Canada’s Marsh Brothers Aviation has secured a contract to supply its new King Air Flap Roller Kit to Australia’s leading Aircraft Spare Parts Distributor.
Marsh Brothers Aviation (MBA) has reached a milestone agreement with Sydney-based CJ Aerospace to supply retrofit kits for installation at two maintenance facilities. These kits will replace the greased original flap roller bearings on two King Air 200/300 series aircraft. Each kit comprises 16 rollers.
The Beechcraft King Air is one of Australia’s most popular turboprop aircraft, with the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Flying Doctor Service, police, and other government agencies all favouring the airplane.
CJ Aerospace owner Craig Jones said: “The growth in demand for King Air aircraft in Australia has increased largely due to the aircraft’s all-weather flexibility and potential to perform a diverse range of roles. However, the original greased roller bearings in the wing flaps do not respond too well to changes in altitude temperature, causing moisture ingress and corrosion.”
King Air operators frequently experience problems with their greased flap roller bearings due to the loss of, or dried-out, lubricating grease resulting in reliability and performance issues. To combat this, Textron changed the AMM to increase the inspection interval to 3 years or 3000 landings.
“By replacing existing grease-needle type roller bearings and phenolic washers with the self-lubricating, grease-free polymer material from Marsh Brothers, King Air operators can significantly reduce maintenance costs, improving aircraft availability,” said Jones.
MBA Manager, Business Development, Juan Rivera, said: “This contract award is a significant development for Australian King Air operators. We are delighted that CJ Aerospace has agreed to trial the King Air Roller Kit. This opportunity allows us to collect comprehensive data from aircraft flying daily in a unique environment. It helps to validate the expected performance of the rollers and builds confidence around the product.”
The flap roller upgrade kit is a proactive solution that eliminates flap roller bearing seizure and minimizes wear of the aircraft flap tracks.
By eliminating the roller greasing requirement with a self-lubricating bearing system, the rollers are maintenance-free by design, increasing the time between maintenance while reducing overall costs associated with replacement and repair of flap system components.
“Craig and his team at CJ Aerospace are aware of the issues King Air operators face with grease-reliant rollers and are keen for their customers to benefit from a self-lubricated roller. The company has good experience with our Aerostar and brake master cylinder re-seal kits and decided to add the King Air Flap Roller Kit to the list.”
The decision by CJ Aerospace to trial the roller kit follows Transport Canada’s (TC) July approval of the polymer bearing technology for commercial use.
The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Transport Canada have a bilateral agreement in place that allows Australian operators to use MBA’s King Air Roller Kit.
“CJ Aerospace is committed to securing its position as one of the premier aviation parts distributors in the world,” said Jones. “With a state-of-the-art warehouse dedicated solely to aircraft parts warehousing and distribution, we strive to ensure our customers have constant access to quality parts and servicing when and where required. We understand what is needed to optimize aircraft reliability and availability and a Marsh Brothers inventory can play a significant role in that.”
CJ Aerospace is a member of the Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ADMA), the association for distributors and manufacturers of aviation parts, components and supplies.
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About Marsh Brothers Aviation
Marsh Brothers, a Thomson-Gordon Group company, designs, engineers and manufactures proprietary self-lubricating and grease-free polymer bearing technologies to improve performance, reliability and service costs for aircraft owners, manufacturers and maintainers. Marsh Brothers’ polymers replace traditional metal bearings, seals and washers by reducing component weight by over 80% in comparison. Less weight equals more fuel savings. Typical applications include landing gear pneumatic struts (bearings, dynamic seals and piston wipers), landing gear structures (link bushings), hydraulic actuators (seals, glands, piston rod wipers), flight controls (hinge bushings, rollers), passenger and cargo door hinge bushings and rollers.