Hi all,
remember that on the Robinson this bearing does not hold any loads. It is there only to raise the resonant frequency of the T/R shaft to a point where it never gets (hopefully). This bearing hangers are very lightly loaded frictionwise. If this friction is adjusted wrong, it may impose some side load into the shaft it is not designed to take on for a long time. There is a regular inspection to check T/R shaft runout and damper bearing friction - actually not the friction of the bearing but its hangerarms that are connected to the tailboom.
It is rather a chore to do these inspections. To a nontrained person it may also appear that the damper is "loose" and it gets tied up to hard.....
As the clutch engagement is a regular procedure, I believe that Robinson very much designed the bending forces so it will not affect shaft integrity if assembled correctly. The angular movement from disengaged to fully engaged is a minimum at the damper bearing.
The only shafts I ever saw broken where in severe situations: crash, sudden T/R stopage, MR-blades going through the tailboom (wind gust and the rotorbrake not available because actuator chaing broke...), and most of them refuse to brake, they twist 2-4 times before cracking!!
Happy Landing!:
It would be very interesting if you could keep us posted on the final findings on this one!
3top
