airtwardo 7 #1 July 20, 2005 Interesting article...... Looks like there are more troubles with the A380, than is being let out! For those of you who aren't passingly familiar with what this is all about ... someone was trying to turn AirBus' great big, brand-new, A380 aircraft a little too sharply (we don't know whether under it's own power, or while it was under tow). AirBus elected NOT to make their main landing gear system (four separate gear with four wheels apiece) steerable. Why? You save a considerable amount of weight -- not to mention some serious extra cost -- by not doing so. There is a trade-off, however ... When you have non-steerable gear that are configured like they are on this aircraft, you have scuffing/skidding going on whenever you turn the aircraft. This isn't an unusual design for a wheeled vehicle, though. For instance, a dual-axle semi-trailer does the same thing when it's being maneuvered sharply within a warehouse parking lot. What makes the A380 so special, is the incredible amount of weight on each huge tire, in conjunction with the widely-spaced gear. In concert, these two aspects considerably magnify the inherent problem -- to the point where the asphalt (not just the rubber tire) is taking it in the shorts ... not to mention the stress and overload that's happening to the entire structure between the tire and the gear attaching points in the wing structure. Note the apparent bending of the gear in one of the shots! No, Mildred, that is NOT a good thing to be happening to your aircraft's main landing gear. Unless they're making everything out of rubber, those stress loads have GOT to be off the scale! As new-aircraft design problems go, this will likely prove to be a very expensive one for AirBus to deal with. It's either that, or the aircraft will only be able to operate in and out of airports that have the extra fifty-acres it will need to get safely turned-around. It'll be interesting to see how they solve this one. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #2 July 20, 2005 Why doesn't the tire pop off the rim?We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gmittar 0 #3 July 20, 2005 I always did like the idea of more smaller planes as opposed to the big honker that airbus came up with. Big stuff has big problems. |>.<| Seriously, W.T.F. mate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MC208B 0 #4 July 20, 2005 hmmmm....one would think the designers would have thought that through a little better! Interesting pics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
highfly 0 #5 July 20, 2005 That is some serious shit there. Not only are the tires getting worn more they are also now very prone to rotating on the hub. Thats real bad news Aircraft tires can only rotate a certain amount before they have to be changed. The tyire dont pop off because the wheel assembly is built in such a way it is clamped together by the main hub of the wheel. This is split in 2 pieces and heavily bolted together. This is gonna cost a shit load for Airbus to remedy. www.myspace.com/durtymac Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
