Landing Gear System

The main landing gears.

The two main landing gears [35, fig. 3-1] are of the skid type and lie adjacent to the lower aft fuselage and parallel to the airplane centerline when retracted. The skids are mounted on inflexible struts with an air-oil shock absorber attached to the upper end which permits some outward rotation when the weight of the airplane is on the landing gear.

The nose gear.

The nose gear [18, fig. 3-1] is a conventional, non-steerable, dual-wheel type and retracts forward, fairing into the fuselage nose section.

Both the main and nose gear, when unlocked, extend by gravity and air loads. However, the nose gear lowering system includes an initiator to ensure positive nose gear lowering. They cannot be retracted by the pilot. No gear-down indication is provided.

Gear retraction must be accomplished manually by ground personnel. When the main gear is released, a microswitch on the left main gear activates an explosive charge, causing the ventral [17, fig. 3-2] (or dummy ramjet [18, fig. 3-2]) to jettison, provided the ventral arming switch [35, fig. 5-1] is at ARM and if the ventral had not been previously jettisoned by use of the ventral jettison button [67, fig. 5-1].

Note: The nose gear on the X-15A-2 SE addon is steerable. The nose and main landing gear can be extended or retracted by the pilot.

Known Issue

• The landing gear is configured so it (and the aircraft) sits properly on the ground on most hard surfaces such as a concrete runway or a dry lakebed. However, it is normal for the landing gear to be partially buried into the ground or even to "float" above it if you land the aircraft on a rough, soft (sandy) or uneven terrain, for example, after an emergency landing somewhere in the desert. This also depends on the resolution of the mesh on which it sits. This is a terrain issue and not an addon issue.

• The X-15 was not designed for a normal takeoff from the ground. Because of the position of the rear landing gear relative to the center of gravity, it is normal for the rear skids to sink slightly into the ground when the airplane takes off, especially if you pull back too much on the center stick.

Landing Gear Handle

The T-type landing gear handle [65, fig. 5-1] is on the instrument panel left wing.

Landing gear handle.

The handle is mechanically linked to the main gear [35, fig. 3-1] uplocks and the nose gear [18, fig. 3-1] and nose gear door [19, fig. 3-1] uplocks. When the handle is pulled straight aft approximately 11 inches, the uplocks are released, the spring-loaded scoop door [20, fig. 3-1] in the nose gear door swings downward into the airstream, and the nose gear extension initiator fires. The initiator actuates a piston which forces the nose gear door open under flight attitudes where air loads tend to hold the door closed.

Air loads on the nose gear scoop door force the nose gear down and locked. Gravity and air loads cause the main gear to extend and lock.

The landing gear handle should be manually stowed to prevent possible damage to the instrument panel.

Note: When the yellow landing gear handle is pulled straight aft (dragged with the mouse in the virtual cockpit), both landing gear extend. On the real aircraft, the X-15 landing gear could not be retracted by the pilot. However, dragging the landing gear handle back to its original position in the virtual cockpit will retract the landing gear.

Caution

• If the "Ignore crashes and damage" option is not selected on the "Settings – Realism" page in the simulator and the aircraft exceeds a certain speed limit (about 300 KIAS) just after takeoff with the landing gear still extended, the gear will be damaged and will not retract. To avoid this problem, always check the airspeed and retract the landing gear as soon as the X-15 is airborne or select the "Ignore crashes and damage" option.