Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

nose wheel shock strut too high

Asked by: 6201 views , ,
Aircraft Systems, Commercial Pilot, General Aviation, Private Pilot

hello there

while i was doing a preflight on Cessna 172s i noticed the nose wheel strut was too high about 8 or 10 fingers and i felt it was unusual, i pushed down the nose but the strut get back to the same position.

when i asked the maintenance guy he just answered with attitude problem "it is better for the airplane, i know what i am doing".

while i was student my instructor has thought me in the preflight that its about 3 or 4 fingers are the minimum but i never heard anything if the strut was to high it is okay or not

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. John D Collins on Aug 08, 2014

    I don’t think the mechanic does know what he is doing. The strut is likely overfilled with nitrogen or air and over extended. Here is what the POH says in the handling, service, and maintenance section of the POH for a 1979 Skyhawk:

    “Keep filed with MIL-H-5606 hydraulic fluid and inflated with air to 45 PSI. Do not over-inflate.”:

    You have made a valid observation and should bring this to the attention of the owner or operator of the aircraft.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Brian on Aug 08, 2014

    If the owner wants to check his struts inflation just take off the top cowling and find the shredder valve on the top of the strut. Check it just as you would a car tire, but be careful if it is that high. The nitrogen bottle we use goes to 800 psi. If he has it really high your pressure gauge could suffer.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.