Patent ID: 8465247

Claim:
Apparatus for loading and unloading a main landing gear (“MLG”) of an aircraft, comprising: a fixture adapted to couple to a truck of the MLG such that a sagittal plane of the fixture is parallel to or coplanar with a sagittal plane of the MLG, both translational forces and turning moments applied to the fixture are coupled directly through the fixture to the MLG; a mechanism for controllably translating the fixture in the sagittal plane thereof, wherein the mechanism comprises: a support frame having opposing portions disposed on opposite sides of the fixture; a pair of opposing slide mechanisms, each coupled to a corresponding opposite side of the fixture and supported on a corresponding one of the support frame side portions for simultaneous, coextensive sliding movement in a plane parallel to the sagittal plane of the fixture and relative to the support frame; and, a mechanism for urging the slide mechanisms in simultaneous, coextensive translational movement; and, a mechanism for controllably rotating the fixture in the sagittal plane thereof.