SAWE Report - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

a landing gear retraction scheme similar to an
XB-70 Valkarie as shown in Figure 8.3. The
complexity was necessary due to overall
configuration drive of low supersonic maximum
cross sectional area.
Due to the Sears-Haack ideal of supersonic area
distribution the nose gear could be easily placed
in the forward fuselage. No need for complex
folding arrangements led to the selection of a
standard side-by-side tire configuration. The
complete retraction schemes and nose wheel
configuration can be seen in Figure 8.4. The
completed landing gear configuration can be
seen in Figure 8.5.
The braking system for both the nose gear and
main gear configuration would use a standard
rotor disk braking mechanism. The heat-sink
Figure 8.2 - Landing Gear Configuration Trade
Study
Figure 8.3 - Main Gear Retraction Sequence
Figure 8.4 - Nose Gear and Main Gear Retraction Schemes
will be made of carbon rather than steel because of the fact that carbon is superior to steel as it
has a higher thermal conductivity and temperature limit, and the thermal expansion of carbon is
lower. The only drawback to carbon brakes is the lower density of carbon compared to that of
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