LANDING GEAR DESIGN for the DarkAero 1! | Carbon Fiber, Tricycle Retractable, Trailing Link

[@larrysorenson4789]

In the early 1950’s dad was the test pilot for the X and Y-B-47’s. One aspect of the test of the two carriage under fuselage was to load the plane dramatically, far in excess of the engineers calculated weight, and see if the gear would support it and if the thing could get off the ground. So one early morning they had the plane loaded to the eyeballs with all sorts of heavy things. Edwards Air Force Base is located on a huge flat dry lake. This allows miles of solid flat ground so that tests like this could performed. The asphalt runways end and the lake then takes over for a very long distance. Since everything is flat when it rains everything floods necessitating lots of cleaning of the asphalt periodically. On this day the bomber loaded bomber was going to require a great distance to get up to speed so that it could take off. The asphalt was simply the warm up roll. As the plane lumbered past the half way point, dad saw a thin dark line ahead. As it for closer dad saw that an 8” tall concrete curb had been installed at the end of the asphalt. While a good step towards reducing clean up after the rain, this was a looming disaster with the potential of ripping the landing gear right iff the only flying experimental version of what was for a time our Cold War deterrent flown by the Strategic Air Command. It was too late to stop and too soon to fly. As the collision approached, dad yanked back on the controls causing the plane to try to gain some height. With several hundred yards remaining he yanked and released causing the plane to begin to bounce or hop. God placed the curb perfectly so that on the third hop the plane cleared the curb by inches. The remainder of the take off required a half mile before it flew. The rest of the program was uneventful. Recommendation to you guys: Build the gear strong. You never know when it might rain. Larry Sorenson Proud Son

[@DarkAeroInc]

Wow that is an insane story and an interesting piece of history! Thank you for sharing! Definitely paints a clear picture of the importance of building robust landing gear.

[@larrysorenson4789]

I forgot to add; the maneuver was named the Boeing Bounce.

[@larrysorenson4789]

Another fun test involved wing icing. It had not really been a problem before but the new target altitudes made it a potential problem. So how do you find out the limits for ice build up? Well you go where it is really cold anyway (Tule Greenland) get right behind a prop tanker loaded to the eyeballs with water and signal them to turn out the shower. Visual estimates of ice thickness from both planes and film would be used to study the ice and to pinpoint the exact moment when the Y-B-47 would fall out of the sky. Dad was pretty sure that as the ground approached the higher temperatures would melt the ice thus avoiding a nasty mess. He was right.

[@solidkreate5007]

Man I learned more about aircraft design and engineering watching you guys than I have actually working in the Aerospace Industry. I learned that GA design doesn't have to be complicated. I see these aircraft with these highly complex internal structures, even kit planes. Your plane is very simple (comparatively speaking) design and assembly. You have definitely given me more motivation to try and design my own.

[@jdanon4103]

Most underrated channel on yt, by far, absolutely great stuff. This channel will blow up once you gain some traction and people get around to seeing what you guys are accomplishing here. Keep up the great work guys, this is amazing stuff...

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thank you JD for the kind words! :)

[@AeroworksProductions]

Nice job guys! Really enjoying the engineering process.

[@jeremyarnold4798]

I did my senior design project on the conceptual design for a small aircrafts landing gear. This brought back a lot of memories.

[@domminion599]

Would have liked an overview of the entire undercarriage including method of retraction, lock up and lock down methods!

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thank you for watching Dom! This was meant to be the intro video to the main landing gear. There's lots more to cover so we are planning more videos. We will definitely be covering details on the retract mechanisms in one of them.

[@SuperYellowsubmarin]

Trailing arm is the way to go ! The canted struts also give it a lovely Swearingen look. Have you considered making the end fittings integral to the composite strut ?

[@tropicthndr]

Even though the fuel is in a wet wing I am very impressed with the engineering design CAD skills. I see a lot Mike Patey logic in the purpose of each functional component. Sooooo glad to see the plane will not be hindered by unreliable Rotax nonsense and will instead have a very good ULPower plant which will set it a very high bar above all the other light sport kits. There’s way way too many Rotax light sport toy planes out there that don’t offer anything that sets it apart from their competitors. The VL3 Evolution almost broke the mold but they blew it with a garbage power plant. The Dark Aero will be the new level at which everyone else looks up to.

[@PDZ1122]

Unreliability of Rotax? Seriously? It's the standard of all modern entire in that hp category. UL had yet to prove itself, there simply aren't enough out there yet. But I assume you're a highly qualified internal combustion engineer who can these assessment, right?

[@PDZ1122]

The Dark Aero is not LSA. So why are you comparing it to other LSA designs?

[@nattinotti6934]

@@PDZ1122 Design wise since Rotax crankshaft spins at 5.5K RPM, has a gear box (which generates ~1.5KW of pure heat) and liquid cooling for the engine of course it is less reliable than UL. In practice here is good place to start research on how reliable Rotax is: www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2013/ar-2013-107_research/. Rotax is second less reliable engine. And thanks to DarkAero work on engine research we now know what engine is the best in terms of $/HP and HP/lbs: www.darkaero.com/knowledge/aircraft-design/

[@nattinotti6934]

@@PDZ1122 And I hope after success with DA1 we will see affordable LSA from the team too. Prices for those sleek European LSA planes are definitely our of touch with the reality.

[@PDZ1122]

@@nattinotti6934 that's a nonsensical analysis. So my old 1963GMC V6 is inherently more reliable than a Toyota Corolla engine because it runs at 3800rpm? Rpm has nothing to with reliability. Neither do gearboxes. Until they have as many flight hours as Rotaxes, the UL engines remain to be proven. They may be great but there isn't enough data yet to make this claims.

[@jeffk412]

I like the thought process in the decision making. Great stuff!

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@johnfahmy1297]

I love the plane! And I love how you explain everything in the plane👏👏👍👍 It would be very nice if you di an electric version

[@johnfahmy1297]

Do*

[@johnfahmy1297]

It won't be a long cross country fast plane anymore That's why make two versions This one and an electric verison Good luck

[@mikewong9360]

Great work, I appreciate your explanations and thought process. Looking forward to watching your success!

[@ToyManFlyer1100]

At this rate...This puppy gonna be flying by the start of Fall....

[@crawford323]

It is good to see you favored trailing link landing gear. You just don’t see many on aircraft especially on nose gear. To me from a layman’s point of view, the design seems very logical even of the trailing link was a fixed gear and the trailing link/arm was connected to the fuselage forward of the nose gear itself with a shock strut almost vertical to take the load. This configuration especially in a tandem seat aircraft which has a longer thinner fuselage works fine and allows the gear not to be shOrt coupled. I do think the bumps would be more absorbed by the shocks and not felt as a rotation moment to the fuselage.

[@brianb-p6586]

DarkAero is not using trailing link for the nose gear - that has a telescoping strut.

[@dsgregg]

Very cool that you're doing trailing link gear. I've seen videos of those jarring telescopic gear landings in the Beech Premier.

[@deeplato5647]

Exceptional Episode!

[@timaidley7801]

Do you anticipate any issues with the shock pushing outwards against the trailing link? It seems like it would exert maybe a good 30% of its force outwards.

[@DarkAeroInc]

Good question Tim! The angle of the shock does result in lateral forces in the trailing link so the link and bearings are designed to handle these loads. The link already had to be designed to handle loads out of the pivot plane that result from drag loads on the wheel and landing at a skid angle.

[@robertphillips2983]

Sweet gear, have fun guys!!

[@ronaldharris6569]

So you didn't look at the gear on the quest air venture? It works well and retracts into the fuselage. The plumbers nightmare that's needed for all those motions is a safety issue.

[@BruceTGriffiths]

This is the best way to do it I think. I fly a ton of RC and trailing link is the way to go. I also owned a 177-RG and it was great but trailing link is superior. I think this aircraft is wonderfully conceived.

[@jaredjohnston4931]

Super excited about your progress! I am looking forward to seeing this plane fly!

[@DarkAeroInc]

Jared, thank you for watching! We are also looking forward to first flight!

[@jaredjohnston4931]

@@DarkAeroInc When you're ready to sell kits, I might be interested in one!

[@cre8itgroup903]

Do you have any concerns with the wheel being offset to the outside and the length of the trailing arm that this design will induce a twist moment into the landing gear? You might see some dramatic reactions with high speed ground handling and under braking. Any play in the pivot at the fuselage could further increase the amplitude or frequency. Just a thought. :)

[@randydueck889]

In my non-professional opinion, keeping the wings free of gear retraction cavities is a good call given the experience/grief that the Raptor guy is having with his design right now.

[@tropicthndr]

Followed that Raptor project for long time until the crazy guess work and unsafe design flaws piled up so high I began to cringe at everything he did, couldn’t watch that nonsense anymore.

[@johnnyboythepilot4098]

I agree. I prefer a wing that is as mechanically & aerodynamically clean and simple as possible.

[@Vincent-Vega24]

@@tropicthndr My opinion is just like yours. I even commented on how he expected to try and put that plane into production when there is no freakin way he knows what he has done because he has modified and or changed every part he ever put onto that airplane. He responded like Im an idiot. Its good to see someone else seeing what i saw on that channel!

[@nickc711]

Do you have any videos on the interface between the carbon and aluminum pivots? This interface is interesting

[@froggyziffle]

I understand the reason for retractable gear. Insurance companies don't like it due to mechanical complexity and potential for mismanagement. It maybe why Cirrus opted for fixed gear.

[@IngeBall]

Always a good day when you guys post a new video ☺ I have a couple of questions regarding cf in general (non aeroplanerelated) if you don't mind? Should I ask here or somewhere else so it doesn't take focus from the video itself?

[@DarkAeroInc]

You can send us an email at [e-mail] or you can ask here. Either way works!

[@ulephone1918]

Are you having a builder assistance program?

[@StevenYampolsky]

It looks like the shock is not inline with the pivot point rotation. That means that it would move to the side a bit as the gear compresses. How are you going to deal with sideways pull on the shock mounting points?

[@RBHirsch]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@DarkAeroInc]

Great question Steven! The shock has swivel joints on each end that allow for a few degrees of angular movement in the shock. This angular movement does generate some internal side loads in the link and the strut so these parts had to be designed to handle the loads.

[@cebunting]

I want to see the cozy project also!

[@johnnyboythepilot4098]

Ditto! I'd LOVE a comparison of the DarkAero 1 VS the Cozy.

[@marketfluxadvertising]

If u used the composite strut if something bad happens or the pilot gonna crash land the aircraft due to any malfunction the shock will hit the strut and there will be tendency to break the strut.. for eg. Only one gear lowed due to any computer malfunction at the time i would think aluminium strut would absorb the sock in better manner as compared to composite.. It can snap.

[@claude7473]

Good choice of design !!!

[@Vincent-Vega24]

Seriously BADASS!!!!!!!! I cant wait to see that puppy in the air!!!!!

[@adamlowe005]

So awesome Guys.... another great insight

[@Triple_J.1]

I thought that gear looked like a cross between a Cessna RG, or SX300, and the Pilatus PC-12 (the trailing links).

[@benthurber5363]

...Are you using spherical rod ends on both ends of that shock? Also, why are you not welding that main link instead of fastening it together? You're probably losing a lot of torsional rigidity that way.

[@Joe-zw9ep]

In the event of landing-gear failure would the wind not push it back up into the fuselage making landing more dangerous?

[@jukkatakamaa7274]

Dudes...you rock !

[@bruuuhuhhhuu676]

When come a flight video? Thx

[@benwilms3942]

Crushin it! Nice.

[@huangbinapple]

Speaking of cozy, did you means the cozy4? How do you think of that plane, and it’s small brother the long ez? Will dark arrow be more efficient than long ez, which is famous for its high efficiency?

[@SeongwooJo]

I wanna buy one of your shirts... They looks very awsome Are they on sale?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Hey thank you! They are on sale at darkaero.com/shop :)

[@karama5478]

Hi, where can I get dimensions for landing gears, I designed small uav so I have a need of small dimensions of landing gears.

[@DarkAeroInc]

Ramadhani, a good resource for landing gear design is the book Landing Gear Design for Light Aircraft by Ladislao Pazmany.

[@karama5478]

@@DarkAeroInc Thanks

[@DanFrederiksen]

I would defo lean to a simpler lighter solution because weight begets weight and it's such a brief part of the mission. even if you wanted dampening, it could still be on a skinny arm. Also cost of manufacture is going to be significant. But let's see how it turns out.

[@aviator267]

great video thanks for the details

[@xushenxin]

where can I buy the shock and brakes? I want to use them on my car design.

[@thomaswiwchar1661]

what is the approximate weight on that landing gear?

[@CaptainAhorn]

A lot of Russian military planes used that trailing leg design for its rough field capability

[@tatesteele3954]

Nice work on the trailing link. How are you planning on adjusting/tuning the performance of the shocks before flight testing? From experience they can be highly non-linear. Also what kind of mechanism are you intending to use to retract the MLG?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Hi Tate! We have been working with the shock manufacturer to establish the initial settings for the shock and we also built drop test fixtures for the main gear and nose gear so we can get some data prior to flight testing. The gear are retracted using electric linear actuators.

[@tatesteele3954]

@@DarkAeroInc nice! Good strategy, I found that the air shock was great for an experimental approach. Only trouble is rapid damping adjustments...

[@dbhyslop]

@@DarkAeroInc How will manual deployment work with the linear actuators? I've seen some from Beaver Aerospace that are designed for it but they didn't seem priced for the experimental market.

[@halnineooo136]

Why's the aircraft wheel constantly being reinvented?

[@zakaroonetwork777]

Questio: at 2:22 What blue Airplane is that?

[@Finder245]

CAUDRON C.460 The trick is to look up the tail number.

[@mazinzangana6018]

good job gies❤

[@ailijic]

Can you post a link to the air shock? I am having trouble finding it.

[@DarkAeroInc]

Sure thing! The shocks can be found here: store.tk1racing.com/default.asp

[@rodb8867]

I have a question regarding material selection. (I am not expert at all. I just know the basic material properties) You selected carbon fiber for elements of the landing gear assembly. Why not fiberglass? Fiberglass composite has more elongation and therefore more impact absorption. I know the density of the material is higher but the added impact resistance on that specific system isn't somehow desirable?(edit : I just watch the video again and noticed that you said composite material and not carbon composite as I initially thought)

[@brianb-p6586]

Even if they say composite rather than specifically carbon fibre, it appears that every composite part on the DarkAero is carbon fibre, not glass or other fibres.

[@N9197U]

@@brianb-p6586 There is also fiberglass on the airplane.

[@tekanova7480]

I don't suppose files to print are available! The model not the full size.

[@mgbrv8]

I’m new here what engine choice are you looking at? Diesel would be cool.

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thank you for checking out our channel! The airplane is built around the 200hp UL520iS made by UL Power. We did a video about the engine installation here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n168i2WCf8qLgs0

[@tilmaen]

Holy Sh!t, sexy plane, and good engineering from you guys!

[@tilmaen]

Too bad good Diesel engines are not yet commonly used. Also EPS, the hottest contender so far filed for bankruptcy. RED aircraft engines would be a bit oversized, lol

[@JoseBarbosaa]

Muito interessante! Gostei

[@andrewbeaton3302]

WOW Almost First comment!! You guys are genius!

[@DarkAeroInc]

☺️ Thank you for watching!

[@PDZ1122]

I'm curious: how did you guys finance this whole project? Investors? Savings? Loans?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thanks for the question! The project has been self-funded by us, as well as from the revenue that come from our apparel sales, KZbin memberships, and donations to our Knowledge Base.

[@alessiocarlevaro6934]

That's just like the Piaggio Vespa front suspension! lol

[@VovelPunch]

Fusion360 is gold. Onshape is werid.

[@luweijen]

Does the landing gear can retract?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Yes, the landing gear retracts. :)

[@luweijen]

@@DarkAeroInc Can you introduce the issue of the retracted landing gear? Thx

[@oleringstad6615]

Very good guys! Good choice of landing gear system! It could be a good looking tail dragger also, but you could have that as an option for later maybe. You know, real pilots fly tail draggers. Right?! I am just teasing you a little. Keep up the extremely good quality work you are doing. I will follow you until the end. I mean, until you fly you beauty. Best, the Norwegian.

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thank you Ole! A taildragger version would look cool! It would have a WW2 fighter feel to it I think. I'm actually a little surprised we didn't get more of the tricycle vs taildragger debate in the comments. 😁 It certainly could be discussed more than we covered in the video! The way we look at it is just pick the gear that best allows you to accomplish your mission.

[@justyouqs7700]

good

[@blacksalt5687]

I rock

[@fightercombatkid]

first! you guys rock!

[@AndyRRR0791]

Why are you bonding metallic elements to your main gear leg? Burt Rutan claims (in several YT videos, most recently regarding his Skigull development) that metallic hard points bonded into composite structures cause more headaches than needed and that completely composite solutions are not only feasible but desirable. Comments?

[@DarkAeroInc]

In general, I agree with that. We use composite hardpoints as much as possible and we have quite a few good examples like the engine mount hardpoints or the attach points for the rudder pedals. The geometry and stresses in some of the landing gear parts drove us to metal solutions.

[@stephenfowler4115]

Your telescopic landing gear wasn't optimal as illustrated. It should be slanted forward like motorcycle forks for best shock absorption and control.

[@Barskor1]

KISS tastisc

[@danielross3306]

@mikepatey

[@RinaldiMeteoric]

up to this video I thought they were the same person.

[@blacksalt5687]

First

[@willimeier8027]

Hi DarkAero Team, looks really good. Could you give some more data on how that solution compares to benchmark concepts in weight and sturdiness? Landing on a grass strip should be possible I suppose. Correct? Can‘t wait to seeing this baby in the air.

[@blacksalt5687]

@@willimeier8027 yes if u want to land on grass u could change the gear for landing on grass. but this thing is built for speed ,so we wouldnt do anything to lower its aero dynamic capabilities

[@parrotraiser6541]

That gear should flatter some botched landings.

[@44SirLoopalot]

thats sad news. i was hoping for a taildragger. so basicaly, you guys are just building another lancair legacy. i think a taildragger with cessna-like MLG legs must be possible, if you store the wheels inside the seat frames or so. or warbird like wing storage with combined wing- and fselage tank or...or...

[@stout890]

they straight up copied the MQ-9A trailing arm landing gear. even the brake line ran externally through p clamps is the same

[@stuartk3498]

DarkAero sounds like an 'evil' company. Just sayin'.