Permission to land
When arriving at a new destination, most tourists hurry to get away from the airport. On the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, however, visitors flock to the airport area.
The runway is separated from the now famous Maho Beach by just a thin two-lane highway and a chicken fence, making it a superb spot to experience a close encounter with a jet. This pastime is not without danger: jet engines can produce winds of more than 160 kilometers an hour, easily blowing sand and people away. Fortunately no major injuries have been reported, and the thrill of jets taking off and landing continues to draw onlookers.
Landing, a crucial part of any flight, puts intense strain on the landing gear. The main landing gear shock struts instantaneously absorb an amount of energy comparable to the thrusts of the plane's jet engine, which is similar to the crash energy generated in a car collision. Today the increasing size of loads and the planes themselves pose new machining challenges for producers of aircraft landing gear. Sandvik offers secure, productive and validated solutions for all the related machining operations, such as deep hole drilling, bottle boring, turning and milling.