text: NAVWEPS 00-801-80 
  OPERATING STRENGTH LIMITATIONS 
  
  oil is forced through an orifice at high velocity 
  and the energy of the aircraft is absorbed. To 
  have an efficient strut the orifice size must be 
  controlled with a tapered pin to absorb the 
  energy with the most uniform force on the strut. 
  The vertical landing loads resulting at touch- 
  down can be simplified to an extent by assum- 
  ing the action of the strut to produce a uni- 
  formly accelerated motion of the aircraft. TV 
  landing load factor for touchdown at a consta 
  rate of descent can be expressed by the follow- 
  ing equation: 
  
  n= F/W 
  
  n = (ROD)’ 
  
  w 
  
  where 
  
  a=landing 
  
  ratio of 
  the load in the strut, F, to the 
  weight, W 
  
  load factor-the 
  
  ROD=rate of descent, ft. per sec. 
  
  g= acceleration due to gravity 
  
  = 32 ft. per sec.’ 
  
  S= effective stroke of the strut, ft. 
  
  As an example, assume that an aircraft touches 
  down at a constant rate of descent of 18 ft. per 
  sec. and the effective stroke of the strut is 18 
  inches (I.5 ft.). 
  The landing load factor for 
  the condition would be 3.37; the average force 
  would be 3.37 times the weight of the aircraft. 
  (NOTE: there is no specific correlation between 
  the landing load factor and the indication of 
  a cockpit mounted flight accelerometer. The 
  response of the instrument, its mounting, and 
  the onset of landing 
  loads usually prevent 
  direct correlation.) 