This question seems to be popping up all over and I thought it was best to try and explain why the 787's landing gear wasn't retracted immediately after takeoff.
During first flights, landing gear is rarely retracted until well into the flight when it is established that everything is safe and stable on the aircraft. In case of an emergency it's one less item to worry about and and second, it creates an entirely new problem if the gear does not come back down again. The landing gear can be dropped with the help of gravity as a backup of need be, but ultimately leaving the gear down provides an additional margin of safety for the crew.
That being said, the 787's landing gear was cycled once during the flight by Carriker and Neville, which they reported was successful.
Recent Comments