Alternative Flying-V Take-Off Configuration To Reduce Landing Gear Height and Improve Take-Off Characteristics
A. Singh (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
Klaus Bender – Mentor (Airbus Operations GmbH)
R Vos – Mentor (TU Delft - Flight Performance and Propulsion)
C. Varriale – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Flight Performance and Propulsion)
Xuerui Wang – Graduation committee member (Nanjing Tech University)
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Abstract
The original Flying V design requires a main landing gear strut height of 6.1m (worlds tallest landing gear) to accommodate the high pitch angle during take-off, introducing weight, drag, operational constraints, and development risks. This research quantifies Flying V’s take-off distance compared to the reference aircraft and develops two alternative configurations aimed at reducing landing gear height and enhancing take-off performance. A parametric aircraft model, including internal components, and a comprehensive flight mechanics toolbox with aerodynamics, propulsion, landing gear, inertia, and pilot models were implemented. The base configuration (FV-0) achieved a 23% gear height reduction with respect to the original configuration (FV-TUD) and a 25% take-off distance decrease compared to the reference aircraft. FV-1 incorporated a 5° static nose-up pitch, reducing take-off distance by 9.2%. FV-2 introduced root flaps, decreasing take-off distance by 10.5% and pitch angle by 0.4°, indicating higher potential for landing gear height reduction. Increasing the Flying V’s take-off distance to match that of the reference aircraft enabled a further 45% reduction in landing gear height relative to FV-0. Landing performance analysis remains necessary for final assessment.
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File under embargo until 25-08-2027