The Cost of Landing an Airplane

In view of comparatively higher landing frequencies expected in operation of short range jets, analysis of costs by a measure other than flying hours are a necessity. Turbojet and turboprop systems are compared in terms of logical exposure to usage, and cost per landing are found to be most meaningful for several systems, which are further analyzed. Because the landing gear system costs were found to be greatest in magnitude of the airframe sytems, these are reviewed in some detail. While good progress in brake cost reduction has been achieved further developments in wheel design toward reduced cost are in order, and considerable emphasis is needed on tires, which account for half of all landing gear costs.