[ncmncm]

Apparatus to spin up wheels was analyzed exhaustively, early on. They determined that the added weight and complexity did not pay.

That is not to say that some clever physical design could not help. But the idea of spinning up wheels is well-known to gear engineers. Tire wear is a substantial expense, so any bright ideas would be welcomed, and eventually tried out.

[chris_va]

Seems like one could design the tread (or an extra rubber tab) to catch the wind and self spin.

[ncmncm]

And, as I said, these ideas have been explored in depth, and abandoned. Nothing has changed in tires or landing gear, since, to merit going back over everything that was tried.

Suppose your stuff got the tire spinning at the circumferential rate of 20 knots. The plane touches down at 130+ knots. Is the decrease in rubber deposited noticeable? How fast would you need the tire to be spinning to make a noticeable difference? How much does your extra apparatus weigh? How much extra space does it take in the wheel well?

The extra weight has to be carried throughout the flight. Space in the wheel well is tightly constrained, because it is near the center of gravity of the aircraft, where cargo space is most valuable, and where the wing spar crosses through the fuselage.

Everybody thinks of spinning up wheels. Thus far nobody has had answers to the questions that led to acting on the idea.

[ErikVandeWater]

Well using sprinklers to wet the initial part of the tarmac would work. But the safety folks don't have an understanding of nuance that a runway where just the first 300 feet is wet is different from the runway being fully wet.

[chris_va]

Thanks, more or less the reality check I was hoping for :)