Originally Posted by
FDXLAG
And someone had to replace all the 40 year old main landing gear that was not, I repeat not, the cause of any of our landing gear collapsing mishaps.
Haven't heard anything about new MD-10 landing gear? When did that happen? The last I heard they were VERY EXPENSIVE when they were being manufactured (forged) many years ago. They haven't made them in years and there were none sitting around "just in case" someone needed them?
I'm kind of a landing gear geek. I've attended Boeing (former McDonnell Douglas), ALPA & NTSB meetings about MD10/11 landing gear problems. Are there better inspection programs for high cycle gear? We actually retrieved old out of service gear to test new technology inspection procedures.
The -10 landing gear is different from the -11 landing gear (not just the center gear). There is a company in Burbank that overhauls FedEx landing gear. FedEx unbolts the gear from the wing and ships it to Burbank (tires, wheels brakes and all). The overhaul company entirely disassembles it into 100+ (?) parts, overhauls each of them ... reassembles it all and ships it back to FedEx to bolt the entire assembly back on another airplane wing.
It looks like a brand new landing gear when they're done (w/10,000 cycles on it?).
I wonder if that's what you're talking about?
FYI ... the DC-10-30 landing gear and the MD-11 landing gear are the same. FedEx upgraded the MD-10 brakes to the MD-11 tires, wheels, brakes and axels.