dent in wing strut

[cub12]

does anybody know how big if any of a dent you are allowed in a wing strut? I have a set of new univair wing struts and the rear strut has a small dent in it about 1/4inch from the leading edge the size of a quarter and about 1/16inch deep no kinks. i called univair and they blamed it on shipping and told me it was my call.just wondering if their are any limits or have been any failures from something like this. the dent is half way up the strut.
thanks Marc

[Speedo]

This came up a couple of years ago, and I don't recall a specific size, depth, or location being spelled out. You may be able to find that earlier thread, but I don't recall how it originated.

In flight I'd think the strut would be largely in tension, in which case it could handle a fairly large dent. I'd think turbulence would put the strut in compression, but have no feel for how great the load might be. Would this be covered in AC 43.13? Do you suppose Clyde Smith would know?

Eric

[S2D]

If its a new one, send it back and let them send you another one.
If its your oops, your IA can deal with it at annual time. (that's what you pay them the big bucks for)
1/16 " deep doesn't sound bad enough to ground the airplane.

[T.J.]

delete

[AIRWOLF]

I agree with S2D if it is new send it back if it is your oops I would try a torch and ice cube, I think that a dent that small would pop right out.

[T.W.]

I would think it could be pulled with a welded stud. Auto body shops have dent pullers that weld a stud electrically, then use a slide hammer to pull the dent,then the stud is ground off. If you are careful a couple of coats of primer will finish it so it cant be seen. Of course I would never think of doing it myself,but it is theoretically possible.
Tim

[fireball111]

Heard you can only have one repair per strut if you do another dent the strut will have to be replaced. I would send it back also and avoid getting grounded . You could fly with dent till new one arrives

[supercrow]

Going to get lots of opinions. This is just mine. Doesn't matter whose fault it is or what the regs say. New Strut. Reid

[planenut]

Was the cardboard shipping tube that they came in damaged? If it wasn't punctured someway, how did one strut get damaged and not the rest?
It's more likely it was damaged before shipping.
Send it back!

[On Patrol]

I deal with shipping dilemma every day. If the agreement is FOB point of origin....Univair's shipping dock, then even if they contract the shipper you as the receiver are responsible to take the claim up with the shipping company. If the damage was not noted at the time of receipt or if you plain old refused receipt due to the damage then it is all your hassle to fight it out with the shipping company. It sucks. When we write our purchase orders we have strict instructions that if they ship Yellow Freight it is FOB our shop or find another shipping company.
Sorry this subject has always ticked me off and I have spent hours upon hours fighting with shipping companies.
I agree with Reid ship it back and hope that Univair will give you full credit.
Let us know how they treated you on this very open forum

[T.W.]

A couple of years ago I had the same experience.A new set of struts from Univair. They arrived in a cardboard tube by truck.The tube looked good to me although it was not in perfect condition. I accepted the struts along with some other parts.A week or so later I was preparing them for paint and noticed a dent. They were well packed and it looked to me like the dent must have been in it before shipping.I called Univair and they said send pictures of tube and strut. I sent pictures and was told that it was damaged in shipping. Having no proof and not wanting to pressure my AI to do something that he was not comfortable with,I ordered a new strut. The new strut arrived in good condition but with no fork. I called and asked why no fork,since the catalog said the forks were included with new struts. I was told I didn't need a fork because I had the one that came with the first strut. I told them I paid for the fork and would like to have it. They sent it right out, no problem. I chocked it up to experience, no hard feelings. The moral to this story is, unpack the struts when they arrive,run your hand along each one full length and make sure there is no damage before you accept them. It is really quite simple, and the lesson cost about $500.
Tim

[WIflier]

When I buy struts I have them shipped by air it's always been cheaper, faster and they are in better condition just my 2 cents worth.

Si

[NimpoCub]

dupe post

[NimpoCub]

I bought the extruded alum. stringers from Uni, and when the (very long) tube arrived it was bent up about 6" from 2' from one end. Fortunately the stringers were cut about 1' long, so I was able to straighten & use them by tucking the trimmed "imperfect" section in the tail where it's not in contact w/the fabric.

I HATE courier shipments. Besides not "handling with care", they rape me with extra charges, duties, tarrifs, etc, that the postal "service" does not.

Oops, I guess I forgot my meds this morn.

[cub12]

thanks for all the input, the shipping tube was not damaged, when i unpacked the struts they looked fine but, i did not remove the 6 inch card board taped around them the dent was under one of those.i don't see how the could get damaged packed in their as well as they are from a drop that didn't damage the cardboard tube .univair told me that they have seen this type of damage before and blamed it on shipping. sounds like i am getting the 500.00$ lesson.
thanks again

[skywagon8a]

Judging by the above posts it appears that Univair needs some competition! Their attitude does not entice me to do business with them. I will look elsewhere first.

[djfraudman]

Sue the manufacturer in small claims court. You don't need an attorney and it will cost them more to defend the claim than the strut is worth. Be sure you take some pictures of the strut and shipping carton and have another person such as your IA take a look at everything.

[behindpropellers]

Sue the manufacturer in small claims court. You don't need an attorney and it will cost them more to defend the claim than the strut is worth. Be sure you take some pictures of the strut and shipping carton and have another person such as your IA take a look at everything.

I didn't read anywhere in this thread that the manufacturer refused to take the strut back. Anything involving a lawyer will just escalate part costs for the rest of us. Call them up and tell them there is a manufacturing defect and ask them what they want to do.

Tim

[gdafoe]

Unfortunately Univair has a history of using inadequate packaging for the struts, then refusing to do anything about damage. Of the four I received, 3 were damaged, packaging was not damaged. Turbine Cubs was (maybe still is) buying from Univair. TCOW has eaten the cost of a lot of struts. I believe they finally came to an agreement with Univair on this issue but not sure. Some time ago I saw a stack of damaged struts in TCOW's shop. They may be building their own now. Univair needs to get their act together on this, they are the ones not doing the right thing, and blaming it on someone else. They could and should do much better.

[Steve Pierce]

Take a set of struts in a shipping tube and drop one end. It will kink one strut. That is why they put a Shock Watch (built right here in Graham, TX. next door to the airport) on each tube. If the shock watch is busted I open and inspect with the driver standing there. http://www.shockwatch.com/shipping_h...ator/index.php

I talked to Mark. Sounds like a 1/16" ding the size of a quarter. I hate to say it but I have seen a lot larger dents in flying airplane struts. I couldn't find any criteria for dents in the 43.13 except that they can be patched if not deeper than 1/10 of the tube diameter, do not involve more than 1/4 of the tube circumference, and are not longer than the tube diameter.

[Bugs66]

I just received 4 struts in the cardboard tube from Univair. No damage. I went with air freight and they flew United Airlines. Was quite a bit cheaper than truck. TCOW told me just recently they still get them from Univair.

[cubdriver2]

Sue the manufacture ? I thought that as cubdrivers we were all above that type of thing. Shoot them maybe, but sue?

Glenn

[mike mcs repair]

never tried but had heard the way to take dents out of the old style struts was to put air fitting in fork end block off top end and heat dent with oxy torch and give a little air, popped them right out....

but these being sealed would need to some how warm them without hurting them to make them build internal pressure?.. I know dans had a set they tried to powder coat(350 F?) without venting that ballooned up... so..... just a theory.....

[S2D]

thanks for all the input, the shipping tube was not damaged, when i unpacked the struts they looked fine but, i did not remove the 6 inch card board taped around them the dent was under one of those.i don't see how the could get damaged packed in their as well as they are from a drop that didn't damage the cardboard tube .univair told me that they have seen this type of damage before and blamed it on shipping. sounds like i am getting the 500.00$ lesson.
thanks again

Since its gonna be your dime, I would take it to your IA that annuals the plane,. have him look at it and see if it is a problem. then paint it and put it on. with the dent up so you can see it at each preflight. Or send it to me, probably be the straightest part on my plane.

[cub12]

its a bran new airplane so i don't want to see a dent (for at least the first few hours). in Canada we don't sue we only complain .sounds like i will be filling and painting my strut.I did have it looked at by an AME he figured it would be fine but was also surprised that univair did not have any tolerance limits set out.

[S2D]

its a bran new airplane so i don't want to see a dent (for at least the first few hours).

then put that strut on the other side (dent underneath)

[Steve Pierce]

What would be an easy way to test this sort of thing. I have a lot of non sealed struts and sections of strut material from wrecks. Might be fun in my spare time to figure out how bad a dent needs to be to effect the strength of the strut.

I think TCOW should inspect their struts when they receive them and then they could deal with the problem. Kind of like me buying a new truck and having to go to the vendor for the warranty on a particular part. This is how other aircraft manufacturers deal with outsourced parts.

[gdafoe]

You can bet they do.

[kase]

Is the dent from the tab that holds the small fairlead for the aileron cable. Ive seen several of them from shipping.

[cub12]

it is a TCOW PA-12 kit and they did not open the tube to check as the tube looked fine. i called to see if they had seen this type of shipping damage before and was told they had not. The 12 struts don't have a fairlead on the trailing edge so it wasn't from that. must be either a manufacturing defect or like Steeve say it took a hard impact on the end of the tube were the steel end cup is.odd that someone else said TCOW has a pile of bent ones in the corner of their shop.

[behindpropellers]

it is a TCOW PA-12 kit and they did not open the tube to check as the tube looked fine. i called to see if they had seen this type of shipping damage before and was told they had not. The 12 struts don't have a fairlead on the trailing edge so it wasn't from that. must be either a manufacturing defect or like Steeve say it took a hard impact on the end of the tube were the steel end cup is.odd that someone else said TCOW has a pile of bent ones in the corner of their shop.

I knew we were not getting the whole story!!