Originally Posted by
Spunk
If “500” is the correct number than you should contact your “connections” at Bell and tell him to replace their product specifications (february 2017) which can be downloaded here:
PDF
On page 31 it states:
Part number sls-030-800-005 landing gear SLL = 3000 FH / 18.000 SRIN
🤔
As was stated many times earlier in the thread, I’ve had lots of good discussions with the Chief Engineer on the program and several well connected folks in the design team. The life limits are all based on aggressive and slow fatigue testing that cycles all of these components through the worst conditions ever seen in flight testing and then amplified by 150-300% to accelerate the testing. Some of the tests still take 2-3 years to complete because of the complicated loads that need to be applied to meet today’s regulations. None of the other helicopters on the market were certified to these requirements.
All of the retirement lives are temporary and growing every day. The engineers indicated many of the published lives are expected to double or triple or go away entirely in the years to come. With zero design changes. We just have to wait for testing to complete.