Bent Gear Door

[RonM]

Mooney Friends:  It's me , the Dumb Ass. I have been flying my Mooney Missile down from Caldwell NJ enroute to Ft Lauderdale Florida. At Charleston International I exited the runway on to the taxiway. I'll spare U the excuses like sun in my eyes, lack of a clear taxi centerline. I bumped my gear door in to one of the the little taxi lights on the edge of  taxiway. I was hoping it was nothing but when I taxed to the FBO and checked it out I saw the outer gear door was bent /banged up a bit. Inner gear door seems unaffected and I taxi'd just fine. I would like to continue on my mission to drop airplane off in Ft Lauderdale with Wet Wingologist for fuel tank re-seal.   I have had a bent outer  gear door before and flew for a long time with it. Any comments appreciated. 

 

  Regards - RonM

Edited December 29, 2021 by RonM

[Alan Fox]

Remove it , DO NOT FLY IT .... If it gets jammed up , the gear might not come down....  I have used ones if needed

[MikeOH]

EWWW!

That looks a little on the MANGLED side of bent; I wouldn't fly it that way, for certain!

[RonM]

If the gear door gets removed, can I fly it without a gear door?

[RonM]

What about a gear retraction test? Is that an option?

[MikeOH]

2 minutes ago, RonM said:

If the gear door gets removed, can I fly it without a gear door?

That's an A&P question; hopefully, one here will answer.

My GUESS, is the aircraft no longer meets its TCDS with the door missing, and is no longer LEGAL to fly.  Safe? Probably, but you'd need a ferry permit, I suspect.

[MikeOH]

3 minutes ago, RonM said:

What about a gear retraction test? Is that an option?

Say it opens and closes ok....at ZERO airspeed.  What, exactly, could happen at 150 kts?

IDK, as I'm NOT a test pilot...and don't want to be!

[RonM]

Just now, MikeOH said:

That's an A&P question; hopefully, one here will answer.

My GUESS, is the aircraft no longer meets its TCDS with the door missing, and is no longer LEGAL to fly.  Safe? Probably, but you'd need a ferry permit, I suspect.

 

[RonM]

How hard is it to get a ferry permit?  I have to figure out if I fly back home to NYC, or wait around Charleston.

[1980Mooney]

I have a Missile also. It looks both bent inward on the leading edge (bent towards centerline) and buckled inward in the center and pushed back ( like stepping on a beer can). The hinge is probably bent.  If you retract it the leading edge will contact well before it closes. The gear mechanism might force it closed but you run the risk of damaging the gear motor mechanism as well as jamming the gear. 
 

I would remove it and fly on. 

[RonM]

Can the gear door be taken off, banged in to better shape and re-attached? It is just a piece of sheet metal.  Right?

[MikeOH]

1 minute ago, RonM said:

How hard is it to get a ferry permit?  I have to figure out if I fly back home to NYC, or wait around Charleston.

If it was me, I'd try to find a local A&P at Charleston and see what he thinks.  I suspect this is something he could request a ferry permit for pretty quickly.  I would do that before going back home.  Again, I am NOT an A&P and hope one here will weigh in.

[1980Mooney]

15 minutes ago, RonM said:

Can the gear door be taken off, banged in to better shape and re-attached? It is just a piece of sheet metal.  Right?

You can’t “bang” sheet aluminum back into shape.  Once it is bent/buckled/ creased it will never be flat again. It will yield or tear if you try to work it.  It has to be replaced. 
 

It may take a few days to get a ferry permit right now. I recently got one when my SOB (ex) A&P wouldn’t sign off my annual due to a fuel leak in the left tank after after he unsuccessfully (predictably) tried to seal it from the outside twice. I flew to another A&P who got the tank sealed properly from the inside. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by 1980Mooney

[1980Mooney]

15 minutes ago, RonM said:

How hard is it to get a ferry permit?  I have to figure out if I fly back home to NYC, or wait around Charleston.

Why wouldn’t you get the permit and continue to fly to Wet Wingologist for your scheduled work?  I hear there are long lead times and you will lose your spot. You can probably get the gear door replaced down there and painted later. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by 1980Mooney

[RonM]

I won't be losing my spot at Wet Wingologist East. I have owned my airplane a few months over 30 years. My whole life since has been an obsession to get my airplane squared away. It is an elusive goal, and has never actually happened. (Seriously.)  In the end I will win. My Mooney will be just fine.

[RonM]

Friends:  I was only jokin' with those philosophical comments. I am in a serious bind being at a "foreign" airport, and needing service. Thus I appreciate all the comments.  If I was home at Caldwell NJ, my mechanic would take care of everything. Not the situation though. I so appreciate all the intelligent and thoughtful comments.   Respectfully - RonM

[A64Pilot]

Personally I’d remove both doors meaning from the other side too and fly it to destination, in the unlikely event anyone questioned me, my response would be aren’t gear doors like wheel pants?

I’d expect at most if your apologetic and not argumentative the most that could happen would be a slap on the wrist.

‘Ferry permits aren’t guaranteed and I wouldn’t be surprised if you were turned down, because of lack of data with doors removed

I wouldn't fly with it like it is, flight loads could cause further damage 

Edited December 29, 2021 by A64Pilot

[atpdave]

Flying for the airlines, we could fly with a gear door removed under what I recall was a CDL (Configuration Deviation List), kind of like an MEL.  That reduced the maximum speed.  My unqualified opinion in this case is to remove the door and get a ferry permit.  As a practical matter, you may also consider reducing your maximum speed to Vle.  I agree with others that you should under no circumstances fly with the door in place.

As they say, when in doubt, start at the hearing and work backwards.

[N201MKTurbo]

I would fly it with the gear door off. I doubt you would even notice it. Just make sure you remove all the links so nothing is dangling that can get jammed up.

I was taxiing out for takeoff at Oshkosh once and unbeknownst to me I  mangled my lower gear door. I flew 4 hours like that I did notice that the plane was about 4 knots slow. I figured I did something to the gear doors. I couldn’t justify landing to check it out, I might as well land where I was planning. When I landed it was bent all to hell. I borrowed some pliers and wood and bent it back into submission. That gear door is still on there.

If you want to get a ferry permit, you will need an A&P to certify the plane is airworthy for flight. If it is airworthy for flight, you might as well just fly it.

[carusoam]

Some people remove their gear doors for operating off grass fields…

Expect if you were to only remove the bent door…. You might get more drag from the side with the gear door, when the wheels are down…

The doors are not aligned with the wind…

 

PP thoughts only,

-a-

[glenn reynolds]

I had a gear door hinge break and here is what I learned:

you should not fly with a bent door. If the wind catches it and breaks a hinge the flailing door could do thousands of dollars of damage. 
you need to remove the damaged door. 
you should remove the door on the other side. The potential to have an asymmetric drag load which exceeds control authority is much too big a risk take. I know a pilot who made this mistake with a landing gear fairing and only barely lived!  He could not control the plane at cruise air speed due to yaw. ( this also goes for wing tips etc)
i flew my mooney for two weeks while LASAR rebuilt my door.  Outer doors off on both sides. 
you must not only swing the gear when the door goes back on but check that the new install is not overtight.  It looks snug and clean but is stressing the hinges by being too snug. That is how I broke my hinge. 

the door is not cheap nor is it a simple fabrication so it’s nice to have the time to rebuild it or source a replacement which is why removing both doors so the plane can be flown is worth the effort 

hope this helps and good luck

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by glenn reynolds

[1980Mooney]

16 minutes ago, glenn reynolds said:

I had a gear door hinge brake and he is what I learned:

you should not fly with a bent door. If the wind catches it and brakes a hinge the flailing door could do thousands of dollars of damage. 
you need to remove the damaged door. 
you should remove the door on the other side. The potential to have an asemtric drag load which exceeds control authority is much too big a risk take. I know a pilot who made this mistake with a landing gear fairing and only barely lived!  He could not control the plane at cruise air speed due to yaw. ( this also goes for wing tips etc)
i flew my mooney for two weeks while LASAR rebuilt my door.  Outer doors off on both sides. 
you must not only swing the gear when the door goes back on but check that the new install is not overtight.  It looks snug and clean but is stressing the hinges by being too snug. That is how I broke my hinge. 

the door is not cheap nor is it a simple fabrication so it’s nice to have the time to rebuild it or source a replacement which is why removing both doors so the plane can be flown is worth the effort 

hope this helps and good luck

 

That’s a good point about stress on the hinge. Although the owner or A&P might try to beat or bend the bent door flat, any residual bend or high spot in what is supposed to be a flat door th will cause the door to touch early putting stress on the hinge as the gear fully folds in. 

[RobertGary1]

3 hours ago, carusoam said:

Some people remove their gear doors for operating off grass fields…

Expect if you were to only remove the bent door…. You might get more drag from the side with the gear door, when the wheels are down…

The doors are not aligned with the wind…

 

PP thoughts only,

-a-

Common for the inner snd I believe the maintenance manual covers it. But this is the outer door. 

[Alan Fox]

I am an A&P , Remove the door , Fly the plane , I would not waste my time with a ferry permit , You will not know it is missing ,  Again , I have a door , 856 419 5209  Regards 

[Alan Fox]

Or , I can come down to charleston , and throw on a used door , and swing the gear , for 2000 dollars ,