Why Airplanes don’t rotate wheels before landing to reduce the effect of friction?

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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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22 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wheels are not powered. Since this is a DAL A system, it would require a boatload of money and complex tech to make it powered, which would also increase weight.

Comparing the cost of development, implementation and maintenance vs the cost of replacing tyres a bit more often, it really is a not brainer to leave them unpowered.

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