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
As for traction, its more about the material, texture/tred, pressure, and temperature of the tire. Large tires have about the same amount of tire touching the ground, unless they are significantly wider. The smaller circumference of the tires allow them to heat up faster as there is less time for the part of the tire touching the ground to cool off before meeting tarmac and causing more friction… hot tires have better traction. Thats why race car drivers swerve side to side when taking to the track it warms up their tires.
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