Editing Conventional landing gear (section)

==Jet-powered tailwheel aircraft==
[[File:Supermarine Attcker FB.2 WP290 ST812 1831 Sqn STN 25.02.56 edited-2.jpg|thumb|left|Royal Navy Supermarine ''Attacker'' landing at [[RNAS Stretton]], England, 1956]]

Jet aircraft generally cannot use conventional landing gear, as this orients the engines at a high angle, causing their [[jet blast]] to bounce off the ground and back into the air, preventing the [[Elevator (aircraft)|elevator]]s from functioning properly. This problem occurred with the third, or "V3" prototype of the German [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] jet fighter.<ref name="Boyne 2008, p. 60">Boyne 2008, p. 60.</ref> After the first four prototype Me 262 V-series airframes were built with retracting tailwheel gear, the fifth prototype was fitted with fixed tricycle landing gear for trials, with the sixth prototype onwards getting fully retracting tricycle gear. A number of other experimental and prototype jet aircraft had conventional landing gear, including the first successful jet, the [[Heinkel He 178]], the [[Ball-Bartoe Jetwing]] research aircraft, and a single [[Vickers VC.1 Viking]], which was modified with [[Rolls-Royce Nene]] engines to become the world's first jet airliner.

[[File:Yakolev Yak-15 '37 yellow' (38910149232).jpg|thumb|The sole surviving Yak-15. Vadim Zadorozhny Technical Museum, Moscow, 2012]]
Rare examples of jet-powered tailwheel aircraft that went into production and saw service include the British [[Supermarine Attacker]] naval fighter and the Soviet [[Yakovlev Yak-15]]. Both first flew in 1946 and owed their configurations to being developments of earlier propeller powered aircraft. The Attacker's tailwheel configuration was a result of it using the [[Supermarine Spiteful]]'s wing, avoiding expensive design modification or retooling. The engine exhaust was behind the elevator and tailwheel, reducing problems. The Yak-15 was based on the [[Yakovlev Yak-3]] propeller fighter. Its engine was mounted under the forward fuselage. Despite its unusual configuration, the Yak-15 was easy to fly. Although a fighter, it was mainly used as a [[trainer aircraft]] to prepare Soviet pilots for flying more advanced jet fighters.