Landing gear extenders are devices used on conventional or tailwheel-equipped aircraft. They move the wheels forward of the

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...

leg by 2-3 inches (5–8 cm). The installation of landing gear extenders is almost always the result of operational experience with an aircraft design that shows a problem with the landing gear – when the brakes are applied heavily the aircraft has a tendency to go up on its nose and strike the propeller on the ground. The landing gear extenders move the wheels forward relative to the

centre of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...

, thus reducing this tendency. Landing gear extenders were optional factory equipment on the late-1940s Cessna 120 and 140.

References

{{Aircraft components Aircraft undercarriage