Since I'm here to check out my prop sales PM...
I had an interesting experience this week. I talked with a group of Aerospace Engineering students that was working on an assignment to design a retractable gear mod on a Yak-54. This group came up with hydraulic telescoping struts who's locking mechanism was ferromagnetic fluid. Once extended an electromagnet was activated which would 'solidify' the fluid within the field. I commented about how it would make the gear really stiff and unforgiving to rusty pilots! But I guess the density of the fluid can be controlled by the strength of the magnetic field to double as shock absorbers too.
This is definitely thinking 'outside of the box', but it got me thinking about the PA-28/32/34 gear. How much fluid is in that system?
I had an interesting experience this week. I talked with a group of Aerospace Engineering students that was working on an assignment to design a retractable gear mod on a Yak-54. This group came up with hydraulic telescoping struts who's locking mechanism was ferromagnetic fluid. Once extended an electromagnet was activated which would 'solidify' the fluid within the field. I commented about how it would make the gear really stiff and unforgiving to rusty pilots! But I guess the density of the fluid can be controlled by the strength of the magnetic field to double as shock absorbers too.
This is definitely thinking 'outside of the box', but it got me thinking about the PA-28/32/34 gear. How much fluid is in that system?
