Table of Contents
Deceleration Mechanisms Employed in Aircraft Landing
Aircraft lands at the runways at the speed of 250-300 Kmph depending on the type of aircraft and payload. Aircraft also have a braking system that uses a disc brake system but it’s not enough to stop the aircraft as the Disc Brake has an elimination that works on Frication and when it gets Heat up the breaking efficiently decreases as break heats up.
For that reason, Aircraft use a combo of braking systems let’s see.
Air brakes or Speed brakes.
Air brakes work on the principle of Drag which means a force acting against the motion. When Aircraft Touchdown Pilot opens the spoiler to increase the drag which helps in aircraft deceleration
Reverse Thrust.
In normal operations, aircraft engines are designed to intake the air and create a force that helps aircraft to move forward but engines can also help to slow down the aircraft and decrease load on the breaks. It also helps in quick deceleration during landing and helps in shorter landing distances. But for heavy aircraft, the reverse thrust is very important.
Drogue Parachute:
When landing distance is less or during the testing commercial aircraft also use parachutes to reduce the speed.
The landing distance also depends upon the many factors
- Winds Direction and Speed;
When an Aircraft lands the headwinds always mean less distance to stop the aircraft as it will help in increasing drag and when the wings are Tailwinds then it would take longer to stop.
- Aircraft Weight;
The Heavier the aircraft the more distance required to stop due to the load of the aircraft which will decrease the efficiency of breaks