Citation Landing Gear Maintenance: Repair vs. Replacement
Finding replacement parts for Citation landing gear can be a nightmare. They're expensive, lead times run long, and sometimes the part simply isn't available. Kevin Allen, President of Aircraft Accessories International (AAI), has spent years building a business around that exact problem.
In this video interview, Kevin walked through how AAI approaches Citation landing gear maintenance, why corrosion is the biggest threat, and how FAA-approved repairs give operators an alternative to scrapping expensive components.
"We want to give operators repair options instead of settling for expensive parts replacement options."
- Kevin Allen, President, AAI
Citation Models and Why Landing Gear Wears the Way It Does
The Citation family has been flying since the early 1970s, and there are a lot of models out there. At one end are the small, single-pilot Citations that are great for family trips and personal use. At the other are the larger cabin models built to carry more passengers over longer distances. They're all Citations, but the landing gear is different across the board, and each model brings its own maintenance challenges.
But every Citation has something in common: landing gear take a beating on every flight, and eventually every set needs attention.
On-Condition Maintenance: A Blessing and a Challenge
Citation landing gear doesn't have a traditional time between overhaul (TBO) requirement like many other manufacturer airframes. Instead, the gear is maintained on a "based on condition" status, which means it doesn't have to come off the airframe. Much of the time this is on-wing maintenance, where an A&P mechanic inspects the gear for corrosion without a full disassembly.
It's easy to see why operators go this route. Pulling the gear means downtime, maintenance cost, and a disrupted schedule. If there's no TBO forcing the issue, most operators leave it alone, and we get it.
The tradeoff is that problems hiding inside the gear can grow for years before anyone sees them. That's where our side of the job gets interesting.
How AAI Approaches Citation Landing Gear Maintenance
Some Citations have been flying for decades without the landing gear ever coming off. By the time the gear reaches our shop, what could have been a simple repair has often become a much bigger job. That's exactly the kind of problem AAI was built around, so we're always up for the challenge.
Without a doubt, corrosion is the biggest problem we find on Citation landing gear. We see corrosion and excessive wear at the attach points, on the piston tubes and axles, and in just about any mating area on the gear.
When corrosion or wear exceed the OEM maintenance instructions, it can stop a landing gear job cold - unless there is an FAA-approved repair process to address them. With the right certified repair in place, we can often fix these issues by:
• Performing an oversize bore repair
• Fabricating bushings
• Plating pistons and axles and restoring them to OEM requirements
Without those repairs, the only option is replacing the part, which can run tens of thousands of dollars (if you can find one at all). That's why we've spent years developing repairs specific to Citation landing gear. Operators shouldn't be forced into extensive downtime or a replacement part that doesn't make financial sense.
Why Replacement Parts Are So Hard to Find
The older Citation models are no longer in production. When the factory isn't actively building parts, replacements get harder to find, even though much of the fleet is still in service. That challenge lands on our shoulders, and we typically step up by creating a certified repair so the operator has an option other than grounding the airplane.
Cessna does a great job with maintenance instructions. Those manuals let us disassemble the gear, inspect it, clean it, reassemble it, and test it. They also cover basic corrosion repairs like blending, repainting, and treatments such as alodine, anodizing, and cadmium plating.
Where the manuals fall short is heavy corrosion that exceeds the limits of those basic repairs. That's where AAI comes in.
FAA-Approved DER Repairs for Corroded Citation Gear
We've invested heavily in FAA-approved DER repairs for Citation landing gear. These repairs let us bring back a part that might once have been considered scrap. We aren't just following the maintenance manual. We're developing additional repairs that restore parts to serviceable condition.
A Real Example: The Citation 680 Door Link Bushing
The Citation 680 is one of the larger Citations, and its gear has a door link bushing. It's a simple hinge that hooks up to the landing gear and opens and closes the gear door as the gear moves. Simple operation, but the spot where it attaches takes a lot of wear, corrosion, and abuse.
A small quarter-inch hole in that area can get blown out and corroded. The OEM structural repair manual does include a repair, but we kept finding parts that exceeded its limits. Instead of scrapping thousands and thousands of dollars worth of trunnion, our engineers developed a repair that goes oversize beyond what the OEM allows, then restores the part with a larger bushing.
The result: the customer gets a rapid, streamlined repair and keeps the component instead of settling for an expensive replacement part.
Citation Landing Gear Cost and Turn Time
Cost and turn time are the questions we hear most, and the honest answer is that it depends on the condition of the gear when we receive it.
Every job starts with a standard quote covering the labor to disassemble, clean and inspect, then reassemble and test. Once the gear is apart and inspected, we know what additional work it needs. At that point we come back with a second quote for items like a plating repair or an oversize bushing repair, as needed, so operators see the full picture before approving anything.
That's why two jobs can look so different. One gear might come in needing a simple oversize bushing repair and a little plating. The next week, another arrives needing multiple bore repairs, extensive plating, and maybe replacement parts. Cost and turn time vary right along with the condition of the gear we receive.
Why a Library of Approved Repairs and Inventory Cuts Downtime
One of our biggest advantages of working with AAI is our large catalog of FAA-certified repairs for Citation landing gear. When your gear hits our floor, certified repairs are already there waiting to be put to use.
We also keep a tremendous amount of Citation landing gear parts inventory. If your gear arrives with a bad axle, we may already have an axle on the shelf to swap in, so you aren't waiting while yours is repaired. The same goes for piston tubes and trunnion pins. We also house a large supply of bushings we've prefabricated on our mill and lathe, so they're ready the moment we need them. All of it keeps operator downtime to a minimum.
What Goes Into an FAA 8130-3 Certified Citation Landing Gear
When Citation landing gear leaves AAI, it ships with an FAA Form 8130-3 so it can be returned to service. Every overhaul or repair we perform is backed by approved technical data, either from the OEM in the form of maintenance manuals or from our own FAA DER-developed and approved repair data.
We aren't just finding ways to fix damaged parts. We're making sure each repair is engineered, approved, and documented when we finish. Our customers can feel confident knowing their gear went through an FAA Part 145 repair station with the authority, documentation, and certifications to complete the work.
Talk to AAI About Your Citation Landing Gear
If you're facing a corroded or worn Citation landing gear and a replacement part that's expensive, backordered, or unavailable, call AAI. Give us your part number, and we'll help you figure out whether a repair or exchange can get your aircraft back in the air.