I was watching videos of aircraft landings and noticed how disproportionately small the wheels were on just about every aircraft. Wouldn’t it be better to have larger tires (like in cars) to provide better traction for take off/landing?
In: Physics
Airplane wheels are only needed as something to land on without messing up the bottom of the plane. All the acceleration and deceleration happens from the engines that move the plane through the air. No force is actually being applied through the wheels.
Car wheels need to have a large amount of surface contact, since that’s where the push forward comes from. It also helps keep traction in turns, and in braking.
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