ChiefT From Germany, joined Jun 2005, 248 posts, RR: 0 Posted (7 years 2 weeks 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 1813 times:
I herad, that the operators of B747-400 in Japan have locked the landing gear on some aircraft beacuse the costs for maintenace would increase dramatically if they would retract the gears on some very short domestic hops.
Qantas744ER From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 1251 posts, RR: 4 Reply 1, posted (7 years 2 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 1734 times:
Quoting ChiefT (Thread starter): I herad, that the operators of B747-400 in Japan have locked the landing gear on some aircraft beacuse the costs for maintenace would increase dramatically if they would retract the gears on some very short domestic hops.
100% Bullshit, 2 years ago I did 4 Domestic Flights in japan with both JA and NH on their 744D planes and on none of these, the gears were not retracted, I know this because I always heard the sound,
BTW if the gear would stay out, the cost would be higher due to a lower cruise altitude and the air friction from the gear. So wo ever told you this was talking shit, and its not like the flights are only 25 minutes long...
Haha couldn't have put it better myself!! Think of it....what would be the advantages in doing that?? To save a few maintenance dollars, you limit yourself to an ultra low crusing altitude and an ultra low cruising airspeed meaning your engines are going to be very thirsty. It wouldn't be worth it in any capacity.
Andrewtang From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2001, 457 posts, RR: 9 Reply 4, posted (7 years 2 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 1424 times:
For the 747-400D , there is a fan on the Main Landing gears to cool the gears upon arrival due to the high number of landings within everyday. The only thing Airlines in Japan do to reduce cost is pump enough fuel just for each domestic sector so as to pay less for lighter landing weight.
Levent From France, joined Sep 2004, 1718 posts, RR: 5 Reply 5, posted (7 years 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 1331 times:
Quoting FL370 (Reply 3): ya u got it all confused, u got it reveresed. the amount of friction when the gear is down is so much higher than if the gear was down