Configuration of landing gear assemblies for an aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11292447-B2
Application number	US-202016798895-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2020
Priority date	Feb 28, 2019
Publication date	Apr 5, 2022
Grant date	Apr 5, 2022

Abstract

An aircraft having a retractable landing gear assembly configured to support some of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels, and another retractable non-wheeled landing gear assembly or device configured to support some of the weight of the aircraft via one or more “low-friction” supports such as an air cushion is disclosed. The aircraft may have a maximum take-off weight between 100 and 150 tonnes. There may be two main landing gears each carrying two wheels, a nose landing gear, and a central non-wheeled landing gear providing the low friction vertical support when the aircraft is moving on the ground/operating surface.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fixed wing aircraft, comprising:
at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels and having at least one brake assembly for applying a braking force to a wheel of the landing gear, and
at least one retractable landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions,
wherein said at least one retractable landing gear assembly is movable between a deployed position and a stowed position.

2. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of between 100 and 150 tonnes.

3. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels comprises a first main landing gear assembly on a port side of the aircraft and a second main landing gear assembly on a starboard side of the aircraft.

4. An aircraft according to claim 3 , wherein each of the first and the second main landing gear assemblies is a single axle landing gear with two wheels.

5. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels comprises a nose landing gear assembly.

6. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the aircraft is configured for landing and take-off with the use of eight or fewer landing gear wheels.

7. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprise a central landing gear.

8. An aircraft according to claim 7 , wherein the aircraft comprises a fuselage having a structural beam which extends along the centre line of the fuselage.

9. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprises a skirt adapted to contain the air cushion.

10. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions is adapted to create an annular air cushion.

11. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprises a ring of elastomeric material adapted to support some of the weight of the aircraft in the absence of the one or more air cushions.

12. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprises a landing gear leg pivotally mounted at one end to the aircraft.

13. An aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprises a pitch trimmer member.

14. An aircraft comprising:
a retractable nose landing gear,
a first retractable main landing gear which includes one or more wheels and is mounted on a port side of the aircraft,
a second retractable main landing gear which includes one or more wheels and is mounted on a starboard side of the aircraft,
each of the first and second retractable main landing gear having at least one brake assembly for applying a braking force to a wheel of the landing gear,
the one or more wheels of each main landing gear all being configured to facilitate movement of the aircraft along the ground in a longitudinal direction while resisting movement of the aircraft in a direction along the ground perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and
a third retractable landing gear which is configured for supporting at least some of the weight of the aircraft via a distal end of the landing gear, the distal of the landing gear being so configured to facilitate movement of the aircraft in any direction along the ground.

15. A method of moving an aircraft having a first retractable landing gear with one or more wheels, and a second retractable landing gear with one or more air cushions, on a flat support surface including at the same time
supporting at least 100 kN of the weight of the aircraft with the first retractable landing gear,
supporting, with the second retractable landing gear, at least 100 kN of the weight of the aircraft, and between 25% and 200% of the weight supported by the first retractable landing gear, and
reacting a load with the first retractable landing gear, such that (a) the load when resolved in a direction parallel to the support surface is greater than 1 kN and the greatest value of the load, if any, reacted by the second retractable landing gear, when resolved in any direction parallel to the flat support surface being less than 10% of the resolved load reacted by the first retractable landing gear and/or (b) the maximum torsion sustained in the first retractable landing gear is greater than 1 kNm and the maximum torsion sustained in the second retractable landing gear is less than 500 Nm.

16. A landing gear assembly for an aircraft comprising at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels and having at least one brake assembly for applying a braking force to a wheel of the landing gear, at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions, wherein said at least one retractable landing gear assembly is movable between a deployed position and a stowed position.

17. A landing gear assembly according to claim 16 , further including an air blower arranged to produce an air cushion effect.

18. An aircraft, comprising:
at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels,
at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions,
wherein landing gear assembly is movable between a deployed position and a stowed position, and
wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprises a landing gear leg pivotally mounted at one end to the aircraft.

19. An aircraft, comprising:
at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more wheels,
at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions,
wherein landing gear assembly is movable between a deployed position and a stowed position, and
wherein said at least one landing gear assembly configured to support some but not all of the weight of the aircraft via one or more air cushions comprises a pitch trimmer member.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Ltd

Inventors

• Wilson Fraser

Classifications

• B64C25/34

  wheeled type, e.g. multi-wheeled bogies · CPC title

• B64C25/66 Primary

  Convertible alighting gear; Combinations of different kinds of ground or like engaging elements · CPC title

• B60V3/08 Primary

  Aircraft, e.g. air-cushion alighting-gear therefor · CPC title

• B64C25/14

  fore-and-aft · CPC title

• B64C25/12

  sideways · CPC title