Electrically-powered, V/ESTOL aircraft can use their high capacity battery pack to operate a new type of electric landing gear system—the tactile active gear (TAG). The TAG concept is that of a smart system whose position, strain, motion and acceleration sensors detect and provide input for a software-guided precise positioning control of its long-travel landing gear legs. The long-travel TAG could enable smooth, consistently acceptable accelerations and jerk rates during landings with touchdowns at relatively high sink rates. This could significantly enhance the V/ESTOL performance of the TAG-equipped aircraft.
