How Much Wear Do I Have Left On My Aircraft’s Brakes?

September 2024

Aircraft brakes work hard at stopping a landing aircraft. Over time, they wear. The rate of wear is dependent on several factors such as length of runway, aircraft speed, and current temperature. We all know the brakes are going to need replacement at some point, however determining when can sometimes be a guessing game.

Gauging Brake Wear On Your Aircraft

Brake wear is gauged in different ways depending on the make and model of the aircraft and brake OEM. A common method used is a wear indicator pin. The length of the pin determines the amount of wear remaining. This leads to a common question of how much wear do you have left based on the pin measurement you just took?

This can be easily calculated if you knew the dimension or length of the wear indicator pin when the brake was new. The list below contains common business aircraft and their associated brakes, with the relevant pin measurement with new wear components.

The method for taking the measurement differs from aircraft to aircraft and brake manufacturer. Be sure to consult the relevant technical data when taking this measurement.