Marsh Brothers Developing King Air Flap Roller Upgrade

Marsh Brothers Aviation is hoping to secure Transport Canada and U.S. FAA approvals later this year for a King Air flap roller upgrade kit that the Canadian company said incorporates an alternative self-lubricating, lightweight polymer bearing to prevent seizure and reduce metal-to-metal contact.

The kit was developed with Marsh Brothers Aviation’s AeroTough GF (grease-free) thermoplastic polymer bearing technology as an upgrade to greased flap rollers supplied by the original equipment manufacturer.

“The problem with the OEM flap roller is two-fold,” said Nicholas Choo-Son, director of new business development at Marsh Brothers Aviation. “First, they are a traditional sealed grease-packed needle roller bearing that relies on supplemental grease for lubrication. Once the grease begins to dry and degrade, the performance of the roller begins to deteriorate. Secondly, installation is relatively complicated involving the rollers.”

Compromised roller performance or improperly installed components result in an unscheduled maintenance event and expensive repairs, Choo-Son added. “To overcome this, our rollers were designed as a single rolling element bearing that contains AeroTough, our self-lubricating polymer that does not rely on supplemental lubrication to maintain its function. As a result, an AeroTough King Air flap roller bearing will never seize.”

He added that the kit already has begun to attract interest from operators in North America and Europe.