a tar flow off the coast of Madagascar, with all the tar we pour in the joints each year here that seems to disappear into the earth's core!
Cheers,
Bob