Aircraft electric taxi system design and operation

An aircraft nose landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi system with a drive motor engineered to produce optimal torque during most electric taxi system-powered aircraft ground travel and to produce breakaway torque during ground travel situations requiring breakaway torque, comprising:

• a. an electric drive motor comprising a rotor element and a stator element sized to produce an optimal level of torque to power a nose landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi system to move an aircraft during a majority of aircraft ground travel conditions, wherein said optimal level of torque is less than a level of breakaway torque required to move the aircraft from a stopped condition;
• b. said electric drive motor and components of said electric taxi system comprising at least a gear system and a clutch assembly are mounted completely within each one of a pair of nose landing gear wheels, wherein said electric drive motor is mounted adjacent to an axle in each said nose landing gear wheel, said gear system is mounted outwardly of said motor, and said clutch assembly is mounted to transfer torque through said gear system from said electric drive motor to said nose landing gear wheel, and said components are sized to produce said optimal level of torque;
• and
• c. nose landing gear wheel steering operable to move said pair of nose landing gear wheels from a nose wheel steering position parallel to a longitudinal axis of said aircraft to a plurality of sharp nose wheel steering angles within the range of from about 1 degree to about 90 degrees from said longitudinal axis, wherein at least one of said plurality of sharp nose wheel steering angles increases said optimal level of torque produced by said electric drive motor and said electric taxi system to said level of breakaway torque.