Tricycle landing gear

Tricycle gear is a type of 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.

Several early aircraft had primitive tricycle gear, notably very early Antoinette planes and the Curtiss Pushers of the pre-World War I Pioneer Era of aviation. Waldo Waterman's 1929 tailless Whatsit was one of the first to have a steerable nose wheel.

Tricycle gear and taildraggers compared

Tricycle gear is essentially the reverse of conventional landing gear or taildragger. On the ground, tricycle aircraft have a visibility advantage for the pilot as the nose of the aircraft is level, whereas the high nose of the taildragger can block the view ahead. Tricycle gear aircraft are much less liable to 'nose over' as can happen if a taildragger hits a bump or has the brakes heavily applied. In a nose-over, the aircraft's tail rises and the propeller strikes the ground, causing damage. The tricycle layout reduces the possibility of a ground loop, because the main gear lies behind the center of mass. However, tricycle aircraft can be susceptible to wheel-barrowing. The nosewheel 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.