Icy Runways

Jay Honeck wrote:

If in fact your fixed landing gear is stout. I would much rather be in
my Bo than in say a Cessna 120, 140, 170, 180, 185, Luscombe, etc.
There's a good reason the Pponk people came out with a gear mod for some
of those those planes.


Well, generally speaking, a structure that is designed to fold is going
to be inherently weaker than one that is not. There are certainly ways
to minimize this problem, but a solid piece of steel is going to be
stronger than a similar-sized one that has a hinge (or three) built
into it.

That is true if you fix the weight to be the same. If weight isn't
constrained, then there is nothing "inherently" stronger in fixed gear
vs. retractable. One can design the gear for any level of strength
desired. I do believe it would be impossible to build a retractable
landing gear as strong as fixed gear using the same materials and weight.

Matt