Light Aircraft Association

Hi,

appreciate advice on how best to protect a strut from damage by Jury Strut Clamps?

On our previous struts, the leatherette held water in contact (fabric backed), this created serious corrosion areas,.
So bad, in fact, that we had to purchase replacement struts!

Would thin rubber be better?
"Empire" Tape?

Many thanks for your help.

Simon

Hello Simon.
What type of aeroplane is it ? Also , does the manufacturer have a preferred / recommended method of fitment.
A few years ago , I helped a colleague when replacing the strut clamps on a Thruster . We found it best to treat the strut area which interfaced with the clamp with a dusting of zinc chromate and prior to assembly , smear the faces with a thin coat of JC-5 jointing compound . [ colloquially known as canary sh*t]

I wouldn't want to go 'second guessing' your Inspector though , so may be a good idea to run this by him first .

Thanks Chris.

Auster.

An Engineer has advised that propellor tape around the strut works well.

The Auster book (1950's) says "Insulating Tape".

The clamp had leatherette before - but as it is fabric backed, this does not seem a good option if directly contacting strut, as it retains water.

Simon

I used strips of old inner tube under a similar clamp, which held our door stop.

Thanks for all replies.

In the end, we used a base layer of clear prop tape - then layered three turns of coloured insulating tape (as per manual) on top.
It worked well, looks good and is removable easily and cheaply for inspection.

Will try to post a photo.

Simon

https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/ ... ShInnu1FO5

Sorry double-post - unable to delete?