Wheel-barrowing is a problem that may occur in an

aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

with a

tricycle gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

configuration during

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...

or landing. As the aeroplane gains speed during takeoff the wing generates an increasing amount of

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

although not enough to raise the aeroplane off the ground. The lift reduces the weight supported by the aeroplane's main wheels and this reduces the main wheels' contribution to directional stability, allowing the nose wheel to destabilise the aeroplane's direction along the ground. This form of wheelbarrowing is easily avoided by the pilot applying back-pressure to the elevator control during the takeoff roll to reduce the weight supported by the nose wheel. Depending on the severity of the wheel-barrowing, damage to the aircraft can be quite extensive: The

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

of a single engine airplane may strike the ground, damaging it and the engine. A wing can be damaged by striking the ground as the aircraft pivots over the nose-wheel and one main wheel. Wheel-barrowing may also be caused with a tricycle gear when the turn radius is too sharp for the speed of the aircraft on the ground – much like a child on a tricycle taking too sharp a turn. The problem is exacerbated when brakes are applied during the turn.

References

Aerodynamics Aviation risks {{Aviation-stub

See also

References