Designs for RC Landing Gear

Tricycle Landing Gear

• Tricycle landing gear have three wheels, like the name implies. One wheel is in the nose of the aircraft and the other two, the main gear, are under the wing. This design is very popular for trainer aircraft that have their wings mounted on top of the fuselage. The nose gear would be steerable. The main gear is usually attached to the fuselage via a U-shaped piece of metal or carbon fiber.

Tail-dragger Landing Gear

• Many warbirds and aerobatic planes have their landing gear set up with the mains under the wings but the steerable wheel under the rudder of the plane. Unlike the tricycle gear, this configuration causes the tail of the airplane to be in contact with the ground until the plane picks up speed. Typically the tail will rise off the ground and the plane will roll along on the mains for a bit before the plane gets airborne. This design is commonly seen on low-wing aircraft.

Retractable Landing Gear

• Retractable landing gear can be either configuration and rely upon a mechanical or pneumatic system to raise and lower the gear. This equipment is used on scale aircraft to give the plane a realistic look while in the air. Retracts will allow the plane to fly faster due to reduced drag. A full-function RC plane will use a servo for each function, throttle, rudder, ailerons and elevator. A separate RC channel and servo must be dedicated to the retracts, so this means using a five-channel system.