Sage-Tips

What is tandem landing gear?

Tandem) 13. This term is used for a landing gear that consists of retractable two wheel assemblies mounted on the aircraft centerline one behind the other. Additional supports may include smaller wheels or skids. Tandem landing gear is also known as bicycle landing gear.

Do planes have backup landing gear?

All aircraft have backup gear systems as well. The A330 has two independent control systems, alternated in use each time the gear is activated. The Boeing 747 has four separate hydraulic systems, for example. On the A330 this is achieved by retracting the shock absorbers in the landing gear strut.

Did WW2 planes have wooden propellers?

The development of engines led to the need for metal propellers, but wood was still found on some planes in WW2. Wood was cheap, plentiful, and the skills to form high quality propellers out of wood already existed. Wooden propellers were well suited to the relatively low power of the engines of the era.

Was the p 47 a good fighter?

The P-47 proved to be a formidable fighter-bomber due to its good armament, heavy bomb load and ability to survive enemy fire. The P-47’s survivability was due in part to its radial piston engine, which unlike comparable liquid-cooled engines, had a high tolerance for damage.

What were ww2 propellers made of?

aluminum alloy
Metal Propellers : During 1940 , solid steel propellers were made for military use. Modern propellers are fabricated from high-strength , heat-treated,aluminum alloy by forging a single bar of aluminum alloy to the required shape.

When did they stop using wooden propellers?

They were cheap, easy to manufacture, and light, and were the dominant propeller type for high performance aircraft until the mid-1920s.

Why do WW2 planes have painted propellers on them?

That is not unique to WW2 planes, this is fairly common on most prop planes. It is to increase the visibility of a running (spinning) propeller to help people on the ground from accidentally coming in contact with them. The unpainted propellers on the large aircraft may be more related to wartime haste than anything else.

Why are there so many planes with fixed pitch propellers?

At the beginning of the war, there were many aircraft with fixed pitch. Some had high/low pitch. During WW2 technical innovation was rapid, and rather soon most high-performance aircraft had constant speed propellers. But not all aircraft were high-performance so some staid at fixed-pitch.$\\endgroup$ – ghellquist Dec 20 ’18 at 21:43

What would World War II have looked like without the Merlin engine?

The course of World War II would have been very different without Rolls-Royce’s immortal Merlin engine. The British Overseas Airways Corporation flight from Stockholm, Sweden, landed at an airfield in Leuchars, northern Scotland, one of several hundred round trips the airline made between the two cities.

What is the difference between a constant speed and variable pitch propeller?

In general practice they are all the same thing as all constant speed propellers are just the most common form of a variable pitch propeller. There were very few aircraft where the pilot only had a simple control to just vary the pitch of the propeller. A few aircraft also had propellers that were only adjustable on the ground.