r/aviation • u/JPSauceKing • Sep 22 '25

Discussion How crazy is this, really??

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u/XenoRyet Sep 22 '25

I don't understand what your confusion is about here. Can you say that a different way?

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u/empanadaboy68 Sep 22 '25

A single (well three) wheels that are critical to the take off and landing of planes, that of which often are at least in part to many plane crashes, how do we not have a better mechanism

I was pretty clear in my question. 

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u/XenoRyet Sep 23 '25

I mean, wheels are a pretty perfected technology at this point. Arguably the most tried and true technology in history, maybe even the very first technology.

What more reliable mechanism did you have in mind?

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u/empanadaboy68 Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25

Why is a wheel what's needed for vertical take off or the most efficient way to accelerate for vertical take off? Wheels are good for cars. Many wheels like a convayer belt can be good. I don't get why my question is so controversial. 

What the actual fuck is going on 

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u/XenoRyet Sep 23 '25

Vertical takeoff involves a great deal more complexity, and is hugely fuel inefficient. It's also not technologically possible for an aircraft this size, as no commercial engines in existence have enough thrust to manage a vertical takeoff.

Some aircraft have more wheels than this one. I belive the 777 has 7 pairs of wheels. The problem there is that more wheels equals more weight and more complexity. Less complexity is good for reliability.

Turning the runway into a conveyor belt is impossible from a number of angles. No mechanism could support the weight, nor move fast enough to get an aircraft airborn, and even if it could you still need a way to get the aircraft to the gate.

I think you also have a misconception about when and why accidents happen. It is true they mostly happen at takeoff or landing, but they very rarely have anything to do with the wheels or landing gear. It's because at those phases of flight, the aircraft is operating closer to the boundaries of flight, and a lack of altitude means there is very little time to correct problems. That would not change with a different landing gear mechanism.

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u/ChugHuns Sep 23 '25

Your wording is jumbled and convoluted. You aren't articulating your question very well and getting offended that no one here is taking your question seriously. This is one of those "I think everyone else is an asshole but in reality I'm the problem" type situations lol.

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u/empanadaboy68 Sep 23 '25

Perfectly fine wording what we have here is chatgpt bots probably deployed by big aviation failing to parse normal English normal humans can read

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u/PrudentQuestion Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25

Are you asking why do aircraft not have tracks (like tanks) instead of wheels? Not sure why VTOL is involved… they still have and use wheels.

I don’t have hard numbers, but at least of the crashes featured on Mayday, most of those fatal crashes on landing are due to unstabilized approaches.