Search results
16 mar 2019 · Knowing how the landing gear system operates and being familiar with its failure modes can provide valuable insight on when maintenance is necessary, thereby preventing a gear-up landing. For example, how long does it take for your landing gear to go up or go down?
Retractable landing gear reduces an airplane’s drag, increasing CRUISE speed and glide distance. You no longer have to fly a retractable-gear aircraft to earn the commercial pilot certificate—but if you do so, chances are high that it will be a Piper PA–28R Arrow, possibly the most-used retract for pilot training.
1 gru 2020 · Retractable Landing Gear were an important advancement in aviation, and have been around for over 100 years. Initially, retractable systems were used on early amphibious planes to allow them to land on both land and water.
To decrease drag in flight, undercarriages retract into the wings and/or fuselage with wheels flush with the surrounding surface, or concealed behind flush-mounted doors; this is called retractable gear.
Retractable landing gear stow in fuselage or wing compartments while in flight. Once in these wheel wells, gear are out of the slipstream and do not cause parasite drag. Most retractable gear have a close fitting panel attached to them that fairs with the aircraft skin when the gear is fully retracted.
As the speed of a light aircraft increases, there reaches a point where the parasite drag created by the landing gear in the wind is greater than the induced drag caused by the added weight of a retractable landing gear system.
Piper's gear system in the Cherokee-based retractables is among the simplest. Here, a hydraulic power pack -- basically an electric motor driving a small pump -- supplies pressure to actuators at each wheel. The actuators are cylindrical bodies, inside which is a small disc called the piston.
