When researching some of the different types of landing gear, you may encounter tailwheel. All airplanes require landing gear. Typically consisting of wheels, shocks and brakes, it allows airplanes to safely land. While some airplanes use tricycle-type landing gear, though, others use tailwheel-type landing gear.
Tailwheel-Type Landing Gear Explained
Tailwheel-type landing gear involves the use of two wheels at the front of the airplane and a single wheel at the rear of the airplane. Also known as taildragger landing gear, it makes airplanes easier to maneuver. After landing, for instance, airplanes with tailwheel-type landing gear can be easily taxied and moved to hangers.
While all airplanes have landing gear, some of them have different types of landing gear than others. Tailwheel is one of the most common types of landing gear. It’s characterized by the use of two front wheels and a single rear wheel. The rear wheel is typically smaller than the front wheels.
Some of the benefits of tailwheel-type landing gear include:
- Easier to maneuver
- Less parasitic drag
- Durable and long-lasting
- Increased propeller clearance for turboprop airplanes
Tailwheel-Type vs Tricycle-Type Landing Gear: What’s the Difference?
In addition to tailwheel-type landing gear, there’s tricycle-type landing gear. Tricycle-type landing gear is essentially the opposite of its tailwheel-type counterpart.
Airplanes with tricycle-type landing gear have a single front wheel and two rear wheels. The two rear wheels are larger than the front wheel. It uses a reversed design when compared to tailwheel-type landing gear.
In the past, tailwheel-type landing gear was the most popular. This is because airplanes in the past used propellers rather than jet engines. And tailwheel-type landing gear offers more clearance for propellers than tricycle-type landing gear.
Most airplanes today, however, now feature jet engines. They aren’t powered by propellers. Rather, modern airplanes are powered by jet engines. As a result, tricycle-type landing gear has become increasingly common. Most modern airplanes now use tricycle-type landing gear rather than tailwheel-type landing gear.
Tricycle-type landing gear still features three wheels — like tailwheel-type landing gear. The difference is that tricycle-type landing gear features a single front wheel and two rear wheels. With the rise of jet engine airplanes, tricycle-type landing gear has surpassed tailwheel-type landing gear in terms of popularity.
In Conclusion
Tailwheel-type landing gear is a landing gear configuration that involves the use of two front wheels and a single rear wheel. While it was once the most popular type of landing gear, it has since been replaced with tricycle-type landing gear.
