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Theoretical Review on Components and Functioning of Hydraulically

Operated Retractable Aircraft Landing Gear

Conference Paper · December 2012

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 Theoretical Review on Components and Functioning
of Hydraulically Operated Retractable Aircraft
Landing Gear
Saurabh Kale
Ameya Deokar Mechanical Engineering Dept
Mechanical Engineering Dept SKN College of Engineering
ISB&m School of Technology Pune, India
Pune, India kalesaurabh93@hotmail.com
ameya.deokar@yahoo.co.in

Abstract— The design of the landing gear is one of the most The advancement in landing gear mechanism is also
fundamental aspects of aircraft design. Looking at the modern described in the paper.
aircrafts, retractable landing gear mechanism is one of the
most dominantly used landing gear mechanism. Earlier Index Terms—Landing Gear, Hydraulic, Mechanism,
landing systems for aircrafts were either conventional or Retractable, Landing Wheel, Aircraft
tricycle (ref fig). It consisted of wheels that were protruded
outside the aircrafts all the times even if the aircrafts is Introduction
nowhere near the ground. However, this system had a main
drawback of very high drag force on aircraft, which also led to Landing gear is one of the most fundamental component of
many shortcomings such as reduction in speed, decrease in fuel aircraft design. Looking at the modern aircrafts, retractable landing
economy, maneuverability, controllability etc. gear mechanism is one of the most dominantly used landing gear
Because of very limited knowledge for analyzing this drag mechanism. Earlier landing systems for aircrafts were either
force, aircrafts designers of 1920s were unable to design conventional or tricycle. It consisted of wheels that were protruded
landing gear mechanism to reduce this drag force. Hence outside the aircrafts all the times even if the aircrafts is nowhere
reducing drag force was the only key to overcome these near the ground. However, this system had a main drawback of very
shortcomings. The research and development done by aircraft high drag force on aircraft, which also led to many shortcomings
designers led them to mainly two conclusions: either to retract such as reduction in speed, decrease in fuel economy,
the landing gear inside the aircraft by certain mechanism or by maneuverability, controllability etc.
redesigning these protruded landing wheels with some external
provisions to reduce drag force. It was difficult to reach a Geometry, weight and mission requirements have key role in
definite conclusion since retractable landing gear mechanism design and positioning of the landing gear mechanism. Given the
weighed more than fixed landing wheel system because of weight and cg range of the aircraft, suitable configurations are
different components and assemblies which again affected fuel identified and reviewed to determine how well they match the
economy, not to mention the heavy cost. On the other hand, the airframe structure, flotation, and operational requirements. The
problem of drag force was still present for fixed landing wheel essential features, e.g., the number and size of tires and wheels,
system. brakes, and shock absorption mechanism, must be selected before
an aircraft design progresses past the concept formulation phase,
The best solution to the performance requirement was to after which it is often very difficult and expensive to change the
pull the landing gear completely inside the fuselage and cover design. Three examples of significant changes made after the initial
them over; hence presenting a smooth surface that produced design include the DC-10-30, which added the third main gear to
no drag. Extensive research on this led to the development of the fuselage, the Airbus A340, where the main gear center bogie
electronically operated and hydraulically operated Retractable increased from two to four wheels in the -400 series, and the Airbus
landing gear mechanism. The most extensively used Hydraulic A-300, where the wheels were spread further apart on the bogie to
type retractable landing gear mechanism became so much meet LaGuardia Airport flotation limits for US operators.
popular as it efficiently served three main purpose i.e. Energy
absorption at landing, Braking and Taxi control. The landing gear can be defined as the structure that supports an
aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, take-off, and land. In
This paper mainly focuses on the working principle fact, landing gear design tends to have several interferences with the
of hydraulically operated Retractable landing gear mechanism, aircraft structural design. In general, the followings are the landing
its various physical aspects during take-off and landing, gear parameters which are to be determined:
working of different components which are connected together
so as to form a hydraulically operated landing gear 1. Type (e.g. nose gear (tricycle), tail gear, and bicycle)
mechanism, their advantages and limitations. This paper also
describes the challenges faced during design of such 2. Fixed (faired, or un-faired), or retractable, partially
mechanisms. retractable
 3. Height 1 Main back wheel
2 Nose wheel
4. Wheel base 3 Wing wheel

5. Wheel track
III. Floater Landing Gear
6. The distance between main gear and aircraft cg
A floater landing gear is designed to make it possible for an
7. Strut diameter aircraft to land on water. Aircraft which are equipped with a floater
landing gear are called seaplanes and service in areas without
8. Tire sizing (diameter, width) airstrips or with an abundance of water.

9. Landing gear compartment if retracted

10. Load on each strut

Different Types of Landing Gear

As discussed above, earlier landing wheels were protruded on the
outer parts of the aircraft. But this significantly increased drag force
on the aircraft and hence affected overall speed and fuel economy.
This led to the evolution of the retractable landing gear mechanism.
But future demands were asking designers to design different
Fig 3: Floater Landing Gear
landing gear mechanisms so that an aircraft can be landed on all
terrain conditions. Hence various landing gears were developed 1. Water
which are as follows:
2. Floater landing gear
I. Conventional Landing Gears
A floater landing gear is designed to make it possible for an
aircraft to land on water. Aircraft which are equipped with a
floater landing gear are called seaplanes and service in areas
without airstrips or with an abundance of water (fig 3).

IV. Ski Landing Gear

In the Polar Regions, the winter season lasts for almost the entire
year. The terrain is frozen and covered with snow for a great time of
the year. To land aircraft in such areas, it is necessary to modify the
landing gear and fit the aircraft with a pair of skis. The landing gear
consists to main skis located under its wings and a nose ski as
Fig 1: Conventional Landing Gear
shown in fig 4.

1 Two front landing gear wheels

2 The tail wheel

The conventional landing gear consists of two wheels under the

nose of the aircraft and one wheel located at its tail. This type of
landing gear is mostly used by smaller aircraft. Larger aircraft do
not use this configuration due to difficult ground maneuverability.
Another disadvantage of this type of landing gear is its raised nose,
resulting in less runway visibility for the pilot.

II. Tandem Landing Gear

The tandem landing gear is used on aircraft with a limited Fig 4: Ski Landing Gear
maximum payload such as gliders and military aircraft(fig 2). This
landing gear consists of a main back wheel (1), a nose wheel (2) 1 Main skis
and two wheels in line with one another connected to the wings (3). 2 Nose ski

V. Tricycle Landing Gear

The tricycle type landing gear is the most common type of

landing gear used for larger aircraft. It has the Main Landing Gear
(MLG*) under the body of the aircraft and a Nose Landing Gear
(NLG*) under the nose. In comparison to the conventional landing
gear, this configuration provides much better maneuverability on
the ground and at the same time keeps the aircraft vertically aligned.
This makes it easier to land and load cargo.

Fig 2: Tandem Landing Gear

 Nose and Main Landing Gear

1. Nose landing gear The A320 uses a four bar linkage on both nose and main landing
gears (fig. 7). This four bar linkage has one degree of freedom so
2. Main landing gear that it can extend and retract.

Fig 5: Tricycle landing gear

The advantage of the tricycle gear is the stabilizing momentum
during touchdown when the aircraft’s longitudinal axis is not
parallel to the runway. The drag created by the two main gear
wheels is parallel to the motion direction. This means there is no
momentum created however the drag that works on the two main
gear wheels to the side creates a negative momentum. This
momentum turns the aircraft parallel to the runway again.

Another advantage of the tricycle gear is that the

aircraft is in a horizontal position when parked on the ground.
Unlike the conventional landing gear configuration which has a tail Fig 7: 4-bar linkage in landing gear mechanism
wheel instead of a nose wheel. With the tail wheel causes the
airplane to stand in a nose up position therefore making loading the
airplane more difficult. Extension and Retraction

The disadvantage of the tricycle gear is that it is heavier than a The landing gear is used to soften the impact during landing. The
conventional configuration. Also when loading an aircraft equipped main gear is the first part that hits the ground. Beside the main
with a tricycle gear you cannot load the aircraft in such a way that gears, the nose gear is used to stabilize the aircraft on the ground.
the center of gravity is shifted to behind the two main gear wheels. These two systems work with electric and hydraulic components.
This causes the aircraft to tip over and hit the ground with its tail. Let us study in detail the mechanism and functioning of the main
gear and the nose gear:
Retractable Landing Gear Mechanism

Landing gear mechanism varies from aircraft to aircraft and 1. Main gear
depending on terrain conditions. The tricycle landing gear system is
the most extensively used mechanism for fighter jets as well as A lock stay is used for the down locking of the main landing
carrier aircrafts. Hence for theoretical review purpose, let us study gear. The landing gear is electrically controlled and hydraulically
the retractable landing gear mechanism of the Airbus A320. operated by the green hydraulics system of the A320. Two
Landing Gear Control Interface Units (LGCIU) control and
Airbus A320 monitor the landing gear and landing gear doors. The hydraulic
actuators move the landing gear to its up/down position. The
The landing gear of an Airbus A320 consists of a nose landing gear landing gear indication panel and the Electronic Centralized
and a main landing gear mechanism. The landing gear mechanism Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) display the position of the landing gear
is hydraulically powered by the hydraulic retracting systems of the during extension and retraction.
aircraft. The nose and main landing gear are different from each
other in their construction. The main landing gear has to absorb The main landing gears are mounted under the wing and retract
most of the shocks during landing, while the nose gear controls sideways into the fuselage. The retraction of the landing gear legs
allow for change in steering angle. is done by hydraulic actuators. The gears are kept retracted in the
landing gear bay by an up lock mechanism.
Tricycle Gear Layout

Fig 6: Layout of Tricycle Gear Layout

The tricycle gear fig. 6 consists of one nose landing gear leg and
two main landing gear legs. When using a tricycle gear, around
13% of the total weight of the airplane acts down on the nose
landing gear and 87% acts down on the main landing gear. The
weight distribution depends on the position of the center of gravity.
Fig 8: Main Gear
 1.1. Mechanical Construction this pressure force will directly create the pressure to the
The main landing gear of the A320 consists of two restrictor valve, and the control orifice is blocked, so the
inboard retracting main gear legs (Refer fig. 8). restrictor valve is moved to let fluid go through. This
Retraction goes side-ways into the landing gear bay that creates the pressure on the piston, which will move the
is situated in the fuselage. A two-piece side stay piston to the right. The hydraulic fluid, with a lower
assembly holds the gear in extended position. The side pressure, at the other side of the piston will return in the
stay assembly connects the leg fitting of the main hydraulic system. The two-restrictor valves are closed
landing gear to the wing structure. This will prevent the when the landing gear is operated. This decreases the
main landing gear from making sideways movements. A flow and controls the speed.
lock spring is attached between the side stay and the leg.
When the main landing gear retracts, the lock actuator
pulls the lock stay so that the lock spring starts to fold.
The hydraulic actuator extends and retracts the main
landing gear sideways into the fuselage. The gears are
locked in the fuselage by an up lock mechanism. The up
lock is done by a hook, which locks the pin mounted on
the landing gear. The hook is controlled by the up lock
actuator and a tension spring holds the hook in an over-
centered and locked position. When the up lock actuator
retracts, it moves the hook out of the up lock which
unlocks the up lock mechanism.
Fig 9: Main landing gear actuator
1.2. Operation
The landing gear in normal operation is controlled by The doors close, and lock, and the doors solenoid A
the landing gear control lever. The landing gear lever in stays energized whenever electrical power is applied.
“UP”-position states that the landing gear is retracted The LGCIU will receive an electrical signal from the
and when the lever is in “DOWN”-position the gear is or proximity sensors that the doors are closed. The LGCIU
will be extended. will send this information to the Electronic Centralized
Aircraft Monitor (ECAM).
When the operator puts the landing gear lever
in the “DOWN” position, an electrical signal is sent to 2. Nose Gear
the Landing Gear Control Interface Unit (LGCIU). The
LGCIU is an interface unit based on ARINC that
controls and review the sequence of the landing gear.
The landing gear control system has two independently
working LGCIUs, the LGCIU will be switched at every
sequence, when extension starts LGCIU1 is working and
LGCIU2 works when retraction starts. Only one LGCIU
controls the system at the time. When a LGCIU does not
work anymore the other LGCIU takes the control of the
landing gear over.

The LGCIU sends a signal to the landing gear and

landing gear doors electrical selector valves to open the
doors. The two selector valves are mounted on a
manifold block. Both selector valves have two operating Fig 10: Nose landing gear
solenoids A and B. If the doors solenoid B energizes the
ball valve stays at his position to block the valve. This The main difference between the main gears and nose gear is the
stops the hydraulic fluid to stream back to its system it forward retraction motion into the fuselage. The nose landing
creates a higher pressure on the left side of the end cap. gear is also electrically controlled and hydraulically operated by
So the spool will moves to right to open port 2, which let the green hydraulic system.
the hydraulic fluid stream to the door actuators to open
the doors. 2.1. Mechanical construction
The nose gear (Fig. 10) is equipped with two wheels
The up lock from the door releases and the and retracts forward into the front fuselage of the
hydraulically operated actuating cylinder opens the main airplane. A two-piece drag strut assembly with a lock
door. The solenoid B of the doors is energized until the stay keeps the gear locked in extension position. A
gears are locked in down position. The proximity hydraulic actuator in normal operation controls the lock
sensors on the door detect the open door and will send stay. If the hydraulic actuator has a failure the two
this back to the LGCIU. The LGCIU receives the signal springs will pull the gear down for down lock. When the
from the proximity sensor that the doors are open. The nose gear retracts, the hydraulic cylinder of the lock stay
LGCIU sends a signal to the landing selector valves. The retracts which will fold the lock stay.
landing gear selector valves works in the same way as
the selector valve of the doors. The fluid goes through to The nose gear actuator retracts the gear into the front
the main landing gear actuating cylinder. fuselage. The nose gear up lock holds the gear in
retracted position. The main components of the up lock
The main landing gear actuating cylinder (fig.9) has are the hook and the lever. The hook locks the pin,
three primary contents: The cylinder, the piston and two which is mounted on the nose landing gear leg, for
restrictor valves. When the piston rod is in damping locking the nose gear.
mode the piston blocks the control orifice. So when port
A is open for the hydraulic fluid and port B for return of
the hydraulic fluid. The hydraulic fluid enters port A,
 2.2. Operation
The nose landing gear operates almost identically as the
main landing gear. The landing gear lever is used for
every gear of the aircraft. The LGCIUs also control and
monitor the nose landing gear. When the nose landing
gear is extracted normally the gear is in the neutral
position, if that fails the LGCIU sends no electrical
signal to the solenoid baulk device, so the lever cannot
be put in “UP”- position. The gears and doors are both
operated by the LGCIU, the hydraulic operation is done
by a selector valve. Hydraulic actuators control the gears
and doors and the proximity sensors that are placed on Fig 12: Nose landing gear door
the lock stay and the up lock provide the position
information. Torque link dampers decrease the vibrations through the
Along with the Landing gears, the landing gear doors also play an torque links during a landing.
important role in covering the landing gear mechanism into the
fuselage and providing an aerodynamic profile to the plane during 1. Shock Absorber
The shock absorber must soften the impact of the touchdown.
its flight. Let us study the mechanism of the doors in detail:
The main landing gear is in normal conditions the first part of
the aircraft which touch the ground. The nose landing gear
touches the ground later.
3. Main landing gear doors
The main landing gear doors (Fig. 11) close upon 1.1. Purpose
retraction of the landing gears to lessen the drag during flight. As an aircraft touches the ground during landing, large
The doors can be categorized under the following topics: forces are generated on the landing gear. To prevent any
damage to the undercarriage of an aircraft, the shock
The main door is connected to the fuselage and is must be absorbed, therefore shock absorbers are
operated by a hydraulic actuator. An uplock roller and the door installed. A shock absorber absorbs the kinetic energy
uplock keep the doors closed. The door uplock is closed that is created during touchdown and converts this
mechanically, locking the door in the closed position, and energy into heat. If the absorber does not convert all the
hydraulically opened, releasing the door during normal extension kinetic energy into heat, it will bounce the aircraft back
and retraction sequences. The uplock can also be opened in the air.
mechanically in free fall extension and ground door opening. 1.2. Absorbers
Steps are installed to make the compartment more accessible for There are different kinds of shock absorbers which can
maintenance. be used for an aircraft. The smaller planes absorb the
shock of a landing through the flexibility of the metal
The hinged fairing is attached to the wing skin by a that is used for the landing gear. These types of
single hinge and to the landing gear with an adjustable tie rod. absorbers are called solid spring absorbers. Rubber can
The adjustable tie rod causes the hinged fairing to follow the also be used for spring purposes in a shock absorber.
landing gear during landing gear extension and retraction.

4. Nose landing gear doors 1. Compressed air

The nose landing gear doors (Fig. 12) include: two main doors, or nitrogen
two aft doors and one leg door. The main doors are hydraulically 2. Oil
powered. These two doors are mechanically connected to the 3. Orifice
aircraft. The doors are kept close by an uplock assembly. The two
aft doors close when the NLG is retracted. These aft doors can close
when the gear is extended and reduce the drag this way. The leg
door is a fixed fairing used to close the hole where the drug strut
comes out when the gear is extended.
Fig 12: Oleo Pneumatic Struts

Damping system 1.3. Oleo Pneumatic Struts

The techniques with rubber and flexible materials are
During the landing, the landing gear endures huge forces. not suitable for larger aircraft. These larger aircraft use
The shock absorbers soften the forces that are involved. shock absorbers that are called oleo pneumatic struts
Torque links are placed at the rear of the nose landing gear. (Fig. 12) that uses a mixture of gas and oil. The oil is not
real oil, but it is a hydraulic fluid that is called phosphate
ester. The company Skydrol manufactures these fluids
for many aircraft companies. Airbus uses the variant
NSA 307.110.
The spring is provided by compressing gas, usually
nitrogen. The oil is used to prevent the bouncing effect
during touchdown. In other words, the oil absorbs the
shock. During touchdown the oil is pressed through a
narrow calibrated hole, also known as the orifice, this
section prevents the wheel base from flinging back after
touchdown. As the oil is pressed through the orifice, the
kinetic energy is converted into heat. While the oil is

Fig 11: Main Landing Gear Door

 pressed through the orifice, the gas on top of the oil 1. Free Body Diagrams And Assumptions
becomes compressed. These shock absorbers are almost When an aircraft is approaching the forces of the aircraft are
perfect, but there is only one problem. After using the equilibrium (A). When the touchdown is made, the approach forces
absorber a while, the oil gets mixed up with the gas are still the same, but a new impulse occurs (B).
which creates bubbles, and bubbles take away the A. Approach Assumptions
absorbing effect. Therefore they invented a model that The A320 endures several forces during the flight and in
separates the gas from the oil (Fig. 13). approach (fig 15). The basic forces of the aircraft are FLift, FDrag,
The gas is now separated from the oil by a separator. Weight and FThrust. The maximum landing weight (MLW) of the
Instead of a narrowed section, a valve plate is installed A320 is 66000 kg. The assumption for the touchdown is that the
to prevent the wheel base of flinging back after aircraft is at a constant speed, so there is no acceleration. The forces
touchdown. on the aircraft in descent with no acceleration are all in equilibrium.
The situation of the touchdown is that the aircraft touches the
ground with the maximum allowable descent velocity that is stated
by CS-25 of 3.05 m/s. The situation is also stated in the most
desirable conditions and the standard ISA conditions, there is no
crosswind or shears through the touchdown.
1. Gas
2. Oil
3. Separator
4. Valve plate

Fig 13: Modified Oleo Pneumatic Strut

2. Torque Link Damper

To prevent the inner cylinder from rotating in the outer
cylinder of the shock strut, a torque link is present. The torque
link prevents the wheel from shimmies. The best example of a Fig 15: Forces consideration on approach
shimmy is a shopping trolley where the wheels do not move
straight but are changing direction continuously. The torque
link does not block the vertical movement of the shock strut. B. Touchdown Assumptions
The torque link consists of two identical smaller constructions
which form together a v-shape which are connected by a hinge Movement of the aircraft between first touch with the ground and
in the middle of the v-shape (fig. 14). These smaller the complete compress of the shock absorber is the touchdown. At
constructions are called the upper torque link which is the moment the aircraft touches the ground (fig. 15) vertical
connected to the outer cylinder and the lower torque link velocity is gone and this impact creates energy, the impulse. The
which is connected to the inner cylinder. To the hinge a torque vertical velocity needs to be transformed into an opposite force, the
link damper is connected, which decreases the landing normal force. The other forces are still all in equilibrium. For the
vibrations in both torque links. calculation it is assumed that the shock absorbers will be
compressed with a constant speed till 0.5 m during the touchdown.
The shock strut velocity is 3.05 m/s in the beginning and at the end
it is 0 m/s. Because it is not possible to find the real deceleration of
the shock strut, this is calculated with a constant average velocity:
1.525 m/s. The landing is performed at a paved runway with a
friction coefficient of 0.03.

Advantages

The advantage of the tricycle gear is the stabilizing momentum

during touchdown when the aircraft’s longitudinal axis is not
parallel to the runway. The drag created by the two main gear
wheels is parallel to the motion direction. This means there is no
momentum created however the drag that works on the two main
gear wheels to the side creates a negative momentum. This
Fig 14: Torque Link Damper momentum turns the aircraft parallel to the runway again.

Another advantage of the tricycle gear is that the

Forces Taken into Consideration while Landing
aircraft is in a horizontal position when parked on the ground.
Unlike the conventional landing gear configuration which has a tail
When the forces during landing gear are calculated, some values are
wheel instead of a nose wheel. With the tail wheel causes the
unknown and cannot be found. Therefore assumptions have to be
airplane to stand in a nose up position therefore making loading the
made to define the forces on the landing gear. With these
airplane more difficult.
assumptions the force that appears during touchdown is calculated
with help of Newton’s second law. When the aircraft is landing the
Disadvantages
new impulse brings a shear force that is needed for constructors.
The disadvantage of the tricycle gear is that it is heavier than a
conventional configuration. Also when loading an aircraft equipped
with a tricycle gear you cannot load the aircraft in such a way that
the center of gravity is shifted to behind the two main gear wheels.
This causes the aircraft to tip over and hit the ground with its tail.

Conclusion

After the theoretical review on the construction and working of

retractable landing gear mechanism, we can conclude with the
following points:

• Landing gear is one of the most essential parts of the

aircraft; it has influence on different systems as well as the
design of the aircraft.

• Retractable gear has the advantage of reduced drag, but adds

weight and complexity to the aircraft.

• The materials are able to sustain the stress that is on the

different components in the different phases of the flight.

• Shock struts are responsible for absorbing forces during

landing. The torque link allows the oleo strut to move up
and down while preventing rotation.

• Maintenance is required to prevent malfunctions. If this

maintenance is not done in a sophisticated way,
malfunctions can lead to a lot of damage.

References

Arman Abbasi, “Airbus A320 Landing Gear”, Project Report,

Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute of
Technology, 2007/2008

Stefanie van Doren, “ Analysis of Airbus A320 Landing Gear

Systems”, Project Report, Hogeschool van Amsterdam,
Amsterdam Institute of Technology, 2009

Mohammad Sadraey, “ Landing Gear Design”, Daniel Webster

College

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