I used to watch a lot of airplane landings and take-off. My favourite moment is when airplane tyres touch the ground. Friction produces a lot of heat and hence, smoke.
But i wonder, why not pilot start rotating wheels before landing and match the speed of wheels such that it doesn’t cause any friction.
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The answer is the same as most business decisions: Cost.
They actually tried this many years back.
I was a simple ROI calculation that just didnt pan out……buying new tires is more simple and most importantly, cheaper.
Engineer here: less parts = less opportunity for failure. Less moving parts = less opportunity for failure. Also doesnt require they staff a mechanic who knows how to service motors required to spin the wheels.
Someone pointed out that airstream could be used to spin the tires……sure….but how to you control the speed?
I think we also forget about the operating conditions any solution would have to withstand. Youre not slapping a conventional motor on the wheels and expecting it to work (and last longer than a year) at those temps and speeds
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