Auburntsts
Well Known Member
Well I finally need to replace my door struts but for the life of me I cant find a current thread with a source and part number -- can someone help a brother out?
This is what I ordered from Bansbach Easylift. www.bansbach.com They are just a little bit stronger and I think they are perfect.
B0N0F50-100-247/XXXN Gas Spring 4"(100mm) Stroke 10"(247mm) Extended Length Customer Selected Force (120 Pounds), (SKU IAF041-006), Quantity 2.
B1 M8 Hinge Eye Endfitting (SKU I96350), Quantity 4. Note you will have to modify two of these to fit between the brackets. It can be done with a sander or a file.
C-1016 HD from Vans (HD = heavy duty, different from the one that comes with the plane): https://store.vansaircraft.com/c-1016-hd-rv-10-heavy-duty-door-strut-c-1016-hd.html
That part IS from Stabilus - picture here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Syu72UaM4YGrQGY58
What is the experience others have had with this heavy duty strut? I'm hoping to place a finish kit order soon and am making a list of deletions/substitutions...
What aspect do you want to hear about?
Not flying yet, but I have mine installed and it works:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uKtJVk7yANKiNLcr9
It's too strong to close by hand by itself, but the door itself gives enough leverage that it can be closed. I can't say about how it does over time though.
I guess I'm looking for experiences with strength (which, from your reply, seems good), longevity, and comparisons to the other 3rd party options.
Do you think it's too stiff--meaning it's so strong that it causes the door to flex excessively when being pulled closed? I'd mainly be concerned with flexing the door-to-window joint and having it become damaged or weak over time...I'm thinking of using the Silpruf window attach method.
The perfect strut barely opens the door. Too strong and you get more twist in the door as you close it, leading to a higher chance that the rear door pins won't seat.
The solution to this is to not use the latch handle to close the door. Install a pull strap vertically in line with the strut so there's no twisting moment when you pull the door closed.
What am I missing. What's wrong with the standard vans strut, are people having problems with it not holding the door up?
The perfect strut barely opens the door. Too strong and you get more twist in the door as you close it, leading to a higher chance that the rear door pins won't seat. Too weak and the door won't stay open.
Point is, stronger isn't necessarily better. Nor is it necessarily worse, particularly depending on how much add-on stuff you have attached to your door(s).
Right, so I'm looking to see if the HD strut Van's sells is an appropriate compromise between these extremes. I'm hoping others here have had some flight experience with them.
p.s. is "perfect" the brand name of the standard strut, or an Autocorrect casualty?