Patent ID: 6845944

Claim:
A tail skid assembly for use with an aircraft having a fuselage and a main wing, the aircraft further having a main landing gear extendable downward from at least proximate to the main wing, and a nose landing gear extendable downward from a forward portion of the fuselage, the tail skid assembly comprising: a skid member having first and second portions, the first portion configured to be coupled to the fuselage aft of the main landing gear and the second portion being movable relative to the fuselage, the second portion supporting a skid surface; and a skid deployment system operably connected to the skid member to move the skid surface between first and second positions, wherein the first and second portions of the skid member are telescopically coupled and configured to extend and retract along a longitudinal axis to move the skid surface between the first and second positions, wherein when the skid surface is in the first position the skid surface is closer to the aft portion of the fuselage than when the skid surface is in the second position, and wherein the skid surface is configured to contact a surface of a runway when the skid surface is in the first and second positions.