Lab-Developed F-22 Nose Landing Gear Door Reduces Production and Maintenance Costs Published July 18, 2007 By Air Vehicles Directorate AFRL/VA Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio -- Working under AFRL's Advanced Aluminum Aerostructures Initiative (AAAI), researchers developed an innovative nose landing gear door (NLGD) that will be a part of all newly produced F-22 aircraft. The new door is less costly to produce than the original door structure; further, it will significantly reduce maintenance time and expense. Already installed on two vehicles, the redesigned NLGD is a unitized structure, eliminating the parts and fasteners typically required to hold traditional door components together. This singleunit construction makes the door a more aerodynamically efficient and easily maintained structure. The door's constituent parts (a lower grid section and a top skin) fasten in place with snap-fit technology, meaning that they snap together without the need for drilled holes. The elimination of holes translates to less potential for cracking. The structure's one-piece construction will substantially reduce maintenance and associated costs. AAAI is an AFRL-managed, congressionally funded advanced development program with the ultimate goal of reducing the installed cost of aluminum aerospace structures, while also reducing maintenance requirements, improving performance, and decreasing life-cycle costs. As such, AAAI represents a new approach to design--one that streamlines the design process by involving both the material manufacturer and the airframe manufacturer throughout all phases of product development.