What is a landing gear extension and retraction system?
An integrated system including a control computer, hydraulic unit, door actuators and uplocks for the landing gear and gear doors. The uplocks are critical, since they ensure trouble-free operation of the doors and landing gear retraction and extension. Weighing less than ten kilograms, they must nevertheless be capable of supporting traction forces of 5 to 15 tons. However, their main qualities are endurance and reliability. They have been proved on both military aircraft and on all Airbus aircraft types outfitted by Messier-Bugatti. The risk of failure is now estimated at one in one hundred million operations.
