Landing-gear doors
Landing-gear doors close around a retractable landing-gear installation to restore the aircraft’s external aerodynamic shape.
- Where it is
- Around the nose and main landing-gear bays in the generic transport-aircraft model.
- What it does
- They open to provide clearance for gear movement and close when the system sequence permits.
- Relationship
- Door movement is coordinated with gear extension and retraction so that neither the doors nor the gear obstruct the other.
- Common confusion
- Gear doors are not uplocks or downlocks. Doors fair the bay opening; locks secure the landing gear in a commanded position.
Check yourself
Without looking back, can you explain where the landing-gear doors is, what it does, and which component drives it or is driven by it?
Scope: Generic transport-aircraft teaching model. Reviewed 2026-09-09.