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On Jun 26, 6:58 am, "BDS" wrote:

No one addressed the strut issue. Our CAP unit has been flying an
L-23 for nearly five years and have had the strut serviced about that
many times. I don't remember the exact pressure, but it is excess of
400 psi. You will need a high pressure hose and regulator and a
special fitting to service the strut. You can get this from Blanik
America, but it isn't cheap. They put out a news bulletin a while
back that covered it. You may still be able to get one from Vitek.
One thing not directly addressed in the bulletin is that you need the
gear off the ground and retracted when you service the strut. I would
not fly the ship with a flat strut.

Good luck
Jim


The blanik/Lark strut is the same. It uses a Schraeder valve for charging
the strut. Almost any aircraft service shop will have the fitting since
Pipers use the same system. I had a tool used for Piper main gear struts I
used to keep my Archer gear charged.

The trick I developed for my Lark was to charge the strut with N2 according
to the manual and then, after lowering the glider onto its wheel, bounce the
glider gently to settle the strut to its unloaded extension. I then marked
the trailing link at the fuselage belly. Then I could just look at the gear
during pre-flight to see that the strut was properly pressurized.

Before removing the strut filling tool, I noted the strut pressure with the
weight of the glider on the wheel. If the mark on the trailing link showed
the need for more N2, I could just add enough N2 to bring the pressure back
to the pressure measured with the wheel on the ground without jacking the
glider. IIRC that was about 950 PSI. (The Blanik is less since it is
lighter.)

The gas/oil strut on the Blanik/Lark is a wonderful thing if properly
maintained. I love the soft, bounce free landings. I just wish Blanik had
lavished as much engineering on their tailwheels.

Bill Daniels