Front Prop Clearance and Nose Strut Deflated

[Frank Benvin]

The cap on the valve should be able to be loosened with your fingers

You can see it in the picture attached

Frank

[CO_Skymaster]

Thanks Frank.

That's what mine looks like, good to see I'm on the right track. I was also looking at a nose jack as my first jack purchase. I was looking at Alpha Aviation (those are the red hydraulic jacks I see on Aircraft Spruce), but I can't find the specific model for the nose. Does anyone have a recommendation for a nose jack model or even another company?

Thanks,

Karl

[Kim Geyer]

If you are only servicing with nitrogen or air I have done this without a jack. I would connect the nitrogen bottle and stet the regulator to @ 30 psi then pull down on the booms till the strut was full extended. When the weight was put back on the nose gear, you can see if you need a little more or not if you don’t have enough extension add a few psi and do it again.

[CO_Skymaster]

Thanks Kim,

But I'm the only one working on the aircraft at the moment. I could go grab a friend of two to help me, but I don't want to rely on that. I think I figured out what jack to get, but I need to go find the measured clearance from the ground to the nose jack point to be sure.

Karl

[SteveG]

This sounds like you're considering jacking the nose wheel off the ground using only a front jack. IMHO that's a poor idea. The front jack point is primarily used to stabilize the aircraft while supported by wing jacks. Lifting the nose without tail boom stands risks dumping the aircraft over backwards. Take care.

[mshac]

Originally Posted by SteveG

This sounds like you're considering jacking the nose wheel off the ground using only a front jack. IMHO that's a poor idea. The front jack point is primarily used to stabilize the aircraft while supported by wing jacks. Lifting the nose without tail boom stands risks dumping the aircraft over backwards. Take care.

This is why its really a two-man operation to safely lift the nose. If you do it alone, try to find something to support the tail or you could be buying new lower tail cones

I'm just throwing ideas - old tires stacked up, a rolling toolbox/bench covered with cardboard or towels, the open gate of a pick up truck. A tail stand would be ideal, but finding one tall enough for the 337 can be a challenge.

Let us know how it goes, and remember, without pictures, it never happened.

[CO_Skymaster]

Finally, I was able to remove the nose strut valve cap. Victory is mine!!! Que the maniacal laughter

I was going to upload some photos of how I lifted the nose and that gave me enough room to stick my hand behind the gear to remove the valve cover, but the Managed Attachments for files are failing. I don't know if it is a size issue, but how are people loading the picture that only show up as a link?

I have a nitrogen bottle and regulator which should arrive before next weekend. I will try to charge the strut. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks to everyone who helped me with this,

Karl