Impact of High-Aspect-Ratio Wing Aircraft Concepts on Conventional Tricycle Landing Gear Integration

To comply with the Paris Agreement targets set in 2015, significant reductions in aircraft emissions are required. This demands a fundamental shift in aircraft design. Therefore, it is essential to study how future aircraft designs will affect the integration and design of landing systems. This research project examines the landing gear issues that arise from adopting specific future aircraft configurations. The study focuses on two primary configurations: the high-aspect-ratio wing and the ultra-high-aspect-ratio wing, with selected aircraft concepts from Cranfield University as baselines. It investigates the design and integration of conventional landing systems into these new aircraft concepts, highlighting the limitations posed by the modified airframes. The selected concepts include either telescopic or trailing arm arrangements, with attachment points on the wings or fuselage. A methodology for preliminary sizing of landing systems is presented, emphasizing automation and determining key performance indicators to assess the suitability of each solution for different aircraft architectures. The challenges of these novel airframes highlight opportunities to move away from conventional solutions and explore unconventional methods of interfacing between the aircraft and the ground.