Messier-Dowty believes that the success of its fully packaged landing gear for Bombardier’s Global Express and Continental and Raytheon’s Hawker Horizon has allowed the system-supplier concept to take root in business aviation. The group has high hopes of being named the landing gear system supplier for both Dassault’s new Falcon FNX program and Raytheon’s Hawker 450.
The systems approach means supplying more than just the basic landing gear hardware, making the prime contractor responsible for other elements such as the brake and landing gear controls, indication units, actuators and uplocks, hydraulics and electronics, as well as the emergency extension system. In fact, Dassault engineers are expected to exclude brake controls and wheels and brakes from the anticipated systems contract for the Falcon FNX, although the company has apparently altered its procurement philosophy to allow for a systems approach.
