Tracked Landing Gear

[Stingray Don]

Okay, who wants to put these on their plane?

 

[Jeff Oslick]

Wonder how they would do on ice with the right tread pattern.

 

[Zeldman]

Wow.... I could go for a set on a C-206..!!!!

 

[wanttaja]

This was at Oshkosh 2003....

Ron Wanttaja

 

[Shepherd]

The original tundra tires.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Wonder how they would do on ice with the right tread pattern.

Who needs traction on ice? Wheels are there to hold the plane off the ground, who cares if they skid, as long as your runway is long enough... I've landed on a runway that was just a sheet of ice, it was easier than a normal landing - You can land in a crab! It's much easier than driving on a sheet of ice too, my car has no aero control surfaces.

 

[Clark1961]

Who needs traction on ice? Wheels are there to hold the plane off the ground, who cares if they skid, as long as your runway is long enough... I've landed on a runway that was just a sheet of ice, it was easier than a normal landing - You can land in a crab! It's much easier than driving on a sheet of ice too, my car has no aero control surfaces.

yabut the taxi on ice after the landing sorta sucks. Well at least in tight quarters it does. Any slope on the ramp can be a real pain.

 

[airdale]

Not very practical except on ice and snow, IMO. When a tire or a track touches down on a hard surface runway it must be be accelerated from zero to landing speed. Infinitely fast spin-up requires an infinite force, which is not gonna happen. So it is the rubber that buffers the forces, wearing as it does so, and rubber-plating our runways. Tires don't get bald from taxiing. I can't believe the mass of a track and all its internal wheels won't require a much larger spin-up force with consequent much larger rubber wear.

 

[BigBadLou]

I can't believe the mass of a track and all its internal wheels won't require a much larger spin-up force with consequent much larger rubber wear.

That's why these are pre-spun. They are battery operated and you can control them via BluToot from your iThing.

 

[airdale]

That's why these are pre-spun. ...

Interesting. I wonder what the weight penalty is? I also wonder what happens when the pilot forgets the pre-spin. Is it like landing amphib floats on water with the wheels down?

 

[Stingray Don]

That's why these are pre-spun. They are battery operated and you can control them via BluToot from your iThing.

What if it is on a treadmill?

 

[kyleb]

They tested these on the B-36 back in the 40's. The idea was to reduce point loads on runways. That was when the prototype B-36's had a single tire on each main gear.