Shock strut with pressure relief

An aircraft landing gear shock strut, comprising:

• a cylinder;
• a piston telescopically movable within the cylinder to provide a piston-cylinder assembly;
• a sealed chamber defined by an arrangement of the piston-cylinder assembly, the sealed chamber having a compressible gas in fluid communication with a hydraulic liquid, the compressible gas and liquid configured to resist movement of the piston relative to the cylinder, wherein the piston is movable to a first position within the cylinder when the compressible gas reaches a maximum operating pressure;
• and
• a relief device in fluid communication with the sealed chamber, the relief device activatable to release at least some of the compressible gas when the pressure of the compressible gas reaches a desired pressure that is above the maximum operating pressure, wherein activation of the relief device permits the piston to telescopically move beyond the first position to increase a side load capability of the piston-cylinder assembly.

A method for operating a shock strut of a landing gear, the method comprising:

• telescopically moving a piston into a cylinder of a piston-cylinder assembly of the shock strut, wherein movement of the piston is resisted by a compressible gas located within a sealed chamber defined by an arrangement of the piston and the cylinder;
• pressurizing the compressible gas to a first pressure;
• after exceeding the first pressure, activating a relief device in fluid communication with the sealed chamber;
• venting at least some of the compressible gas out of the sealed chamber;
• and
• telescopically moving the piston further into the cylinder to increase a side load capability of the shock strut.