History was made last month in the aviation industry as Boeing delivered its 1,500th 747 aircraft – the first wide-body airplane to reach this delivery milestone.  As a longtime provider of bearings for aircraft ranging from helicopters to military jets and even space components, TriStar shared in the marvel of the moment.

Aircraft bearings have strict requirements for quality and performance; they must tolerate massive fluctuations in temperatures, pressurized cabins, all-weather conditions, plus extreme loads.  

And polymer bearings are becoming the go-to material for lift, tilt and pivot points in the steering, fuselage, wings and other areas of commercial aircraft.   Unlike metal bearings, they provide self-lubricating service to save on greasing and maintenance costs.

Here’s a sampling:

Fuselage and pivot points

• With excessive compressive strength of 54,000 PSI plus a unique geometry, Ultracomp UC 200 bearings are used in the joining fixtures for fuselage components, landing gears, gear doors, and high load pivot points used on these one of a kind assembly systems. CJ bearings are another popular choice to replace metal bearings on pivoting lift cylinders.

Steering gear of aircraft tug

• All-weather and vibration-resistant, TriSteel bearings are an ideal replacement to improve the maneuverability of the steering gear of aircraft towing vehicles

Landing components with extended service

• To extend service life beyond that of metal bearings, our engineering team designed Rulon LR landing wear bands for the oleo struts (hydraulic shock absorbers) of small aircraft.   Rulon easily tolerates high side load and environmental exposure.

Do you have an aviation bearing challenge?  Fly on over to the Materials Database for detailed technical specs, or consult with the aircraft bearing experts for a custom quote!