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Questions about gear speed and flying fixed gear

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pantdino

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2019
Messages
136
Location
Cerritos
As some of you are aware, my Titan T-51 had a gear collapse on initial touchdown -> pilot aborted landing to try to resolve it -> which led to a loss of power because of a bad electrical circuit design and subsequent landing with gear collapse.
In other words, the root cause of the incicent was the failure of the main gear to lock down. It seems to me the main gear in general on this airplane are of borderline design and strength, so I am interested in what it would take to just fly fixed gear. No, it doesn't look as cool, there's more drag, and you won't be able to go as fast, but the trade-off would be worth it to me.

My question revolves around the "gear speed" on a retractable aircraft. On this plane its about 100mph, and the plane lands at about 70. So that's too narrow a margin to fly around with. But fixed gear airplanes fly a lot faster than 100mph, so it must be possible to make the gear strong enough to withstand the forces exerted on them during flight.

Is the "gear speed" limited by the vulnerability to damage during the transition more than their locked down position?

I assume the major force on an extended gear leg would be a horizontal one pointed rearward, from the airflow on the wheel and tire. Correct? Unless you're going to be doing aerobatics I would think the other forces would be minimal in comparison.

What changes would one have to make to make the gear strong enough to withstand, say, 160mph, which is the cruising speed of this aircraft?

Thank you
Jim
 
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