Browse Aircraft Bearing Part Types Catalog

Aircraft Bearings are among the many components that belong to the broad categorization of aircraft hardware. Due to the numerous types of bearings relevant to our product portfolio, this page is dedicated to bearing varieties. A bearing is a rolling mechanical device that is utilized to support loads within the area of contact between two hardware surfaces, reduce friction, and/or provide rotational movement. Bearings provide a smaller contact area between surfaces, creating less friction than a standard sliding surface; this allows the attached device to operate faster and more efficiently. The most common bearing varieties include the following: bolt bearings, flexure bearings, fluid bearings, jewel bearings, magnetic bearings, plain bearings, and others.

At Methodical Purchasing, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, our extensive stock includes aircraft bearings and related components from top manufacturers such as Accurate Bushing Company, Alcoa Fasteners, Aurora, RBC, RHBB, Timken, and more.

Aerospace Bearings
Bearings utilized in the Aerospace industry are held to extensive standards that OEMs and PMA holders must meet particular standards in order to ensure the airworthiness of their hardware products. Aircraft Bearings are commonly held to specifications set by the following criteria: American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Army-Navy Aeronautical Standard (AN), National Aerospace Standard (NAS), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and others. Replacement part criteria and recommended part types are also set by OEMs. These redundancies also provide various material standards, testing requirements, and traceability specifications.

The most frequently used bearings in the aerospace industry are roller bearings, roller thrust bearings, ball bearings, ball thrust bearings, screw bearings, baffle bearings, actuator bearings, and needle bearings. Bearings are used on aircraft, spacecraft, UAVs, spacecraft, satellite equipment, and other vehicles and equipment.  

Fixed-wing Aircraft Bearings
Fixed-wing aircraft require bearings for airframe control systems and components including ailerons, trim tabs, and elevators. They’re also used in stowage bin support, engines, landing gear, thrust reversers, and doors. In addition, there are specialized bearings used on fixed-wing aircraft which encompass APU bearings, door linkage bearings, engine bearings, radar gimbal thin section bearings, stowage bin support bearings, spherical plain bearings, ball bearings, actuator bearings, thrust reverser linkage bearings, track rollers, landing gear trunnion bearings, and horizontal stabilizer bearings.

Rotary-Wing Aircraft Bearings
Rotary-wing aircraft require specified bearings in most components due to their unique movement. Bearings are used in the main rotor, tail rotor, landing gear, doors, and engines. Specified bearings for these applications include hardware such as main rotor swashplate slider bearings, engine gearbox and transmission bearings, rod ends, sphericals, and journal bearings, self-lubricating bushings, landing gear bearings, main rotor bearings, tail rotor pitch link bearings, tail rotor bearings, and main rotor pitch link bearings.

Automotive Bearings
Bearings are utilized in automotive systems that require free rotation and reduced friction between two adjacent parts. Thrust bearings are the most common bearing found in the automotive industry, and act as rotary bearings for axial load support. 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 and strut bearings. 

Marine Bearings
This hardware is applicable to use on the following vessels: carriers, battleships, cruisers, tankers, cargo ships, container vessels, passenger vessels, tugs, etc.; marine bearings may also be relevant to wing-in-ground vehicles. Main bearings, top end bearings, bottom end bearings, thrust pad bearings, and pedestal bearings are all common bearings used in marine applications.

Marine hardware must meet specifications based on anti-corrosion properties and tensile strength. Three common materials used for marine bearings are lead bronze, bi-metal bearings, and tri metal; in addition, stainless steel and silicon bronze are utilized in marine applications.