[russ]

Is there a rule of thumb for wheeled landing gear width? I know with floats it's suggested the floats be at least 25% of the wing span. Is there a similar guide for wheels?

[Dangaras]

Originally Posted by russ

Is there a rule of thumb for wheeled landing gear width? I know with floats it's suggested the floats be at least 25% of the wing span. Is there a similar guide for wheels?

If you are building a model of the real thing then scale landing gear would be the way to go.

If you are building a model that has no real counterpart it depends on whether the gear is wing or fuse mounted and what angle the struts are sitting at and the length that won't make the model look awkward.... Can't help much beyond that.

[russ]

Thanks, I think I'll try 25% and see what it looks like.

[robonline]

The gear width needed is influenced by how high your centre of gravity is. If the weight is low you may not need as wide a stance while if you have a high centre, like a parasol wing you can always use more. There is no point at which it does not work. It just works a bit better as you get wider. Look at the Spitfire and the bf109. they had narrow LG and the worked. It just means, like with these two aircraft, that you may have more landing incidents. Also, if you are making a conventional landing gear the angle the plane sits at is important. If you have it too steep, for say prop clearance, the plane can be a bear to taxi.