Cessna Models Will Use More Lord Shimmy Dampers

LORD Corporation's single-engine nose wheel shimmy damper has been added to Cessna Aircraft Company's offerings as original equipment on several new applications. The nose wheel shimmy damper replaces the original equipment shimmy damper on Cessna's 150, 152, 172, 182, 206, 207, 208 and 210 aircraft. Utilizing LORD Corporation's patented Surface-Effect technology, the damper -- sporting the same form, fit and function as the original Cessna damper -- provides consistent damping without maintenance or the use of hydraulic fluid. Since the damper contains no fluid, it cannot leak and is expected to last 10 years without service. Development of the Surface-Effect technology for shimmy damper applications involved several steps. LORD began with an evaluation of the current hydraulic dampers in field tests and in the laboratory. The next step was measuring shimmy events with the standard dampers to establish a design target. Extensive development tests validated the design and durability of the dampers in the laboratory. Then field tests were conducted to verify the design effectiveness in short-term tests. Finally, a year-long trial launch involving a number of aircraft provided assurance that the design was robust and durable.Accelerated life testing of the LORD shimmy damper demonstrates that it performs in excess of 5,000 ground-air-ground duty cycles. This represents a product life of more than 10 years of usage on a typical, high-use, single-engine piston airplane.