Concorde’s main landing gear comprises of two sets of four-wheel bogies. The main landing gear was designed by Messier-Dowty and has to shorten during the retraction process, as it would otherwise not be able to fit into the bays in the wing roots after take-off. It is also fitted with a spray guard to prevent water from wet runways being flung-up and sucked into the engine air intakes and also fitted with Oleo-pneumatic shock-absorbers.
Main landing gear facts
Number of wheels on each bogie – 4
Direction of retraction -Inwards
Tyre size – 47X15.75-22
Tyre type – Michelin NZG
Tyre pressure – 232PSI
Brakes – 4 X Dunlop Carbon Fibre with SNECMA (Hispano) SPAD anti-skid units
The manufacturer – Messier-Dowty
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the UK signed a treaty establishing the development project on 29 November 1962, as the programme cost was estimated at £70 million (£1.39 billion in 2021).
Construction of the six prototypes began in February 1965, and the first flight took off from Toulouse on 2 March 1969. The market was predicted for 350 aircraft, and the manufacturers received up to 100 option orders from many major airlines. On 9 October 1975, it received its French Certificate of Airworthiness, and from the UK CAA on 5 December.
