The Semi‐articulated Multi‐wheel Bogie Undercarriage: A Statement of the Problems Involved Together with a Description of one Method of Overcoming Them

THE trend towards larger and heavier aircraft operating at higher speeds has brought with it a number of new requirements regarding both runway and landing gear design. For such aircraft prepared runways are now essential, and the necessity to spread the tyre‐loading over as large a surface as possible is of paramount importance in keeping the operational weight of aircraft at a maximum for a given runway. In consequence, main under‐carriage design for the tricycle layout has evolved from the single wheel to the twin‐wheel and finally to the multi‐wheel tandem arrangement in which the wheels can be conveniently mounted on a bogie. The last arrangement achieves the maximum spreading of the tyre loading on the runway but at the same time introduces fresh landing, taxying, braking and stowage problems.