Robotic Landing Gear For Helicopters

[Jemiba]

Pro: Could increase safety for land and shipboard operations and especially
for the latter, maybe ease stowing in a ships hangar, I think:

http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-09-10

Contra: probably at least as weighty as a retractable landing gear and an
additional source for complication and faults

 

[hesham]

Nice find my dear Jemiba.

 

[yasotay]

Will also make landings with forward velocity VERY interesting (like auto-rotation). High gross weight rolling take-offs too.

 

[Sundog]

Will also make landings with forward velocity VERY interesting (like auto-rotation). High gross weight rolling take-offs too.

My guess is a production version would have wheels.

 

[Jemiba]

Perhaps a combination with skids would be possible, too, if one of the attachement points
of each skid would be made slidable ? Those "robotic legs" principally don't do anything else,
than very long stroke hydraulic pistons, I think.

 

[Jeb]

Reminds me of a spaceship design that appears in Star Wars: The Clone Wars where the four engines were podded and on landing, also served as landing gear that had a basic walk function built into the armature.