Had a flap actuator gear strip on a King Air 200 during preflight checks

It happened last Tuesday morning, right before the plane was set to fly. I was cycling the flaps and heard a nasty grinding noise from the right wing. The actuator was moving but the flap wasn't. We had to ground the plane and pull the unit. Has anyone else dealt with a failed spur gear on a Bendix actuator? What's your go-to fix beyond just swapping the whole box?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_webb2810d ago

That exact grinding sound is a bad day waiting to happen. We've had luck just replacing the stripped spur gear itself if the housing checks out, it saves pulling the whole actuator. Just make sure you get the right part number from the IPC before you order anything.

the_emery10d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, I learned that the hard way last year. I was so sure I had the right gear I ordered it by memory. Got everything apart only to find the new one was two teeth off. Had to put the whole sad, grindy mess back together and wait another week for the right part. Felt like a real genius staring at that wrong gear on my workbench.

wyattc7610d ago

Honestly, that moment of staring at the wrong part is the worst. It makes you triple-check everything now, which isn't a bad thing. A lot of those gears look identical until you count teeth or check the shaft size. Taking a phone picture of the part number right on the old gear before you pull it can save so much headache. Saved my butt more than once when the stamped numbers were faded.