Question to landing gear experts

[Bill Walker]

The main purpose of the scissor link is to keep the the wheel(s) pointed in the desired direction. The shock absorber piston that the wheels are attached to would be free to rotate otherwise. These links provide a convient place tro mount a number of accessories, including shimmy dampers, weight-on-wheel switches, and steering devices. Engineers often refer to these links as "torque links", since they resist any torque that would rotate the wheel(s). On many modern airliners the nose wheel scissors can be disconnected, to permit greater nose wheel steering angles while towing the aircraft.

On some struts, the scissors are also the extension stop, which means they keep the strut internal pressure from launching the strut out of the end of the cylinder.