A working LEGO® landing gear

29 December 2022

'How does something like that work,' we asked ourselves when we saw a picture of a collapsible landing gear. Can we also build a landing gear with LEGO® parts that rotates inwards when folded? Naturally, we had to try that out and recreate it immediately and, with some blood, sweat, tears and a little help, it worked.

On the Eurobricks forum, we came across this thread in which a forum member built an example of a collapsible landing gear in Studio 2.0. In a simple way, a working landing gear was built here with LEGO® Technic where the wheel rotates 90 degrees when it folds.

This model works in the same way as for real aircraft. You can see this in, for example, a Grumman F6F Wildcat, Corsair or Curtis P40 Warhawk/Tomahawk/Kittyhawk. This fold-away design was conceived because the wings were not thick enough to allow the wheel to move straight back. Therefore, the undercarriage was modified so that it rotates 90 degrees. As a result, the wheel lies flat in the wing. This makes the plane perfectly streamlined.

Other examples

The B-52 bomber had perhaps the most agile undercarriage yet. The eight wheels that fold away on four legs in the fuselage do so by rotating forward. In addition, the B-52 Stratofortress could rotate the landing gear when unfolded to 'crab'. This means the landing gear rotates to the left or right, allowing the aircraft to land with the nose more to the wind in strong crosswinds.

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And then of course you are left with the question: 'can I also build this in LEGO?' So there's a lot of building and experimenting fun ahead! And who knows, you might even put together an entire aircraft.

About LEGO® Technic

Technic is the theme for LEGO® fans who like to build ingenious, moving sets. LEGO® Technic creations are full of inventive building techniques that simulate reality. LEGO® Technic is therefore an advanced theme, but also suitable for slightly older children with an interest in technology.

At ToyPro you will find a wide collection of LEGO® Technic sets with which you can build cars (including super cars), trucks, ships, cranes and helicopters.

Order technical LEGO® parts

Have you lost a piece? At ToyPro you can buy LEGO® Technic new parts in addition to complete sets. We have a range of more than 1600 different LEGO® Technic bricks. Not sure which part you are missing? On the product page of a set you can see which LEGO® bricks are in that set.

Do you want to go beyond the standard sets and build your own Technic MOC? Then ToyPro is the LEGO® Technic parts store for you. On the LEGO® Technic parts page you can browse subcategories such as axles, connectors and couplings. You can also filter by size to find the Technic pieces you need. You can also search by LEGO® Design ID and Element ID. If you are searching for LEGO® Technic gear, motor or engine parts, you will find them in our online store.

With every purchase you earn ToyPro credits. With these credits you save for a nice discount on your next purchase. If something goes wrong with your order, our customer service will quickly solve it for you. Finally, our employees ensure that you receive your order quickly.

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