A couple of years ago I needed to replace my canopy
struts on my Lancair 360. The standard P611 struts (52 lbs of force) from
Lancair do not hold the canopy open with enough force. I made some calls
and found out from Arvin Meritor (AVM) that the P611 have 52 lbs of force
each. So I did some research.
I found some struts made by H. A. Guden (http://www.guden.com/displayitem-GS5-GGS24-060-K.aspx)
with part number GGS24-060-K that have 60 lbs of force each. I installed
them 20 months ago and now they are beginning to sag a bit, especially in cold
weather, so I am going to replace them. The 60 lbs worked perfectly for
me - having 8 more lbs of force at each of the strut attach points on the
canopy.
Specifics:
The Guden struts are about .40 inches longer (extended)
than the AVM struts however, the larger part of the gas spring is the same
length as the AVM struts. The ends of the strut are screwed on and there
are a variety of choices of end types seen at http://www.guden.com/display-gsb.asp.
When I checked out the AVM strut on the canopy I found
that the rod does not compress completely into cylinder with the canopy completely
closed so the new gas spring will work on the Lancair canopy when compressed,
with room to spare. The extra extended length (.40 in) of the Guden gas
spring results in the canopy opening slightly more than with the AVM struts.
Now for the best news - they cost just under $11
each. Last time I ordered the Guden struts I purchased just two
units. When I called Guden today Barb told me that Guden now has a
minimum $50 order so I would have to order 5 struts.
So my question here is - Does anyone else need struts for
their 300 series Lancair? Here is the price breakdown:
$50 minimum order
Up to qty 24 - $10.81 each
Qty 25 to 49 - $9.57 each
Qty 50 & up - $8.92 each.
I will order as many as I receive requests for over the
next week or so and then send them out with enough added to cover shipping.
Let me know.
Randy Hartman
Alpha Omega Aircrafters
(319) 360-9775