New Shimmy Dampners

The dampener is worth every penny! We installed ours from Aerodyme about 18 months ago and have never felt anything more smooth from a nose gear! Excellent design, thanks Jim and Martine!
 
Bushings replaced. Shimmy dampner (new) installed. Landed back at home base today and did do intentional hard braking. No shimmy. Thank you, Jim.
 
Last edited:
After reading this thread we ordered the new bushing repair kit from Martine and Jim, having it installed this morning!
 
Hi Jim,

Are the dampers still available?

Thanks
 
Hi All,

Happy new year!

Shipments of AP450-100 Shiminators (shimmy dampers) will resume by mid Feb.

It's been 2 years since we sold out of the initial run of 100 units. Been too busy to resume production until now. I invested in additional machining equipment last year and just completed bringing that on line. Field experience has been excellent. Only 3 problems have been reported, and resolved. The prototype, installed on my 114, has not required any servicing since I installed it 8 years ago.

These dampers are an excellent investment in the safety of your airplanes, and longevity of your gear.

Some of you are already on our wait list. If I confirmed that you are on the list, we'll contact you when we have a damper ready for you. If we have not confirmed, please email me at jrichards@aerodyme.com or text me at 802-734-2682.

Pricing is dependent on how big a batch we run. I'll review the number of requests in a few weeks and post a price.

For further explanation of the features and installation of the AP450-100 Shiminator, please see these videos on Aerodyme YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1r9NudcAw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JevmiO2HmC8
 
Hi All,

FAA PMA AP450-100 Shiminator™ shimmy dampers are shipping again.

It cost me about $50,000 to put these back into production for you all and they cost just under a grand each to produce and test.
I'll break even at somewhere around 50 sold this round.

Price $2195 less a $250 credit for your tired old Gerdes junk (which I retire).

Where else can you buy a high-quality made-in-the-USA product for a price of 2x manufacturing cost. I would dare guess virtually nowhere.

Beware that even if your plane is not noticeably shimmying, it is always continuing to wear and elongate the bore in your torque tube and allow extra motion and wear to continue in other expensive parts of your nose gear. The Shiminator™ design stops cold the wear at the tube lug and protects the entire nose gear. Watch my video to better understand how this protection is achieved. The Shiminator™ is a very good investment in your pride and joy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1r9NudcAw

We are here for you, 20 years now, and greatly appreciate your support!

Jim and Martine
 
Damper replaced and flight tested... no more shake, rattle or wobble. Thank you Jim for the quick response - greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Jim. Are there still any to purchase
 
Will have more ready in late July or early Aug. Please email me so I can make sure you are on the wait list.
 
Jim... as you know, I recently purchased and installed one of your shimmy dampers, and I just have to say—it’s a game-changer! The replacement was long overdue, and I couldn’t be more impressed with the results.

From the moment I put it to the test, the difference was night and day. My plane now glides across the ramp with an effortless smoothness that I didn’t know was possible. Gone are the days of jarring vibrations and nose gear discomfort—your shimmy damper has truly transformed the experience.

Not only has it improved the handling on the ground, but it’s also given me greater peace of mind knowing my nose gear is getting the care and support it deserves. It’s a product that delivers exactly what it promises, and then some.

Thank you for creating such a fantastic solution for an issue that’s all too common. I’ll definitely be recommending your shimmy damper to anyone looking to upgrade their aircraft’s performance on the ground.
 
Thanks for your comments Kevin.
 
Jim, please reserve one for me during the May/June annual with you. Happy New Year!
 
Yes, you can sign up for one from our next batch. Give Martine a call at 802-264-6400 x1.
 
HI Jim, I would definitely like to order a new shimmy damper.
 
jrichards said:
Hi All,

As you know, the achille's heel of our otherwise well-designed airplanes is the nose gear. Our gear has very little caster and is easily subject to severe shaking episodes on take-off and roll-out. Just one severe episode may fracture your magnesium/aluminum torque tube.

Some of you have already faced very expensive repairs by putting up with a shimmy too long. Neither the torque tubes, nor any other major nose gear components, are available (except as very expensive unapproved parts) at this time.

There are a few things you can do to extend the service life of your nose gear:

Firstly: Have your nose gear inspected and refurbished by a Commander expert.
Secondly: Regularly check/service your shimmy dampner.
And Most Importantly: Don't continue to operate a plane that is shimmying or shaking.

Most of us who own Rockwells are nursing very old and tired dampners. From the expereince of servicing many dampners, I know that many of these units have deteriorated to a dampning drag of 5 pounds or less (after fresh servicing!) compared to 20 pounds spec for the original new units. Loss of this dampening drag causes your gear to be subject to substantial acceleration of wear (even if you are not yet noticing any shimmy) and decreased life expectancy.

I have obtained the design drawings and will undertake a design capture and production run of new dampners if enough of you are interested to justify the project at this time. Pricing would depend very much on how big a production run we make.

How many of you might be interested in a new damper?

Thanks,
Jim
Click to expand...
They just put a new shimmy damper on my 112-TC during annual in July as they had been chasing the “shimmy” problem over the last two visits I made there, and for some reason or another said they couldn’t (but tried) to rebuild it this time …. I’d take one to put on the shelf if you all are still kicking this idea around. I’ll check my logs when I go to airport next and see what exactly the did do/put on mine during this annual and what the price point was if that’s helpful at all.

After they thought they fixed it the first time I took it there after the shimmy started, I flew out to VA and landed …. found out I still had the shimmy and the shake … but what I didn’t realize at the time was it had tripped/setoff my ELT when it shook …and I then flew around with my ELT going off the whole flight back to VA …
 
Hi Jim
Please put me down for the new design.
better to be safe than sorry
VH- CKB formally VH- KMS Commander 115
Regards
Charlie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top