Pentagon Research

DESCRIPTION: I have researched the above photo for at least 100 hours. This photo, if it could be proven was from something other than an aircraft would not prove anything. If it could be proven that it was from an aircraft other than a 757 would obviously be significant. From this photo the proportion of the piece is not evident. I considered a hydraulic lift from a loading dock, a lift cylinder from a piece of heavy equipment like a man-lift or an excavator, the hydraulic cylinder from an elevator, even the cylinder from a trash compactor. I searched high and low knowing that somewhere information on this piece existed. Then I acquired the following photo.

The photo above (anonymous) indicated the size of the object in comparison to the room (as I've stated before, foreshortening and telephoto lenses can be very deceptive). I thought that it must be a landing gear. I searched the Messier Dowty website and the Goodrich website. I finally found a photo of this part in the shop. For confirmation I contacted an employee from Goodrich (who chooses to remain anonymous).

This is what I learned. The two landing gear in the left photo are the same piece - just mirror images of each other. Goodrich took over the Menasco Company in 1999. This part was originally manufactured by Menasco in 1991 for the 757. It is the main landing gear. The Goodrich part number for the Outer Cylinder is 161N1210-xx. The part number for the Reaction Link is 161N2301-xx. The reaction link goes to the fuselage. The reason it is not shown in the factory shot is that it is 8-10 feet long and is shipped separately. You can find these parts by contacting an airline and asking for their ATA Chapter 32 manual to see the diagram (it won't be found on Google).

The 767 and the 747 wing landing gear have a similar structure at the trunion link. The 767 has a much larger outer cylinder. This gear was found on floor one of the Pentagon in the "C' Ring near the exit hole.