Outrigger Landing Gear on Wing Struts for Aircraft Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-mounted wing aircraft designs face challenges in achieving stability and minimizing drag due to the limitations of fuselage-mounted landing gear, which requires larger fairings and increased drag, and wing-mounted gear poses structural and space issues with long landing gear lengths.
Innovation Solution
The aircraft features a pair of wings connected to the fuselage with wing support struts, incorporating outrigger landing gears that are retractable within these struts, along with a central main landing gear assembly and nose landing gear, allowing for a wide track width for stability without the need for large fairings, and powered outrigger landing gears for ground maneuvering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the main landing gear is mounted on the fuselage, then the landing gear can be accommodated within the fuselage structure, but the track width is narrow resulting in poor stability and requiring large fairings that increase drag
Solution Approach 1:
The landing gear system is segmented into three independent components: a central main landing gear mounted on the fuselage and two outrigger landing gears mounted on the wing support struts. This segmentation allows the central gear to provide structural support while the outrigger gears extend the track width for stability, all without requiring large fairings since each component is compact and integrated into existing structures.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the main landing gear is mounted on the wings, then the track width is increased improving stability, but the landing gear length becomes too long to be accommodated within the wing structure when retracted
Solution Approach 1:
The wing support strut serves as an intermediary structure between the wing and the outrigger landing gear. Instead of mounting the landing gear directly on the wing (which would require excessive length), the strut provides an intermediate mounting point that allows the outrigger gear to be positioned optimally for stability while keeping its length manageable and compatible with the wing structure's retraction capabilities.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the landing gear track is increased by extending attachment points outside the fuselage envelope, then stability is improved, but large fairings are required to enclose the landing gear during flight
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of extending the landing gear attachment points laterally outside the fuselage envelope (which would require large fairings), the solution uses the vertical dimension by mounting outrigger gears on the wing support struts above the fuselage. This dimensional shift allows the track width to be increased for stability while the outrigger gears remain enclosed within the existing fuselage and wing structure envelopes during flight, eliminating the need for additional fairings.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft comprising a fuselage, a pair of wings connected to an upper portion of the fuselage, and a pair of wing support struts, each wing support strut being connected between a lower portion of the fuselage and an underside of the adjacent wing, wherein at least one centre landing gear assembly is connected to the fuselage and is configured to be retractable within the fuselage, and a respective outrigger landing gear is connected to each wing support strut, each outrigger landing gear being configured to be retractable within the respective wing support strut.