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Why do people use levers for landing gear?

11.6k JesusChrist  3.0 years ago

Why not buttons or switches? Is there a reason or is it personal preference?

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    11.6k JesusChrist

    @IceCraftGaming Yes, didn't expect the message to tear reality apart creating an alternate version of myself though.

    It's like playing chess, but you already know the result of the match 3 years before it happens so you play a different way to mess with the future version of yourself.

    +1 2.3 years ago
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    36.0k Icey21

    @IICXLVIICDLXXXIIIDCXLVII that's a plot twist alright

    +1 2.3 years ago
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    11.6k JesusChrist

    @IceCraftGaming Plot twist: I sent that message 8 months ago using netscape browser with a different pfp knowing that I would forget about it before the message arrived.

    2.3 years ago
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    36.0k Icey21

    @IICXLVIICDLXXXIIIDCXLVII
    You can't rush art

    +1 2.3 years ago
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    11.6k JesusChrist

    @IceCraftGaming Thanks, I now finally know the true reason after 8 months.

    +1 2.3 years ago
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    36.0k Icey21

    its cool

    +1 2.3 years ago
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    11.6k JesusChrist

    @Augusta81 Uhh, what?

    3.0 years ago
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    Use your 10% of your brain, it's logical

    +1 3.0 years ago
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    2,762 Madness

    IT'S THE LAW

    +5 3.0 years ago
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    30.3k ChiChiWerx

    @Korzalerke not everything is on Wikipedia…however, I just happened to be reading the Wikipedia entry on the Grumman F4F Wildcat this evening and read that the following that’s related to our conversation: “ On 16 December 1940, the XF4F-3 prototype, BuNo 0383, c/n 356, modified from XF4F-2, was lost under circumstances that suggested that the pilot may have been confused by the poor layout of fuel valves and flap controls and inadvertently turned the fuel valve to "off" immediately after takeoff rather than selecting flaps "up". This was the first fatality in the type.” There were several accidents in those years attributable to poor ergonomics, happily we’ve come a long way since then.

    +5 3.0 years ago
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    11.6k JesusChrist

    @ChiChiWerx Thanks, i checked the wikipedia page on landing gear and couldn't find anything on this.

    3.0 years ago
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    30.3k ChiChiWerx

    In the 1930s, aircraft design was extremely rapid, with designers learning a lot about aerodynamics, power plants and human factors, which encompasses not only life support, but cockpit ergonomics. When the B-17 first flew, it did so without checklists, despite being a very complex aircraft…and the first prototype crashed when the test pilots forgot to remove the gust locks before takeoff. So, checklists were introduced. Besides that, the U.S. Army Air Corps began evaluating cockpit and control ergonomics and came to the conclusion that, in the stress of combat, crews needed to be able to reflexively interpret instruments and actuate controls without having to think about it. Part of the solution was to make landing gear handles shaped like a wheel at the end of a lever and a flap handle shaped like a little wing, etc. Previous to that, there might be switches or buttons which looked like any other switch but performed different functions…very confusing. It also helped when the crew couldn’t see the switch if they lost lighting at night, or due to smoke in the cockpit, etc. In fact, even today, some pilots are given what’s called a “blind cockpit check” to ensure they know the position of all the important controls by feel alone. That standardization exists to this day and that’s why most aircraft today have a landing gear handle that’s shaped like a lever with a wheel at the end and flap levers shaped like little wings.

    +6 3.0 years ago
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    Some aircrafts have switches for landing gear or flaps for example the B-17 they use a switch for landing gear but most of these days aircrafts usually have levers for landing gear I'm not 100% sure if they still use switches for landing gear

    3.0 years ago
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    11.6k JesusChrist

    @Stickman Is that the only reason?

    +2 3.0 years ago