Retractable landing gear

Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft and may be used for either takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally both.

For aircraft, the landing gear supports the craft when it is not flying, allowing it to take off, land, and taxi without damage. Wheels are typically used but skids, skis, floats or a combination of these and other elements can be deployed depending both on the surface and on whether the craft only operates vertically (VTOL) or is able to taxi along the surface. Faster aircraft usually have retractable undercarriages, which folds away during flight to reduce air resistance or drag.

For launch vehicles and spacecraft landers, the landing gear is typically designed to support the vehicle only post-flight, and are typically not used for takeoff or surface movement.

Aircraft landing gear usually includes wheels equipped with simple shock absorbers, or more advanced air/oil oleo struts, for runway and rough terrain landing. Some aircraft are equipped with skis for snow or floats for water, and/or skids or pontoons (helicopters). The undercarriage is a relatively heavy part of the vehicle; it can be as much as 7% of the takeoff weight, but more typically is 4–5%.

Wheeled undercarriages normally come in two types:

The taildragger arrangement was common during the early propeller era, as it allows more room for propeller clearance. Most modern aircraft have tricycle undercarriages. Taildraggers are considered harder to land and take off (because the arrangement is usually unstable, that is, a small deviation from straight-line travel will tend to increase rather than correct itself), and usually require special pilot training. Sometimes a small tail wheel or skid is added to aircraft with tricycle undercarriage, in case of tail strikes during take-off. Concorde, for instance, had a retractable tail "bumper" wheel, as delta winged aircraft need a high angle when taking off. Both Boeing'a largest WW II bomber, the B-29 Superfortress and the 1960s-introduction Boeing 727 trijet airliner each have a retractable tail bumper. Some aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear have a fixed tailwheel, which generates minimal drag (since most of the airflow past the tailwheel has been blanketed by the fuselage) and even improves yaw stability in some cases. Another arrangement sometimes used is central main and nose gear with outriggers on the wings. This may be done where there is no convenient location on either side to attach the main undercarriage or to store it when retracted. Examples include the Lockheed U-2 spy plane and the Harrier Jump Jet.

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