Landing Gear Design For Light Aircraft

This is the only book available today that covers military and commercial aircraft landing gear design. It is a comprehensive text that will lead students and engineers from the initial concepts of landing gear design through final detail design. The book provides a vital link in landing gear design technology from historical practices to modern design trends, and it considers the necessary airfield interface with landing gear design. The text is backed up by calculations, specifications, references, working examples.

The aircraft landing gear and its associated systems represent a compelling design challenge: simultaneously a system, a structure, and a machine, it supports the aircraft on the ground, absorbs landing and braking energy, permits maneuvering, and retracts to minimize aircraft drag. Yet, as it is not required during flight, it also represents dead weight and significant effort must be made to minimize its total mass. The Design of Aircraft Landing Gear, written by R. Kyle Schmidt, PE (B.A.Sc. - Mechanical Engineering, M.Sc. - Safety and Aircraft Accident Investigation, Chairman of the SAE A-5 Committee on Aircraft Landing Gear), is designed to guide the reader through the key principles of landing system design and to provide additional references when available. Many problems which must be confronted have already been addressed by others in the past, but the information is not known or shared, leading to the observation that there are few new problems, but many new people. The Design of Aircraft Landing Gear is intended to share much of the existing information and provide avenues for further exploration. The design of an aircraft and its associated systems, including the landing system, involves iterative loops as the impact of each modification to a system or component is evaluated against the whole. It is rare to find that the lightest possible landing gear represents the best solution for the aircraft: the lightest landing gear may require attachment structures which don't exist and which would require significant weight and compromise on the part of the airframe structure design. With those requirements and compromises in mind,The Design of Aircraft Landing Gear starts with the study of airfield compatibility, aircraft stability on the ground, the correct choice of tires, followed by discussion of brakes, wheels, and brake control systems. Various landing gear architectures are investigated together with the details of shock absorber designs. Retraction, kinematics, and mechanisms are studied as well as possible actuation approaches. Detailed information on the various hydraulic and electric services commonly found on aircraft, and system elements such as dressings, lighting, and steering are also reviewed. Detail design points, the process of analysis, and a review of the relevant requirements and regulations round out the book content. The Design of Aircraft Landing Gear is a landmark work in the industry, and a must-read for any engineer interested in updating specific skills and students preparing for an exciting career.

The Design of Aircraft Landing Gear is designed to guide the reader through the key principles of landing system design and to provide additional references when available. Many problems which must be confronted have already been addressed by others in the past, but the information is not known or shared, leading to the observation that there are few new problems, but many new people. It is intended to share much of the existing information and provide avenues for further exploration. The design of an aircraft and its associated systems, including the landing system, involves iterative loops as the impact of each modification to a system or component is evaluated against the whole. It is rare to find that the lightest possible landing gear represents the best solution for the aircraft: the lightest landing gear may require attachment structures which don't exist and which would require significant weight and compromise on the part of the airframe structure design.

The aircraft landing gear system is relatively unique on board an aircraft—it is both structure and machine, supporting the aircraft on the ground, yet providing functions such as energy absorption during landing, retraction, steering, and braking. Advances in Aircraft Landing Gear is a collection of eleven hand-picked technical papers focusing on the significant advancements that have occurred in this field concerning numeric modeling, electric actuation, and composite materials. Additionally, papers discussing self-powered landing gear and more electrical overall aircraft architectures have been included. The content of Advances in Aircraft Landing Gear is divided into two sections: Analysis and Design Methods; and Electric Actuation, Control, and Taxi. For those looking for more information on aircraft landing gears, the SAE A-5 committee (the Aerospace Landing Gear Systems Committee), which meets twice a year, serves as a useful forum for discussion on landing gear issues and development. A current listing of documents produced and maintained by this committee appears in the appendix.

Some have said that if God had wanted us to fly, He would have given us wings. And yet, we were given the ability to dream, to think with our heads, to have courage in our hearts, and to build with our hands. Truly, we have been given everything we need: We really can fly on our own wings! Chris Heintz is a professional aeronautical engineer with a prolific career spanning over 40 years designing and building light aircraft. Recognized worldwide as a uniquely talented and accomplished designer, his aircraft are known and appreciated for their simplicity of construction, pilot-friendly cabins and controllability as well as remarkable performances. Today, Chris Heintz designs are flown throughout the world, mostly by recreational pilots who have assembled their own planes from a kit. His most popular models are also factory-assembled and sold as ready-to-fly sport aircraft on three continents. In FLYING ON YOUR OWN WINGS, Mr. Heintz shares his knowledge and insights into the art and science of light aircraft design. He “walks” readers through the essential understanding and skills required to conceive, develop, build and even test-fly their own personal light airplane. Basic mathematics, essential aerodynamics and stress analysis are just a few of the chapters of this fascinating book. Heintz even provides a sample design to help would-be designers take their first step towards imagining and creating their own wings. Truly a beginner’s guide to everything you need to know in order to achieve that age-old dream: To fly on your own wings!

Landing gear provides an intriguing and compelling challenge, combining many fields of science and engineering. Designed to guide the interested reader through the key principles of aircra¬ft compatibility with the ground and ground infrastructure (airfields, heliports, etc.), this book presents a specific element of landing gear design in an accessible way. The author’s two volume treatise, The Design of Aircraft Landing, was the inspiration for this book. The Design of Aircraft Landing is a landmark work for the industry and utilizes over 1,000 pages to present a complete, in-depth study of each component that must considered when designing an aircraft’s landing gear. While recognizing that not everyone may need the entire treatise, Airfield Compatibility: Key Principles for Landing Gear Design is one of three quick reference guides focusing on one key element of aircraft design and landing gear design. This volume centers on how to ensure that the aircraft is compatible with the ground surfaces that it will encounter in use. R. Kyle Schmidt has over 25 years’ experience across three countries and has held a variety of variety of engineering roles relating to the development of new landing gears and the sustainment of existing landing gears in service.

Find the right answer the first time with this useful handbook of preliminary aircraft design. Written by an engineer with close to 20 years of design experience, General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures provides the practicing engineer with a versatile handbook that serves as the first source for finding answers to realistic aircraft design questions. The book is structured in an "equation/derivation/solved example" format for easy access to content. Readers will find it a valuable guide to topics such as sizing of horizontal and vertical tails to minimize drag, sizing of lifting surfaces to ensure proper dynamic stability, numerical performance methods, and common faults and fixes in aircraft design. In most cases, numerical examples involve actual aircraft specs. Concepts are visually depicted by a number of useful black-and-white figures, photos, and graphs (with full-color images included in the eBook only). Broad and deep in coverage, it is intended for practicing engineers, aerospace engineering students, mathematically astute amateur aircraft designers, and anyone interested in aircraft design. Organized by articles and structured in an "equation/derivation/solved example" format for easy access to the content you need Numerical examples involve actual aircraft specs Contains high-interest topics not found in other texts, including sizing of horizontal and vertical tails to minimize drag, sizing of lifting surfaces to ensure proper dynamic stability, numerical performance methods, and common faults and fixes in aircraft design Provides a unique safety-oriented design checklist based on industry experience Discusses advantages and disadvantages of using computational tools during the design process Features detailed summaries of design options detailing the pros and cons of each aerodynamic solution Includes three case studies showing applications to business jets, general aviation aircraft, and UAVs Numerous high-quality graphics clearly illustrate the book's concepts (note: images are full-color in eBook only)