Aerospace · Structures

Landing Gear Design & Analysis

Intermediate 5 weeks 35-60 hours

Build a scaled landing-gear shock strut (spring/damper) and drop-test it with an accelerometer to measure impact absorption. Tune for lower peak G. Compare to analysis.

Major

Aerospace

Focus area

Structures

Total hours

35-60 hours

What you'll need

  • compression spring and linear damper set
  • MPU6050 6-axis accelerometer gyroscope sensor module
  • Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
  • linear rail guide slide 500mm CNC
  • calibration weight set for drop testing
  • PLA 3D printer filament 1.75mm for parts
Shop these parts on Amazon
Shop the parts on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Steps

  1. Design a scaled shock strut with a spring and damper and 3D print the mounts.
  2. Build the drop rig on the linear rail with calibration weights.
  3. Mount the IMU and program the Arduino to log impact acceleration.
  4. Drop from fixed heights and measure peak G.
  5. Try different spring and damper combos to reduce peak G.
  6. Compare results to your analysis and document them for your portfolio.

What to photograph for your portfolio

  • Landing gear rig
  • drop-test G-force curves
  • absorption tuning
  • design margin

Resume bullet starters

Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.

  • Engineered a landing gear design & analysis using Landing dynamics, shock absorption, accelerometer testing

  • Applied mechanical design to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end

Skills you'll show off

Landing dynamicsshock absorptionaccelerometer testingmechanical design

Enjoying the site?

Every tool here is free. If it helped you, consider buying me a coffee.

Buy me a coffee