Design of Hydraulic Landing Gear of General Aviation Aircraft

As aircraft grew in size and speed, operating landing gear solely through manual lever force became increasingly difficult, necessitating the development of dedicated hydraulic power systems. The hydraulically assisted automatic landing gear mechanism was first implemented in the legendary Douglas DC-1, DC-2, and DC-3 models, marking a significant technological milestone in aviation history. In parallel with advancements in aircraft design, it was decided that the landing gear originally located at the tail would be repositioned to the front of the aircraft. This modification improved takeoff and landing performance while reducing pilot workload. In tailwheel aircraft, the pilot had to push the control stick forward during takeoff to raise the tail and, during landing, either touch down both main wheels simultaneously at slightly higher speed or achieve a highly precise and level touchdown. The introduction of nose landing gear eliminated these challenges, providing pilots with more controlled and safer takeoff and landing operations, and consequently becoming the standard configuration in modern aviation. Today’s aircraft typically employ a nose landing gear along with two main landing gears located under the wings. This study focuses on the design of fixed hydraulic landing gear systems commonly used in general aviation aircraft. The primary objective of the design is to develop a high-strength, high-durability, and cost-effective hydraulic landing gear concept for ultra-light aircraft used in various operational fields, and to present simulation analyses demonstrating the performance of the developed system.