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Matt,

<<Maybe the air strut is too old (8.5 years) and needs to be replaced. >>

I would be surprised if your strut is still good.  A few months prior to
first flight, I removed and tested my strut and only produced a mere 60 lbs
of pressure when held against a bathroom scale.  It took me 6 years to build
my baby...  My advise: Remove and check, it should produce 90 to 100lbs of
pressure.

<< I went through the archives and read some stories about delaminated nose
gear tunnels and adjustment of this cylinder.>>

You must have read my post!  You must be absolutely positive that the
hydraulic strut bottoms out!  Some builders I talked to did cut the threaded
portion a bit.  In my case, since I had to re-do the hard point at the top of
the tunnel anyway, I simply drilled new holes a bit more aft than before.  
Because of my incident, my preflight check includes shinning a light at the
top of the tunnel to make sure its okay.  165 hours after my incident, not a
sign of any delamination at all...

Rick Argente
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LML website:   http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
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Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
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