A Mooney M20J with a retractable tricycle landing gear

Polish 3Xtrim 3X55 Trener with a fixed tricycle landing gear taxiing.

Tricycle gear is aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one wheel in the front, called the nose wheel, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Because of the ease of operating tricycle gear aircraft on the ground, the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.^[1][2]

Several early aircraft had primitive tricycle gear, notably the Curtiss Pushers of the early 1910s. Waldo Waterman's 1929 tailless Whatsit was one of the first to have a steerable nose wheel.^[3]

Tricycle gear is essentially the reverse of conventional landing gear or taildragger. Tricycle gear aircraft have the advantage that it is much more difficult to make them 'nose over' as can happen if a taildragger hits a bump or has the brakes heavily applied. In a nose over, the airplane's tail tips up and the propeller strikes the ground, causing damage. Tricycle gear planes are also easier to handle on the ground and reduce the possibility of a ground loop, though they can be susceptible to wheel-barrowing. This is due to the main gear being behind the center of mass. Tricycle gear also provides an advantage in visibility to the pilot as the nose of the aircraft is level and, unlike in aircraft with conventional landing gear, does not block the view ahead. The nose wheel equipped aircraft also is easier to handle on the ground in high winds due to its wing negative angle of attack. Student pilots are able to safely master nosewheel equipped aircraft more quickly.^[2]

Tricycle gear aircraft are easier to land because the attitude required to land on the main gear is the same as that required in the flare, and they are less vulnerable to crosswinds. As a result, the majority of modern aircraft are fitted with tricycle gear. Almost all jet-powered aircraft have been fitted with tricycle landing gear, to avoid the blast of hot, high-speed gases causing damage to the ground surface, in particular runways and taxiways. The few exceptions have included the Yakovlev Yak-15, the Supermarine Attacker, and prototypes such as the Heinkel He 178, the first four prototypes (V1 through V4) of the Messerschmitt Me 262, and the Nene powered version of the Vickers VC.1 Viking.

The taildragger configuration does have advantages. The rear wheel means the plane naturally sits in a nose-up attitude when on the ground; this is useful for operations on unpaved surfaces like gravel where debris could damage the propeller. The tailwheel also transmits loads to the airframe in a way that is less likely to cause airframe damage over time operating on rough fields. The simpler main gear and small tailwheel result in both a lighter weight and less complexity if retractable. Likewise, a fixed-gear taildragger exhibits less interference drag and form drag in flight than a fixed-gear aircraft with tricycle gear. Tail wheels are smaller and less expensive to buy and maintain and man-handling a tailwheel aircraft on the ground is easier. Most tailwheel aircraft are lower in overall height and thus may fit in lower hangars. Tailwheel aircraft are also more suitable for fitting with skis in wintertime.^[2]

References[link]

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Kate Humble
Kate Humble on the Springwatch farm
Born	(1968-12-12) 12 December 1968 (age 43) Wimbledon, Greater London, England
Occupation	Television presenter, RSPB President
Spouse	Ludo Graham (1992-present)
Website
KateHumble.co.uk

Katherine 'Kate' Humble (born 12 December 1968) is an English television presenter, mainly for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. She is also the current President of the RSPB, and Princess of Ternate.^[1]

Early life and education[link]

Born in Wimbledon to Nick Humble and Diana Carter, she grew up in Bray in Berkshire and attended the Abbey School in Reading.^{[citation needed]}

After leaving school she travelled through Africa from Cape Town to Cairo, doing various jobs including waitressing, driving safari trucks and working on a crocodile farm. She has returned to Africa many times since. In 1994 she travelled around Madagascar, the subject of her first article for The Daily Telegraph travel section. Since then she has written articles about diving and cycling in Cuba, an 'exploding' lake in Cameroon, and hippopotamus conservation work in Ghana.

Career[link]

In 1990 Humble appeared for the first time as an actress in a TV production The Secret Life of Ian Fleming — and was credited as "Lauren Heston .... The redhead".^[2]

Humble started her television career as a researcher, later transferring to presenting programmes such as Top Gear, Tomorrow's World and the 2001 series The Holiday Programme - You call the shots where the team travelled the world^[3] doing whatever viewers recommended using the then-novel media of text messaging and emailing the team as they travelled.

Humble has specialised in presenting wildlife programmes, including Animal Park, Springwatch with Bill Oddie, Autumnwatch, Wild in Africa and Seawatch.

From 2000 to 2005 she presented a BBC series called Rough Science, in which a number of scientists were set various challenges to be solved using just basic tools and supplies.

Humble presented The Blue Planet Live! on the 2008 UK tour at Wembley Arena, St. David's Hall in Cardiff and at Symphony Hall in Birmingham.^[4]

Her BBC television series, The Hottest Place On Earth, is a record of a month spent living with the Afar people in Ethiopia's hostile Danakil Depression.^[5]

She occasionally performs on the lecture circuit with a show based on her experiences with wildlife, titled Harassed by Hippos and Battered by Cod: A Humble Way to Make a Living.^[6]

On 16 February 2009 she debuted in Countdown's Dictionary Corner.^[7]

She founded the web site Stuff Your Rucksack that helps organisations around the world find the items they need by matching them with travellers.^[8]

On 29 July 2009 Humble was the subject for the programme Who Do You Think You Are?^[9] where she discovered that she had family connections to the Hartley Colliery Disaster. Her paternal grandfather Bill Humble was a test pilot who tested the Hawker Tempest and her maternal grandfather Stan Carter served as an officer in the RAF and after being shot down was held as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III at the time of "The Great Escape".

In August 2009 Humble presented a series of programmes for the BBC in which she makes a two thousand mile journey across the Middle East, following the ancient frankincense trade route of Arabia which first connected the Arab world with the West. The series culminates in her presenting frankincense, that she has carried throughout the journey, to be used in a Christmas service at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.^[10]

She was recently^[when?] on holiday in the northeastern region of Afghanistan where there were no signs of conflict but where the Wakhi locals were expected to be hostile. Instead, Humble found they were 'amongst the most astonishing, hospitable, warm, genuine people' she has ever met. They were also hard and tough, and Humble believes that 'if anyone thinks they are going to win a war against an Afghan they are insane!' She is writing about her experiences in Afghanistan for a forthcoming publication.^[11]

From 3–7 May 2010 she appeared as the dictionary corner guest on Countdown.

In February 2011 Humble presented a 3 part series of programmes, The Spice Trail, on the trail of 6 of the world's most valuable spices revealing their history, trade, mythology and usage. Part 1 - Pepper & Cinnamon, Part 2 - Nutmeg & Cloves, Part 3 - Saffron & Vanilla.^[12]

In March 2012 she co-presented with Dr Helen Czerski a three part BBC series - 'Orbit'. ^[13]

Personal life[link]

Humble is married to television producer Ludo Graham. They first met when she was aged 16, married in Newbury, Berkshire, in 1992, when she was 23, and have recently^[when?] moved from Chiswick, West London to the Wye Valley, where they have wanted to live for 'a very long time'. The couple both enjoy diving, and take an annual two-month holiday in different parts of the world, most often in Africa. The couple have no children, and Humble has stated in interviews that she has no desire to have children in the future. In an interview in 2007^[14][15] Humble revealed her enjoyment of public nudity:

On 3 October 2009 Humble was appointed President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.^[16] She is an honorary graduate of the Open University. Humble is a beekeeper and a member of the British Beekeepers Association.^[17][18]

Programmes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kate Humble's personal website
• BBC homepage of Kate Humble
• Kate Humble at the Internet Movie Database
• Online chat with Kate on her "Holiday - You Call The Shots " experiences
• Interview on "SeaWatch" series
• Kate's charity Stuff Your Rucksack