Plain English Meaning

An airplane with two wheels up front and one small wheel under the tail, so it sits with its nose pointed up when parked.

Full Definition

Airplanes equipped with conventional landing gear, consisting of two main wheels positioned forward of the airplane's center of gravity and a single small wheel supporting the tail at the rear. This arrangement causes the airplane to sit nose-high on the ground, with the propeller angled upward when at rest.

Context Anchor

Seen in training for airplanes with conventional landing gear, especially during taxi, takeoff, and landing discussions.

Derivation

Called 'conventional gear' because this layout was the standard design in the early decades of aviation, before ( forward) became the . The name '' simply describes where the third wheel sits.