Retractable Step Servo Parts Breakdown?

[Rhumbline]

Agreed on both points.  On the other hand, why not just be up front with the customer and recommend that they weld it up or weld it down "cause we ain't gonna mess with those anymore!"

[RLCarter]

The Bellofram might be the way to go in the future. Will have to do some research and see what they offer that fits the bill. At a glance it seems they do, and I would think if you had to slightly modify it (ie....punch the hole in the bottom) it could fall under a customer manufactured part. Hopefully Belloframs prices are reasonable enough, we'll see. On a side note we're not alone, I have an alternator tension arm that I'm going to do for a guy with a twin, bracket is no longer available and the salvage yards want $170.00 plus shipping for a 10" x 1" x 0.1875" piece of steel with 1.500" long slot in one end and a hole in the other.

[Browncbr1]

My step had problems retracting and I found the electrical tape wasn't all on very well and the rubber ring was broken. So, I put fresh electrical tape around tightly several turns. Works well now.

[RLCarter]

Wish mine would have been that easy, torn in several places and showing signs of dry rot.

[Browncbr1]

Wish mine would have been that easy, torn in several places and showing signs of dry rot.

I wonder if the life of these rubber boots could be extended with armor all or something.

[carusoam]

Armourall is a bit slippery and it spreads...

The chance of keeping electrical tape attached to it becomes less likely.

Does work well as a protectant from UV light and ozone/oxidation?

Best regards,

-a-

[RLCarter]

ArmorAll leaches out the natural lubricants from rubber and actually ages it quicker. 40+ years isn't bad if you could get a replacement

[RLCarter]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I'll add to this one seeing it is related. I read on MS that there was a possibility that the step servo seal (boot) was also used on a Beechcraft as a yaw dampner, I contacted Brittain and had them pull the drawing for part # 1551 and it WAS used on both the Mooneys and I believe he said the early King Airs. With that info in hand I set out to find a Beechcraft guru that might have one (same part# for Moonies and Beechrafts) in stock, with in a few hours I located a guy that had 2 in stock. I didn't call Beechcraft directly so I'm not sure if they have them or have another supplier other than Brittain, at $93.17 each + shipping I purchased both of them (few bucks more than sending mine in for repair, if the parts were available). One is going on my plane in the morning the other I'm going to take around to some of the injection molders I know and see if the would be willing to do something with it and get them back on the market. The other one will be available for sale if the mold makers don't bite.

[Guest]

You should be able to get at least half of what you paid for it from anyone in the CB club.

Clarence

[RLCarter]

You should be able to get at least half of what you paid for it from anyone in the CB club.

Clarence

To make a small fortune in aviation you start with a large fortune!

[Dkmiata]

RLCarter,

Please put me on the list to buy your spare. I do not have a warm fuzzy on or if Bellofram will ever get back to me. You know 4th times a charm :0)

Hope you have better luck,

David

[RLCarter]

RLCarter,

Please put me on the list to buy your spare. I do not have a warm fuzzy on or if Bellofram will ever get back to me. You know 4th times a charm :0)

Hope you have better luck,

David

I'm sure Bellofram makes a good product but I didn't find one that is an exact match of the dimensions for the step servo, plus what I have read on here is that it's the same money if not slightly more. I honestly don't see retail being much more than $25.00 for either Brittain's or Bellofram's, at a lower price I would replace every 5 years or so as preventive maintenance, at current price it gets replaced when it fails.

[Dkmiata]

Happy wife happy life. ;0) I will pay what ever it cost to get it working to keep my wife or even my young kids from hurting themselves getting off the wing.

David

[FBV]

So I stumbled across this thread about a month ago. I had a leak in a servo and Brittain has no closed its doors. I carefully measured and did some research on the Bellowfram website. I found the 3-350-212-DCJ to be the best match for the Mooney servo. I got the lady to send me a free sample. But she said that they are about $30 per normally. After winding it with about 3 layers of electrical tape, (which is what Jerry at Brittain did), its going to work great! So if you get a tear, order one of these and you'll be good!

This is for a aileron or rudder servo. The step servo is a different part, but I'd be willing to bet that they have one that works. The ones in their catalog with an asterisks next to them are standard stock items. Others are custom order.. 

Brad

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by FBV

[Alvan]

Here we are at the end of May 2018 and, having read the letter from Cecilia at Brittain Industries (see below), I wondered if anyone had a current update. My step diaphragm ( Mooney part number 1551 ) is inop (and, I suspect, the engine is running a tad weak)  because of a tiny tear in that diaphragm.

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Posted December 27, 2017 (edited)

Hello everyone, this is Cecilia Henderson with Brittain Industries.  My friend Chuck let me borrow his account so I could speak to all of you directly regarding Brittain.  On December 15th my brother Jerry Walters, our owner and resident expert, passed away after a brief battle with cancer.  As many of you already know, Jerry was the heart and soul of Brittain and leaves behind a big foot print which is impossible to fill.  Those of us left behind are desperately trying to find a way to move the company forward but with Jerry's passing we have lost our only certificated repairman (return to service authorization), our chief inspector (production approval), accountable manager and autopilot installation/repair expert.  Given the current circumstances we are unable to repair or produce any product at this time and therefore must ask that you NOT send your step servos or any other products to us until further notice.  If you already have product in our shop we will be in touch with you very soon about returning the products and we will keep you posted about our future via our website www.brittainautopilots.com

We are so grateful to the Mooney community for their support of our products over the decades and we will do everything possible to restart the company in as quick a time frame as we can.  We know many of you still have servos in need of repair and may even be on our backlog for upgrades to your current system.  Efforts are under way to sell the company in the hopes of completing the re-tooling of our production line and meeting our backlogged orders but this transition will take some time as we hire, train and apply for FAA approval of a new autopilot expert.

We invite you to reach out through our email account, support@brittainautopilots.com with your questions and request and Kevin and I will do all we can to assist you through this transition.  Thank you Mooney flyers, we hope to see you on the other side of this sad transition.

Sincerely,

Cecilia Henderson  

[carusoam]

Rob/@takair had mentioned an alternative, once... kind of a modern alternative...

Best regards,

-a-

[takair]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

Rob/@takair had mentioned an alternative, once... kind of a modern alternative...

Best regards,

-a-

Close to having PMA on a light weight, electric conversion.  I owe the FAA one more document revision.  Will post updates here and on our web site as I get close, hopefully in the next month.

[OzM20F]

I found a tear in the rubber boot on my M20F earlier this year.  Sent an email to LASAR, discovered that I couldn't buy a replacement boot but could get an exchange unit which they had in stock.  I followed up with a phone call and an exchange unit was on the way to Australia on the same day.  The package took longer to get from USA to Melbourne than to go the last 600 km to me but it arrived about a week after it left LASAR.  It took me about an hour to remove the old one and install the replacement.  Sent the old one back to LASAR and they refunded the value of the old unit.

Great service from those guys, and my step now retracts fully.

[jetdriven]

Search bellowfram or “retractable step servo parts” the wing servo is mentioned in that thread. P/n: 3-350-212-DCJ

[211º]

From their website, it looks like they're coming back! http://www.brittainautopilots.com