Aircraft landing gear actuator

A landing gear actuator comprising:

• a body supporting emergency and main leadscrews arranged coaxially with one another;
• main and emergency motors respectively coupled to the main and emergency leadscrews;
• an output rod supported by and extending from the body, the output rod threadingly coupled to the main leadscrew and configured to move axially in response to rotation of the main leadscrew;
• and
• a brake that cooperates with the emergency leadscrew and configured to fix the emergency leadscrew relative to the body in a normal operating condition, the main leadscrew configured to axially move the output rod in the normal operating condition, wherein the brake includes at least two separate coils, the coils configured to be energized independently from one another, wherein the brake is configured to be released in a failure condition with one of the coils, the emergency motor configured to axially drive the emergency leadscrew relative to the body in the failure condition.

A method of cycling a landing gear between stowed and deployed positions comprising the steps of:

• energizing a main motor to rotationally drive a main leadscrew;
• axially moving an output rod relative to a body with the main leadscrew, and engaging a brake to fix an emergency leadscrew relative to the body;
• experiencing a failure in the main drive, which includes the main motor and main leadscrew;
• releasing the brake prior to performing an emergency motor energizing step;
• performing the emergency motor energizing step, including rotationally driving an emergency leadscrew that is different than the main leadscrew and output rod;
• axially moving the emergency leadscrew relative to the body;
• and
• switching from a main power source to an emergency power source for at least one of the releasing and energizing steps.