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Just wondering (especially in the rain) if an airplanes rear wheels will spin like a cars rear tyres will spin when it accelerates from a halt.

kofi
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    The wheels are not powered like a car. They provide no motive force. – WPNSGuy Aug 05 '22 at 23:13
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    Ok. Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question im not a huge aviation guy lol, appreciate the answer tho thank you :) – kofi Aug 05 '22 at 23:18
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    If an airplane was on a treadmill... – Michael Hall Aug 06 '22 at 01:50
  • @MichaelHall - Too funny – Jim Aug 06 '22 at 05:51
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    I believe there have been experiments in driving the main gear wheels in the past, either to help planes accelerate at the start of TO, or to give the ability to taxi without actual engine thrust, but the benefits weren't worth the weight/complexity. Keep in mind that weight is Priority One in design when it comes to airplanes, and extreme measures are often taken to keep weight down, like using exotic materials that no car designer in his right mind would use, or making seemingly trivial choices between fastener A or B based on some microscopic weight difference that adds up to a few pounds. – John K Aug 06 '22 at 19:49
  • @JohnK I think in most cases this would be hard to accomplish. The more common use case I’m familiar with is spinning up the landing gear before landing to reduce tire wear. It was tried a few times and in each case, the cost of the extra fuel to fly the drive mechanism around ended up being more than what is saved on the tire budget… so it’s never made it’s way onto any mass produced aircraft that I’m aware of. The drive mechanism required to drive an airliner around, for instance, would be very large and very heavy. – Max R Aug 11 '22 at 04:24

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No, the tires on a plane aren't driven by the engine. All the power comes from the propeller/turbine pushing on the air.

Well, actually, there have been a (very) few experimental or one-off planes with driven wheels. But even then, the vast majority of them had wheels that were driven by low-power electric motors without enough torque to actually "burn rubber". Those motors wouldn't have been used for takeoff, just as a more fuel-efficient way to taxi around the airport.

If the brakes are dragging, it is entirely possible for it to skid "the other way": i.e. with the engine pulling the airframe forward while the tire doesn't rotate. But that's about it.

HiddenWindshield
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