Simviation Forums

Has anyone ever figured out how to make the b-52 landing gear work completely correctly? i'm talking about the crosswind takeoff and landing procedure

wiki definition of this system
"The B-52's landing gear have to be turned at an angle ("crabbed" in aeronautical terms) when landing in a crosswind. The gear is made to point down the runway while the nose of the plane points into the wind. Pilots call this "crosswind crab". This is made possible by a complex, but highly reliable, hydraulic system. The ability to crab enables the B-52 to land in conditions which would force other aircraft to divert elsewhere."

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch12-3.htm
3rd picture

This is a tough one.  My only thought would be this:

Make and call the main gear c_gear and animate like a tailwheel on castors.  Once straightened on the runway you can lock the tailwheel which sets it straight.

Use contact points 2 and 3 and setup like a castoring tailwheel.

Treat the nose gear normally animating as c_gear but not castored.

Milton, does that mean the overal object axis's would have to be reveresed to have it work?

Yes, simply flip the gizmo from normal tailwheel setting... I think. :-)

well i have a B-52 that doesnt crab but when taxiing (say your making a left turn) the front wheel turn counter clockwise, and the rear wheels turn clockwise.

i think the true crabwalk yaw angles are 30*


as for animation, if you could rigg them up to the rudder, but then you would have one into and one away from the wind  ???

I think milton's idea would work, just letting the plane windvane into the wind on takeoff. I dont have the modeling capability right now but thought some designer would take the idea and work on it. I have a feeling that the payware companies would be the first to figure it out.

Falcon, the article with that picture says that the b52 only uses the front wheels for taxi turning, so your model is not completely correct.