20.2.6 LANDING GEAR!!
Description
The landing gear is a complex system consisting of structural members, hydraulics, energy absorption components, brakes, wheels, and tires. Additional components attached to and functioning with the landing gear may include steering devices and retracting mechanisms. Of the many components, it is the structural members that support the heavy landing loads and stop the landing gear from collapsing under the aircraft weight. The materials must be strong enough to support heavy takeoff weight when an aircraft has a full load of fuel and the high impact loads on landing. Landing gear materials must therefore have high static strength, good fracture toughness, and fatigue strength, and the most commonly used materials are high-strength steel and Ti-alloy. It is possible to design a landing gear with still better energy absorption, but somewhere a compromise must be found, if the pilot can walk away without a painful back from an unintended very hard landing
