Complete List of Aerospace Bearing Parts

Bearings are devices used in mechanical applications that enable linear and/or rotational movement, reduce friction, and support loads. There is an extensive amount of bearings available for various purposes. However, there are several broad categorizations of bearings, including: plain bearings, rolling-element bearings, jewel bearings, fluid bearings, magnetic bearings, and flexure bearings. The relatively simple explanation of why a bearing works is that certain physical components (bearings) produce less friction than a sliding surface, enabling an element to move faster and utilize less power. Mechanical bearings will either have a smaller contact area or are less abrasive than two solid materials rubbing against each other.

We supply aviation parts from top manufacturers across the globe. Some of the manufacturers that provide high-quality bearings are Timken, RBC, RHBB, Accurate Bushing Company, Aurora, SKF, Precision Division, McGill, NTN Bearing Corp, and Barden.

Aerospace Bearings

Aerospace bearings are utilized on all types of equipment in the aerospace industry, including: aircraft, spacecraft, UAVs, and space and satellite equipment. Bearings used in any type of aerospace application require strict standards and high-quality materials due to the environments in which they operate. There are material standards, testing requirements, and required traceability. Bearings are used in landing gear struts, engines, aircraft interiors, etc.

Some of the most common bearings used in the aerospace industry are: roller bearings, roller thrust bearings, ball bearings, ball thrust bearings, screw bearings, baffle bearings, actuator bearings, and needle bearings. Although there are many commonalities in the use of bearings in all aerospace applications, there are also several unique applications for different vehicles.

• Fixed-wing Aircraft Bearings
  Bearings are used in airframe control systems such as ailerons, trim tabs, and elevators. They’re also used in stowage bin support, engines, landing gear, thrust reversers, and doors. Specific bearings used for these applications include radar gimbal then section bearings, stowage bin support bearings, airframe control bearings, spherical plain bearings, ball bearings, actuator bearings, door linkage bearings, engine bearings, thrust reverser linkage bearings, track rollers, landing gear trunnion bearings, horizontal stabilizer bearings, and APU bearings.


• Rotary-Wing Aircraft Bearings
  Bearings are used in the main rotor, tail rotor, landing gear, doors, and engines. Specific bearings for these applications are main rotor bearings, tail rotor pitch link bearings, tail rotor bearings, main rotor pitch link bearings, main rotor swashplate slider bearings, engine gearbox and transmission bearings, rod ends, sphericals, and journal bearings, self-lubricating bushings, and landing gear bearings.

Automotive Bearings

Some of the automotive systems that utilize bearings are the wheels, water pumps, and transmissions. Common bearings used in these applications include: wheel bearings, roller bearings, gearbox bearings, clutch release bearings, suspension bearings, and strut bearings.

Marine Bearings

There is an abundance of different types of marine vessels: carriers, battleships, cruisers, tankers, cargo ships, container vessels, passenger vessels, tugs, etc. Every single one of them includes some type of bearing in their construction. One, out of many, requirements for main bearings in marine applications is its anti-corrosion properties because salt water accelerates corrosion.

Main bearings, top end bearings, bottom end bearings, thrust pad bearings, and pedestal bearings are all common bearings used in ship applications. Three common types of construction used for main marine bearings are lead bronze bearings, bi-metal bearings, and tri-metal bearings.