# Bungee Lessons



## larryM (Feb 23, 2012)

Just a summary of what I learned from changing my bungees....

The gear had new bungees in '93 - over 650 hrs. They were not showing signs of wear, but I was concerned because of the calendar time. My old cropduster friend said leave them on until they sag, or if you see some damage. Lesson: listen to old cropduster friends! The old ones really were fine even after inspecting them after they were cut off.
Changed the gear bolts after cutting old bungees, before installing new one. Despite the fact the gear tracks straight as an arrow, no load is on the airplane, a "bullet" bolt is used to drive out the old bolt, it was still a job to get the new bolts in!
Most recommendations for bungee was 2 HD1280s. My Bolt had 3 of something on it. Due to the majority opinion, and the fact that the S2b uses the same AND they were half the price, I ordered them. 
I did have 2 tools available for use. (I love my airport! C77) The 1280 was almost impossible to get on. When it did get on, it looked worse than the 20yr old bungees, and I could not budge it into place to make room for the other. When measured against the old bungee, the old ones were a few inches longer.At that point, I decided that I would bite the bullet and order from Steen. My only logbook guidance was a professional shop installing new gear iaw Steen manual so, no help there. The Steen bungee sold are SBC industries part 12104-GB. 3/4 x 101/2" - 900#. The installation was far easier than with the smaller HD 1280, and though difficult, they could be worked into place with some difficulty. 
Baby powder was used because I could not find tire powder. 1 bottle is more than enough. The powder should be rubbed into the entire bungee, in order to provide lubrication of the rubber for a long time to come. I had thought it was just to make it slide around easier.
I highly recommend 2 tools to make things easier. On the 1st bungee its no big deal, but if you go with 3, the 3rd is streching a fair amount more.

larry


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