AMT 213 LANDING GEAR MASTERY NOTES
Mechanical Steering System
• Are found on small aircraft where the pilot can press on the rudder pedal and cause the wheel or tail wheel to turn without any
form of powered assistance
• Nose-Gear Steering system for a single-engine light airplane with retractable gear.
• Steering bellcrank is connected to the steering rods and through the rods to the rudder pedals.
Tail Wheel
• Older aircraft and some special-use aircraft have a conventional landing gear configuration.
• Tail Wheel is mounted on a short spring, oleo, or other assembly on the bottom of the fuselage near the rudder.
• Foxed-alignment tail wheels are found only on aircraft such as the gliders.
• Steerable tail wheel responds to cabin rudder controls to aid in controlling the direction of movement of an aircraft on the ground
• Most tail wheels are equipped with full swivel capability that disengages the steering control when the wheel pivots through more
than about 45o from the centerline
• This mechanism locks the tail when in alignment with aircraft longitudinal axis
• For tail-wheel aircraft. Rudder-control cables are connected to the tail-wheel steering arms through springs.
Power Steering Systems
• Power steering systems are used for aircraft that require large amounts of force to be applied to the nose wheel to achieve efficient
steering control
• can be controlled by the pilot's rudder pedals, by a steering wheel in the cockpit, or by a combination system allowing full-system
travel with a steering wheel and a small degree of directional control with the pedals Operation of either of the controls causes an
actuator on the nose wheel to turn the nose wheel and change the direction of movement.
• A follow-up system is used to provide only as much nose wheel deflection
• The steering-control valve directs hydraulic pressure to the appropriate steering cylinder and releases pressure from the other
cylinder.
RETRACTION SYSTEMS
• The purpose of retractable landing gear is to reduce the drag of the aircraft or to adapt the aircraft for landing on different surfaces.
Mechanical System
• Some older aircraft use a mechanical retractable landing gear system and many current-production light aircraft make
use of a mechanical emergency extension system.
• A mechanical system is powered by the pilot moving a lever or operating a crank mechanism.
• A lever arrangement is found on many older aircraft and involves the use of a lever
• Located in the cabin
• This system does not require an emergency
Electrical Retraction System
• This type of system is often used on light aircraft, where the weight of the landing gear is not so great as to require large operating
motors or complex hydraulic systems.
• gear selector is positioned, an electric motor is energized and operates a gear that rotates a cam plate or spider that opens the
doors, positions the gear, and closes the doors. Breaks the circuit to the, motor and causes the appropriate gear indication to be
displayed.
Hydraulic Retraction System
• A hydraulic retractable landing gear makes use of hydraulic pressure to move the gear between the retracted and extended positions.
Although this system is commonly used for all sizes of aircraft, it is used exclusively where the landing gear is large and could
not economically be operated by any other method.
• The power for the operation of the system may be generated by engine-driven pumps, electrically operated pumps, or, for
emergency operation, hand-or wind-driven pumps.
• Electrically operated pumps are often found on light aircraft, whereas transport aircraft rely primarily on engine-driven pumps.
Emergency Land Gear Extension Systems
• 1). Some aircraft make use of an air bottle to. “blow" the gear down, submitting air pressure for hydraulic pressure
• 2). Some aircraft make use of a mechanical system, where the operation of a hand crank or ratchet performs the extension operation.
• 3). Other aircraft have a separate hydraulic system, powered by various methods, including a hand pump, to extend the gear.
• 4). The fourth method of emergency extension that appears to be becoming very popular for aircraft is the use of a mechanical
system to release the UP locks, allowing the gear to free-fall into the down-and-locked position.
Landing Gear Operation
• The assembly consists principally of the shock strut; the wheel the brake assembly, the trunnion, and side brace; the torque link,
or "scissors"; the actuating cylinder, the down-and-up locks and the bungee system.
• To retract the gear, the actuating cylinder is extended by hydraulic pressure.
• As the gear approaches the DOWN position, the actuating cylinder moves it to the full DOWN position.
• equipped with a pneumatic bungee system for emergency operation.
• bungee tank is charged with air or gas at a high pressure, and when it becomes necessary to lower the gear in an emergency.
• This cylinder provides enough force to lock the gear in the DOWN position.
• operation of a retractable gear system includes the opening and closing of gear doors, an associated system controlled by sequence
valves is often used to operate the doors.
• Sequence of operation is (1) opening of doors and (2) lowering of gear.
• During retraction, the gear retracts and then the doors close.
• In many designs, the landing-gear doors are closed when the gear is extended or retracted. In such cases, the doors must operate
twice for either retraction or extension of the gear.
• Some aircraft do not use main inboard doors but retract the main gear so that it is flush with the underside of the wing.
• A brush seal or an inflatable pneumatic seal is used to seal the edges of the wheel flush with the bottom of the wheel well.
