Methods and apparatus to control movement of a component

An apparatus comprising:

• a damper coupled to a movable component of an aircraft, the damper including:
• a housing defining a bore;
• a piston disposed in the bore such that the bore defines a first chamber and a second chamber;
• a fluid flowline coupled between the first chamber and the second chamber, a closed fluid path formed by the first chamber, the fluid flowline, and the second chamber;
• a valve disposed along the fluid flowline;
• and
• an accumulator fluidly coupled to the fluid flowline, the fluid flowline only receiving fluid from the accumulator and not being fluidly coupled to a hydraulic system of the aircraft;
• an actuator coupled to the movable component;
• and
• a controller to:
• determine a first pressure in a first portion of the fluid flowline while the valve is in a closed state;
• determine a second pressure in the first portion while the actuator applies a force to the movable component and the valve is in the closed state;
• determine whether the second pressure is approximately equal to the first pressure;
• and
• in response to determining the second pressure is approximately equal to the first pressure, generate a first alert.

A method comprising:

• actuating a valve disposed in a fluid flowline of a damper from an open state to a closed state, the valve dividing the fluid flowline into a first portion and a second portion, the damper coupled to a movable component of an aircraft, wherein the damper has a closed fluid path formed by the fluid flowline, wherein the closed fluid path only receives fluid from an accumulator and is not fluidly coupled to a hydraulic system of the aircraft;
• determining a first pressure in the first portion and a second pressure in the second portion;
• determining whether the first pressure is approximately equal to the second pressure;
• and
• in response to determine the first pressure is not approximately equal to the second pressure, generating a first alert.