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Old 21st Dec 2005, 19:10
  #17 (permalink)  
kiwiblue
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
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Hmmm, I'm afraid I have to beg to differ Angelorange...

After several years operating the BN2 it strikes me that only excessive and inappropriately careless use of the brakes leads to that particular problem. One-man one-machine, 2-years without a need to ever change a brake pad. I'll let that speak for itself. Obviously, not taxiing intentionally through standing water with hot brakes will help the longevity of the pads too.

As to the wing spar damage you infer... I believe that particular variety of 'heavy landing' is more commonly referred to as a 'crash'! The Islander is a strong (probably over-engineered) rugged and reliable airframe. The gear legs are massively strong, and a sufficiently 'heavy' (CRASH) landing will lead to wing-spar 'damage'. One photo I have seen was after a 'heavy' landing the fuselage had separated from the complete wing assembly -no visible sign of damage to the gear legs though!
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