# Spindrift Landing Gear



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I am planning on adding landing gear to the new Moebius kit. I have seen the shot used in the SciFi airshow with the wheels and some form of that is likely. I am thinking of a fairly heavy set since the ship has a lot more mass for it's size than a conventional aircraft.
Another possiblity would be landing skids- it would add to the SciFi look and imply the ship could slow to a stop and settle down instead of blasting down a paved runway to land. They seem to have gravity control in the first show where they fly into that lightshow and IA craft use advanced technology with atomic engines and such. 
The Spindrift bellied in because it was crashing and had little control- fortunately the hulls shape worked for that.

Opinions?
Wheeled landings like the Flying Sub or Hover and set down like the Jupiter 2?


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## Solium (Apr 24, 2005)

Since the ship to my knowledge was always seen on its "belly", I always assumed it had an anti gravity field that let it land softly from a vertical position. In which case landing skids makes more sense. However the ship itself didn't seem to need them with its wide underbelly.


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## woof359 (Apr 27, 2003)

or like a WW II bomber coming in for a landing in the brush it keeps it gear up.


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## zike (Jan 3, 2009)

Wheels.

Even large helicopters have wheels. Also, it would be necessary for workers to be able to move the ship around during maintenance (hangar, paint shop).


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

The only other place where we see vehicles with VTOL is Star Wars- there when they need to move a ship they just engage the repulsor-lift and float it over for maintenance, etc...
Belly down is good for an emergency landing but the surface is rounded- unless it settles into dirt it is only balanced and the stress on the frame could cause problems. While it is OK in the context of the series for it, I think if the ship was to be used commercially at airports it should have some support system to distribute the weight and provide a stable stance.
In the so called tech manual it shows the SpinDrift launching system using a magnetic rail gun trench, but that could be just to save fuel and bring the ship up to flight speed quickly. Landing using such a system would be very difficult so something at the airports, runways or landing pads would seem reasonable.
IMO the best landing gear was seen on the TOS Viper- embedded wheels in a skid.
Wheels looks OK in the SciFi Airshow, but they also looks pretty conventional. Visually I am sort of leaning to a three skid look just to make it look more futuristic- when you see a craft sitting on landing legs it automatically makes me think it can slow to a stop and settle down vertically on the gear, something that we normally do not see today.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Well, you could take it even further, just legs ala Thunderbird 2. maybe they exist to soften the transition between the anti-grav landing and switching it off, helping to absorb the inertia?

Me, I kinda like wheels. Don't have to power up the ship's reactor to muscle it around the field. Plus the 'old tech' airport infrastructure can still be used. 

Just a thought.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

I could see having some kind of an electric motorized wheeled dolly setup where the ship uses its antigravity drive to float down onto it before powering down. That way it could be rolled to and fro around the spacecraft hangar while on the dolly.


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## harrier1961 (Jun 18, 2009)

Trekkriffic said:


> I could se having some kind of an electric motorized wheeled dolly setup where the ship uses its antigravity drive to float down onto it before powering down. That way it could be rolled to and fro around the spacecraft hangar while on the dolly.


That is a great alternative. Hmmmm....(rooting around spares box..)

Andy.


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## fortress (Apr 1, 2006)

How about both?

fortress


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

I'm liking the whole "other" idea. Maybe some sort of cradle or sled apparatus that launches it and then the dolly idea for recovery.

As much as I love what I'v eseen on Sci Fi Airshow, the conventional landing gear spoil the futuristic look for me. And the skid arrangement has been done to death.

My 2 cents worth anyway,

Tory


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I decided to go with a combination type of landing gear. Three skids with some wheels tucked in just above which will look like they could drop down, not the built-ins like on the Viper (TOS). Now to start going through the parts boxes for what I need...

Thanks to all for your opinions- they really helped getting things focused!

Richard


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