Landing Gear facts
While investigating facts about Landing Gear Failure and Landing Gear Components, I found out little known, but curios details like:
Because the Space Shuttle was so hard to land (it was nicknamed "the flying brick"), shuttle crews must train in a modified Gulfstream with its main landing gears down, its engines in reverse, and its left hand side windows covered.
how landing gear works?
The Bajau People who live in the middle of the sea, rarely go on land, have no nationality, no fixed abode, no money and go spear fishing with no scuba gear, including oxygen tanks
What happens if landing gear fails?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what is landing gear in aircraft. Here are 49 of the best facts about Landing Gear System and Landing Gear Trailer I managed to collect.
what is landing gear?
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Bajau people live in the middle of the sea, rarely go on land, have no nationality, no fixed abode, no money and they go spearfishing without scuba gear. Not even oxygen tanks.
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11 years after 9/11, a piece of one of the plane's landing gear was found wedged in between two buildings three blocks away.
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That--although he is better known for inventing the pressurized cabin and collapsible landing gear--Howard Hughes also invented and patented the push-up bra.
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American Musician Meat Loaf has survived a serious car wreck, breaking both legs after jumping off-stage, being struck on the head with a shot during a shot-put event, the emergency landing of a jet with a faulty landing gear, severe dehydration and a heart condition.
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In 1965 a Boeing 707 had an engine blow up during flight and take 25 feet of wing with it. The plane made a safe emergency landing. Boeing then sent a second plane to pick up the stranded passengers and the front landing gear of that plane collapsed on the runway.
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In 2013 a piece of landing gear from one of the 9/11 flights was found wedged between two buildings in NYC.
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In 1965 an engine exploded on a 707 taking 1/3rd of the wing with it but was able to land safely. When another 707 was sent to pick up all the passengers its nose gear collapsed on landing. A 3rd 707 was then sent to pick up any remaining passengers who still trusted planes at this point.
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Hungarian pilots forgot to put the gear of their TU154 plane, touched down on the belly, went around for a second approach and landed.
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A gravity hill, also known as a magnetic hill, or anti-gravity hill, is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces an optical illusion, making a slight downhill slope appear to be an uphill slope. Thus, a car left out of gear will appear to be rolling uphill against gravity.
Why is landing gear retracted after take off?
You can easily fact check why did the stuka have fixed landing gear by examining the linked well-known sources.
A US Marines Harrier pilot landed his jet on a stool while at sea, after his nose gear failed to deploy
Mudskippers use gill-chambers full of water as fishy scuba gear when they’re on land. - source
In order to prepare for landing the Space Shuttle (affectionately referred to as a "flying brick"), astronauts trained in a modified Gulfstream II with the main landing gear down and the engine thrust in reverse - source
One of the landing gears to the planes that hit the twin towers on 9/11 wasn't discovered until 12 years later wedged between an Islamic community center, and another building.
When landing gear down?
In 1937 a British Sailor snapped a picture of a shipwrecked boat of Kiribati Island in the South Pacific. Now known as the Bevington Photo experts are in agreement that the image very likely includes the upturned landing gear of a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra - Amelia Earhart's plane.
How landing gear on trailer?
The B52 bomber can orient its landing gear diagonally, so it doesn't have to turn downwind upon touchdown. Basically, it can land going slightly sideways!
On 29th December 1972, Eastern Airlines flight 401 crashed in the Everglades because a crew of three was occupied with trying to fix a fused landing gear indicator light and didn't notice that the autopilot was disengaged.
PanAm used to offer helicopter service from JFK to the roof of what is now the MetLife building. This ended when the landing gear failed during boarding, causing the heli to tilt to the side, slicing four people to death, before the rest of the blade fell to the streets and killed another
Howard Hughes was credited with developing the first retractable landing gear.
100 years ago, E. Shackleton led a team to Antarctica, ended up marooned on ice floes for many months, went long stretches without food/water/sleep, sailed a 22ft lifeboat 800 miles across the most violent sea on Earth, and was the 1st to cross S. Georgia by land with almost no gear