Jump to content

Undercarriage arrangements

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 41.68.131.173 (talk) at 10:38, 27 July 2017 (center gear of 340 not unique as stated, corrected). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Below are featured the wheeled undercarriage (also called landing gear) arrangements of some modern commercial jet airliners and large military aircraft.

Types of wheeled units

This table shows the main types of individual, basic wheeled units (single-wheel unit or bogies composed of multiple wheels) used on most aircraft undercarriages.

Symbol Wheeled unit Example
2 wheels, 1 axle
Airbus A380 nose landing gear (consisting of a single 2-wheel bogie)
4 wheels, 2 axles
An Airbus A330's central landing gear (consisting of two 4-wheel bogies)
6 wheels, 3 axles
A Boeing 777's central landing gear (consisting of two 6-wheel bogies)
14 wheels, 7 axles
An impressive, and unique of its kind, Antonov An-225's 14-wheel bogie from the plane's central landing gear (consisting of two 14-wheel bogies)

The tables below show how various types of wheeled units are arranged to form the undercarriages of some popular aircraft from manufacturers Antonov, Airbus, and Boeing.

Aircraft Wheels and
Configuration
Nose section Center section Example
An-225 32 wheels
[2x2]+[2x14]
The Antonov An-225 with its impressive 32-wheel landing gear. Note the front gear made of two independent, parallel 2-wheel bogies
Aircraft Wheels and
Configuration
Nose section Center section Example
A318, A319, A320, A321 (standard) 6 wheels
[1x2]+[2x2]
An Airbus A319 from bmi
A300, A310, A320 family (optional), A330 10 wheels
[1x2]+[2x4]
Airbus A310 from Biman Bangladesh Airlines
A340-200/300 12 wheels
[1x2]+[2x4+1x2]
An Airbus A340-300 from Kuwait Airways. The usage of an isolated 2-wheel unit in the central landing gear is unique to this aircraft and the DC-10-30.
An Airbus A340-300 from Kuwait Airways. Note the usage of an isolated 2-wheel unit in the central landing gear (similar to the MD-11)
A340-500/600 14 wheels
[1x2]+[3x4]
Airbus A340-600 of Virgin Atlantic
A350-800/900 10 wheels
[1x2]+[2x4]
Airbus A350-900 of Vietnam Airlines
A350-1000 14 wheels
[1x2]+[2x6]
Airbus A350-1000 prototype
A380 22 wheels
[1x2]+[2x4+2x6]
Airbus A380 in Airbus markings
Aircraft Wheels and
Configuration
Nose section Center section Example
717, 727, 737 6 wheels
[1x2]+[2x2]
A Boeing 737 from Southwest Airlines
747 Jumbo Jet 18 wheels
[1x2]+[4x4]
A Boeing 747-400's central landing gear. Note the strong backward tilt of the bogies, typical of 4- and 6-wheel bogies, to ensure efficient touch down with the ground when landing
757, 767 10 wheels
[1x2]+[2x4]
A Boeing 757-200 from British Airways
777 14 wheels
[1x2]+[2x6]
A Boeing 777-200 from United Airlines. Using 6-wheel bogies, instead of the common 4-wheel bogies, was visionary at the time of the design of the 777
787 Dreamliner 10 wheels
[1x2]+[2x4]
A factory Boeing 787 Dreamliner
B-52 Stratofortress 8 main wheels plus 2 outrigger wheels
[2x2]+[2x2]
A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress featuring its characteristic landing gear with 8 wheels under fuselage and two outrigger wheels near wingtips