Nonlinear Simulation of Aircraft Terminal Maneuvers Including Gear Dynamics and Ground Effect
Stefano CACCIOLA, Andrea CALABRIA
Abstract. Due to ground proximity and limited time to react to possible issues, take-off and landing maneuvers represent the most critical conditions within the envelope of any airplane. In this context, accurate modeling of terminal maneuvers is essential to evaluate performance, identify possible issues, and assess the safety integrity of a design solution. This work focuses on the development of a nonlinear flight simulator capable of handling terminal maneuvers, including the impact of wind and ground effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft. The proposed simulator is employed in different landing scenarios including crosswind conditions for evaluating the maximum wing-tip clearance.
Keywords
Flight Dynamics, Terminal Phases, Simulation, Crosswind, Landing Gear, Nonlinear Aerodynamics, Ground Effect
Published online 7/20/2026, 6 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Stefano CACCIOLA, Andrea CALABRIA, Nonlinear Simulation of Aircraft Terminal Maneuvers Including Gear Dynamics and Ground Effect, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 69, pp 913-918, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904251-161
The article was published as article 161 of the book CEAS – AIDAA Conference 2025
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] Anonymous, A statistical analysis of commercial aviation accidents, 1958–2021. Technical
Report (2021), Airbus, Blagnac, France, https://skybrary.aero/sites/default/files/bookshelf/34487.pdf (accessed on 06 November 2025).
[2] Anonymous, Statistical summary of commercial jet airplane accidents: World wide operations 1959–2015. Technical report (2015), Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Aviation Safety. https://www.boeing.com/content/dam/boeing/boeingdotcom/company/about_bca/pdf/statsum.pdf (accessed on 06 November 2025).
[3] M.E. Dreier. Introduction to Helicopter and Tiltrotor Simulation. AIAA Educational series (2007), Reston, VA, USA, 2007.
[4] P.E. Evans. Modeling and simulation of tricycle landing gear at normal and abnormal conditions. Master’s thesis, West Virginia University (2010), Morgantown, WV, USA. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/2153. (accessed on 10 May 2023).
[5] C. Wang and F. Holzapfel. Modeling of the aircraft landing behavior for runway excursion and abnormal runway contact analysis. In Proceedings of the 2018 AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference (2018), Kissimmee, FL, USA. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-1166.
[6] S. Cacciola, C.E.D. Riboldi, E. Generali, Optimization of Airplane Landing in Crosswind Conditions for Minimum Tire Wear, Machines 11 (2023) 599-626. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11060599
[7] R. Fink. USAF stability and control Datcom. Technical Report AFWAL-TR-83-3048 (1978), Mc-Donnell Douglas Astronautics Company.
[8] S. Cacciola, L. Testa, M. Saponi, A Procedure for Developing a Flight Mechanics Model of a Three-Surface Drone Using Semi-Empirical Methods, Aerospace 12 (2025) 515-1-19 https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12060515
[9] A. Barnes, T. Yager. Enhancement of ground handling simulation capability. Technical Report AGARD-AG-333 (1998) Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Neuilly sur Seine, France.
[10] J. Roskam. Airplane Design. Pt 4, (1989). Design Analysis and Research Corporation.
[11] Z. Lei, J. Hongzhou, and L. Hongren. Object-oriented landing gear model in a pc-based
flight simulator. Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory, 16(9):1514–1532, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.simpat.2008.08.009
[12] C.O. O’Leary. Flight measurements of ground effect on the lift and pitching moment of a large transport aircraft (comet 3b) and comparison with wind tunnel and other data. Aeronautical Research Council Reports And Memoranda, 1968.



