Cleaning Landing Gear Struts Just Got Easier and Greener!
– The maker of StrutWipe, K&M Industry, is proud to announce a low cost, earth-friendly, biodegradable StrutWipe to clean landing gear struts. In collaboration with Renewable Lubricants Inc in Hartville, Ohio USA, we have created a hydraulic cleaning wipe that is 100% compatible with MIL-PRF-5606H! As the photo shows, MIL-PRF-5606 and MIL-PRF-32073 are homogenous compatible.
The hydraulic fluid developed by Renewable Lubricants Inc is the child of years of research with the U.S. Army to engineer an environmentally friendly, plant-based hydraulic fluid as required by MIL-PRF-32073. Bio hydraulic fluids are ultimately biodegradable biosynthetic (biobased) formulas that were designed to replace mineral oil-based hydraulic fluids like MIL-PRF-5606.
This fluid has been specifically formulated to provide additional seal swell of 10% to 30%. This bio hydraulic fluid is formulated for anti-wear, anti-rust, and anti-oxidation properties. This hydraulic fluid is highly inhibited against moisture and rusting in both fresh and seawater.
The StrutWipe too is 100% biodegradable cotton. The cotton wipe will retain down to 5um of dirty muck, which a paper towel or rag could never hope to achieve. StrutWipe was developed by Mark Gregory, an engineer, A&P, and pilot, while working on F-16s.
Cleaning the chrome strut is required by the maintenance manual to prevent harsh particles from wearing out the O-ring within the strut. Mark stated, “A very simple preventive maintenance task but the Crew Chiefs continually were written up for not completely cleaning the strut.” According to Mark, “It was not that the maintenance personnel didn’t know what to do, we just didn’t have the right tool to complete the task. The red rental rags became contaminated with sealant or metal chips. They were too porous to clean the chrome, so I researched hundreds of different cleaning media before deciding on this wipe for its effectiveness and cost.
StrutWipe, created with cleaning in mind, will only release a small amount of fluid to the surface. StrutWipe is optimized for particle pick up and saturated just enough to break the binding layer of fluid between a particle and the surface and not so wet that it releases the particle back to the surface again. StrutWipe is packaged in Ziplock packaging so after use, it can be placed back in its packaging and can be used again until no longer usable.
It’s so easy to use, keeps your aircraft looking great, and most importantly prevents the strut sealing from getting worn and failing, saving time and money.
All StrutWipe materials are manufactured in the USA with StrutWipe itself made in Tucson AZ.
To learn more about StrutWipe, please visit strtuwipe.com or call 520-975-7286.
