AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems

BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
Skids type Landing Gear
Topic Outline ● Operates to and from hard surfaces,
such as airport runways and
● Landing Gear Systems helipads.
- Aircraft Landing Gear
- Types of Landing Gear
- Landing Gear Arrangements
Ski Type Landing Gear
● Non Absorbing Landing Gear ● Aircraft that operate to and from
- Spring Steel and Composite Strut frozen lakes or snowy areas.
- Rigid Strut
- Bungee Cord

Pontoon Type / Float Type Landing Gear

Landing Gear Systems
● Operates to and from the surface of
Aircraft Landing Gear the water.
● Mostly used when reaching small
● Provide the means of maneuvering islands or remote areas without
the aircraft to the ground. proper airstrips or runways.
● Designed to support the loads or the
entire weight of the aircraft.
● Provide the means of controlling
deceleration of aircraft through the
brakes. Combination of Wheel and
Float Landing Gear
= Faster aircraft usually have retractable
undercarriages, which folds away during ● Amphibian aircraft.
flight to reduce resistance or drag.

= Wheels are typically used as a landing

gear but it can also be equipped with skids,
skis, or floats depending on where the
aircraft will operate. Combination of Wheel and
Ski Landing Gear
Types of Landing Gear

Wheel Type Landing Gear

● Operates to and from hard surfaces,
such as airport runways.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
● The main gear is located behind the
Landing Gear Arrangements aircraft’s center of gravity and the
nose of the airplane is supported by
● There are 3 basic arrangements of the nose gear.
landing gears:

Tail Wheel Type landing Gear

● Known as “Conventional Gear”.

● Configures with the two main wheels
located ahead of the aircraft’s center
of gravity and a much smaller wheel
at the tail or rear of the aircraft.
Advantages
● Allows the use of a long propeller
that compensates for older
unpowered engine design.
● Because the tail-dragger lands at a
higher angle consequently lands at a
lower speed.
● Operate in and out of non-paved
runways.
Disadvantages
● Ground looping
● Poor visibility during taxi
● Danger of tipping over onto its nose.
Advantages
● Allows more forceful application of
the brakes without nosing over when
braking, which enables higher
landing speeds.
● Provides better visibility from the
flight deck.
● Prevents ground looping of the
aircraft.
● Cabin floor is horizontal on the
ground, facilitating the loading of
passengers and cargo.
Tandem Landing Gear
● Main wheel is located in line with the
tail gear under the fuselage and
outrigger wheels support the wings.
● Placing the landing gear only under
the fuselage facilitates the use of
very flexible wings.

Tricycle Type Landing Gear

● Used in modern large and small

aircraft.
●
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
Fixed Landing Gear
● Attached to the airframe and
remains exposed to the slipstream
as the aircraft is flown.
● Decreases parasitic drag markedly
by enclosing the wheels in
streamlined fairings, called “wheel
pants”.
Retractable Landing Gear
● As the speed of the aircraft
increases, the drag caused by the
landing gear becomes greater and a
means to retract the gear to
eliminate parasite drag is required.
● Stow the landing gear into the
fuselage or wing compartments
while in flight.
● The primary benefits of being able to
retract the landing gear are
increased climb performance and
higher cruise airspeeds due to the
resulting decrease in drag.
Non Absorbing Landing Gear
● Spring Steel and Composite Strut
- Accepts energy in some form of
elastic medium and returns it at
a rate and time that the aircraft
can accept.
- Use either flexible spring steel
or composite struts that
accepts the loads and returns it
in such a way that it does not
cause the aircraft to rebound.
● Rigid Struts
- Certain older types of aircraft use
rigid landing gear that transmit all
the loads of landing touchdown
directly to the airframe structure.
Some of the shock is absorbed by
the elasticity of the tires.
- Some aircraft, such as
helicopters, that normally land
very softly utilize rigid landing
gear.
● Bungee Cord
- Some aircraft use rubber to
cushion the shock of landing. May
be in the form of rubber
doughnuts or a bungee cord,
which is a bundle of small strands
of rubber encased in a loosely
woven cloth tube. Rubber bungee
cord accepts both landing impact
and taxi shocks.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
= MIDTERM =
Off Aircraft Inspection
Topic Outline
● Wheel Inspection Loosening the tire from the rim
● Nose Wheel Steering Systems ● Before loosening the wheel half
retaining bolts, BE SURE THE TIRE IS
COMPLETELY DEFLATED.
Wheel Inspection ● In the event that the bolts holding
the wheel halves have failed, the only
On Aircraft Inspection thing holding the assembly together
is the axle nut.
Check for proper installation ● For safety, let the air out of the tire
by using a deflator cap screwed onto
● When inspecting the wheel the the valve and, after most of the air is
technician must make certain that out, remove the valve core.
the brake is correctly installed and ● It is possible with some jet aircraft
everything is in its proper place. that carry more than 100 psi in their
● All wheel tie bolts and nuts must be tires for the valve core to be ejected
in place and secure. A thorough with such velocity that it can injure
inspection of the wheel halves in anyone it strikes.
accordance with the wheel ● After the tire has been deflated, the
manufacturer’s procedures must be bead of the tire should be broken
performed due to the stresses that from the wheel by applying an even
may have been occurred. pressure to the tire as close to the
wheel as possible.
Check for axle nut torque
● If too little torque is used on the axle
nut, it is possible for the bearing cup
to become loose and spin, enlarging
its hole and requiring a rather
expensive repair to the wheel.
● If the torque is too high, the bearing
can be damaged because the
lubricant will be forced out from
between the mating surfaces.
● The amount of torque required
varies with the installation. Follow
procedures used for installing and
securing the axle nut that are
recommended by the airframe
manufacturer.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
Disassembly of the Wheel
● The wheel should be placed on a
clean, flat surface and the bearing
seals and cones removed from both
wheel halves.
● The nuts from the wheel bolts are
removed to separate the wheel
halves. Impact wrenches are not
used on aircraft wheels. Even though
it is a common practice with
automotive wheels to use impact
wrenches for speed, the uneven
torque produced by these wrenches
creates stresses these lightweight
wheels are not designed to take.
then brush them with a soft bristle
brush to remove all of the residue.
● Dry the bearings by blowing them
out with low-pressure dry
compressed air. DO NOT SPIN THE
BEARINGS AS YOU DRY THEM.
● Rotating dry metal against dry metal
will damage both the rollers and the
races.
Bearing Inspection
● Bearings that have been difficult to
remove from the shaft often have
indications of galling on their inner
bore, which is cause for rejection of
the bearing cone.

Cleaning the Wheel Assembly

● Stoddard solvent or similar cleaning
fluid should be used to remove any
grease or dirt from the wheel.
● A soft bristle brush will aid in
removing stubborn deposits. Do not
use scrapers that will remove any of
the protective finish from the wheel.
● Staining and surface marks -
● After all of the parts have been
located on the bearing cup as
cleaned, they should be dried with
grayish black streaks with the same
compressed air.
spacing as the rollers are caused by
water that has gotten into the
Cleaning the Bearings
bearing.
● Clean solvent should be used to
wash the wheel bearings. Soak them
to soften the grease and any
hardened deposits in the bearings,
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes

● Any spalling, which is a slight
chipping of the rolling surface of the
bearing is a reason to reject the
bearing.
Bearing Lubrication
● Bearings should be packed using the
grease specified by the aircraft
manufacturer.
● If equipment is available for
pressure-packing the bearings, it
should be used. Pressure packing
uniformly covers all of the rollers.
● If the bearings must be packed by
hand, the grease must be worked up
around each of the individual rollers
and inner cone until they are all
uniformly covered.

● Any indication of a bearing ● A light film of grease should also be

overheating that shows up as applied to the bearing cups in the
discoloration of the rollers is cause wheel halves.
for rejection of the bearing.

➔ An indication of dry operation, which

is indicated by rust on the rolling
surface, is also cause for rejection.
➔ If there are any bends or distortion
of the cage, it is likely that there is
some hidden damage in the bearing.
Rather than risk bearing failure, the
bearing should be replaced.
➔ The bearing cup should be carefully
inspected for any signs of
watermarks, discoloration, rust, or
brinell marks. Any of these
indications are a cause for rejection.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
Inspection the Wheel Halves
● The most difficult area of an aircraft
wheel to inspect is the bead seat
region. This area, which is highly
stressed by the inflated tire, can be
distorted or cracked by a hard
landing or a seriously overinflated
tire.
● When all of the forces are removed
and the tire dismounted, these
cracks may close up so tightly,
especially on forged wheels, that a
penetrant cannot enter the crack.
● Eddy current measures the amount
of current necessary to induce a
current flow into the material under
the probe. If the conductive
characteristics of the material
change due to the presence of a
crack, the indicator will show that a
different amount of current is
induced.
● The entire wheel should be
inspected for indications of
corrosion likely to form at any place
where moisture is trapped against
the surface of the wheel.
● Any corrosion pits that are found
must be completely dressed out
without removing more metal than
the manufacturer's service manual
allows.
● After all traces of the damage have
been removed, the surface of the
metal must be treated to prevent
further corrosion.
Wheel Bolt Inspection
● The wheel bolts should be inspected
by magnetic particle inspection. Pay
particular attention to the junction of
the head and shank, and to the end
of the threaded area. These are the
most likely locations for cracks to
form.
Key and Key Screw Inspection
● The drive keys are subject to
extreme forces when the brakes are
applied. Absolutely no play can be
tolerated between the keys and the
wheel half so they must be checked
carefully for looseness, cracks, and
excessive wear.
Fusible Plug Inspection
● Carefully examine the condition of
the fusible plugs in the wheel to be
sure that none of them show any
sign of the core melting. If detected,
all thermal plugs in the wheel should
be replaced with new plugs.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes

Nose Wheel Steering Systems

Small Aircraft
● Small aircraft nose wheel steering
can be controlled in three (3) ways,
a. by controlling the nose on the
ground.
b. by using differential braking
for castering nose wheel.
c. nose wheel is directly linked
to the rudder pedals

Large Aircraft
● Large aircraft are steered on the
ground by directing hydraulic
pressure into the cylinders of dual
shimmy dampers.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes

Topic Outline Toe out Configuration

● Landing Gear alignment

- Support and retraction
● Small Aircraft retraction system
● Emergency Extension system
● Landing Gear Safety Devices
● Nose Wheel Centering

Landing Gear Alignment

Wheel Alignment

● Misalignment of the wheel affects

- steering
- landing and take-off
- roll characteristics
- tire wear
● Severe misalign­ment can cause
malfunction and failure of some of
the major components of the landing
gear system.

Alignment consists of checking and

adjusting the toe-in or toe-out configuration
and the camber of the gear.

Toe in Configuration

Wheel Camber

● Camber is a measure of the amount

of the wheel is tilted. If the wheel
tilts outwards, it has positive
camber. If the wheel tilts inwards, it
has negative camber.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
● To lower the landing gear, the
selector switch is placed in the
GEAR DOWN position, which
supplies hydraulic fluid from the
power pack to the UPPER SIDE of
the actuator. The pressure from the
hydraulic pushes the landing gear
downwards.

● To raise the landing gear, the

Small Aircraft Retraction System
● A hydraulic actuator for each gear is
driven to extend or retract the gear
by fluid from the power pack. Figure
A illustrates a power pack system
while gear is being lowered.
● The actual system for retracting and
selector switch is placed in the
GEAR UP position, this time it
supplies hydraulic fluid from the
power pack to the BOTTOM SIDE of
the actuator which now pushes the
landing gear upwards.
extending the landing gear on large
aircraft is similar to that just
described. However, there are
several additional features and
components used because of the
size and complexity of the system.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes
Emergency Extension Systems
● Retractable landing gear systems
must have a means of lowering the
landing gear if the primary method
of lowering the gear fails.
● Emergency exten­sion systems
generally use a variety of methods to
lower the gear. Some of the methods
can include mechanical, alternate
hydraulic, compressed air, or
free-fall techniques to lower the
gear.
● In all cases, the emergency
extension system's purpose is to
release theup-locks and move the
gear to the down and locked
position.
Landing Gear Safety Devices
● Retractable gear aircraft must have
gear safety devices to prevent
unwanted actions from taking place.
● Example:
- prevent raising the gear on
the ground
- lock the gear down when the
aircraft is on the ramp
- indi­cators to tell the pilot
what position the gear is in
- provisions for centering the
nose gear before it is raised
into the wheel well.
Safety Switch
● To prevent the retraction of the
landing gear while the aircraft is on
the ground, a squat switch with a
lever attached prevents the gear
control handle from being placed in
the up position while the aircraft is
on the ground.
If the switch senses that there’s weight on
the aircraft wheels (that means the aircraft
is on the ground), the
switch activates the lever which prevents
the gear control handle from being placed in
the up position
The lever will only be pulled away from the
gear control handle if the switch senses that
the aircraft is in the
air.
Ground Locks
● Ground locks are used to secure the
landing gear in the down position.
These locks are generally removed
manually by ground personnel.
 AMTE 132 - Aircraft Landing Gear Systems
BSAMT - 4B-G1
1st yr. 1st Semester Notes

● The locks generally consist of a pin

inserted into the retraction
mechanism in such a manner to
block the retraction of the landing
gear.

Gear Indicator

The green light is used to indicate when the

landing gear is down and locked.

An amber or red light is used to indicate

when the gear is up and locked.

Other systems incorporate a red or amber

light to indicate when the gear is in transit or
unsafe for landing.

An override trigger is used to manually

override the squat switch to manually
remove the lever to allow the pilot to move
the handle to the UP position.

Nose Wheel Centering

● The nose wheel is equipped with

centering cams located in the nose
wheel shock strut. These centering
cams center the nose wheel when
the strut is extended after take-off.
● The nose gear will remain centered
until the weight of the aircraft, upon
landing, compresses the strut
moving the centering cams away
from their slots.