News Cargo plane lands without nose gear

[Hielor]

Clearly the right answer is to have every airport keep on hand a fast, sturdy vehicle with a large number of pillows strapped to the roof.

Which then actually kind of begs the question--how much do the repairs cost for a plane that has a nosegear-up landing, and how does that compare to the cost of having such a vehicle prepared?

 

[Notebook]

Ideally, something like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpBf-eXyayY

N.

 

[ADSWNJ]

Ideally, something like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpBf-eXyayY

N.

You the man, Notebook! That was my immediate thought before I saw your vid!

Thunderbirds Are Go. (Actually ... Thunderbirds Were Gone a long time ago. Was it just a UK thing, or does everybody know Thunderbirds?)

 

[PhantomCruiser]

F.A.B.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Clearly the right answer is to have every airport keep on hand a fast, sturdy vehicle with a large number of pillows strapped to the roof.

Which then actually kind of begs the question--how much do the repairs cost for a plane that has a nosegear-up landing, and how does that compare to the cost of having such a vehicle prepared?

Costs would be, in the long run, much lower than the expenses involved in repairing the aircraft.

 

[Hielor]

Costs would be, in the long run, much lower than the expenses involved in repairing the aircraft.

See, if that were true, then why isn't this something that companies do? My guess is that the problem is so rare, and the result of the problem is usually so minor (nobody dies, the company itself probably doesn't even pay for it due to insurance, etc), that it's simply not worth it to have this kind of thing available.

What about starting your own company that provides this kind of service? You only need to be at one airport in a given metropolitan area, so you can pick one with a nice long runway and lower costs for operation. Keep trained staff on call 24/7, make sure all the local airport towers are aware of your existence and can get in touch with you and redirect aircraft appropriately.

Could you expand to smaller GA planes for gear-up landings as well, such as the small twin that was linked earlier?

Let's say, hypothetically speaking, you could handle all-gear-up landings (plane just sets down on top of your vehicle) for anything up to light twins, single-gear-up landings for anything up to the light commuter jets, and nosegear-up landings for anything bigger.

How common are these incidents? If you successfully handled 100% of the incidents in a given metro area, what would you need to charge in order to make a profit?

 

[Andy44]

Um, nobody has attempted to answer my question: how come the nose gear doesn't seem to be as reliable as the main gear? That would eliminate the need for the above argument.

 

[ADSWNJ]

Um, nobody has attempted to answer my question: how come the nose gear doesn't seem to be as reliable as the main gear? That would eliminate the need for the above argument.

My guess: because it's more complex. The other wheel-sets just need to drop in one axis, whereas the nose-set needs to also be steerable.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Costs would be, in the long run, much lower than the expenses involved in repairing the aircraft.

Welp, that came out wrong. Meant it the other way around.

Um, nobody has attempted to answer my question: how come the nose gear doesn't seem to be as reliable as the main gear? That would eliminate the need for the above argument.

It's probably the same failure rate as main gears, or maybe slightly higher if you count in the steering systems, like the Jet Blue flight a decade or so ago with the fouled nose gear, or the A330/340 (can't recall which), back in 2012 where the nose gear was sideways until the mains touched down and it "miraculously" straightened out.

 

[APDAF]

Also the forward gear doesn't have the mass the main gear has and it may not be heavy enough to be dragged down by gravity.

 

[Enjo]

Thunderbirds Are Go. (Actually ... Thunderbirds Were Gone a long time ago. Was it just a UK thing, or does everybody know Thunderbirds?)

I think this DJ is an Aussie, though I don't know where the party was:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vub3ps7bWyc

 

[ADSWNJ]

Wow who knew? There's a new Thunderbirds series, aired last summer in the UK on ITV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbirds_(TV_series)

 

[tl8]

See, if that were true, then why isn't this something that companies do? My guess is that the problem is so rare, and the result of the problem is usually so minor (nobody dies, the company itself probably doesn't even pay for it due to insurance, etc), that it's simply not worth it to have this kind of thing available.

What about starting your own company that provides this kind of service? You only need to be at one airport in a given metropolitan area, so you can pick one with a nice long runway and lower costs for operation. Keep trained staff on call 24/7, make sure all the local airport towers are aware of your existence and can get in touch with you and redirect aircraft appropriately.

Could you expand to smaller GA planes for gear-up landings as well, such as the small twin that was linked earlier?

Let's say, hypothetically speaking, you could handle all-gear-up landings (plane just sets down on top of your vehicle) for anything up to light twins, single-gear-up landings for anything up to the light commuter jets, and nosegear-up landings for anything bigger.

How common are these incidents? If you successfully handled 100% of the incidents in a given metro area, what would you need to charge in order to make a profit?

Top Gear could do it!

Skoda Yeti

I think the Yeti is quite cheap too.

(Fun starts at 4:57)

 

[Urwumpe]

I think the Yeti is quite cheap too.

Not really cheap, but popular here. A basic Yeti with minimal equipment and cheapest engine costs already 19,690€ in Germany. Cheap compared to SUVs. But you can get a Lada Urban for 11,990€ in Germany - much cheaper.

The category in which the Skoda Yeti wins is likely "maximum payload per €" ... it can transport 645 kg inside or pull 2100 kg, which is quite a lot in comparison to larger cars.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

I knew about the new Thunderbirds, but I've no idea when (if ever) it'll be available to us here.

Hmmm, Wikipedia says the new series is on Amazon video. Mrs. 'Cruiser has an account

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Also the forward gear doesn't have the mass the main gear has and it may not be heavy enough to be dragged down by gravity.

Boeing airliner nose gear fall down and aft, so air drag would help pull it down. Might have a little trouble opening the doors, though, as they're typically canted nose up somewhat.

 

[Notebook]

I knew about the new Thunderbirds, but I've no idea when (if ever) it'll be available to us here.

Hmmm, Wikipedia says the new series is on Amazon video. Mrs. 'Cruiser has an account

If its the series that was made in the UK last year, or the year before, it got a bit of a panning in the media. I didn't see it, so can't comment.
I grew up with the original series, so that's the only one for me!

Might be worth having a look before parting with any cash...

N.

 

[Andy44]

There was a good Japanese anime series in the 80s called Thunderbirds 2086 which I loved, loosely based on the FAB series. Episodes are on youtube I think.

I would like to do some digging on the nose gear vs. main gear thing. Maybe if I find the time.