The overall braking function has to respond to enormous economic and operational demands from the point of view of both aircraft manufacturers and airline companies.
Operational demands essentially cover three technical qualities: security, efficiency and braking comfort.
Economic demands essentially relate to equipment maintenance and the renewal of consumables (the brakes), the frequency of which directly relates to their durability. The notion of CPL or Cost Per Landing is an essential factor for airline companies and as a consequence is a prime economic criterion involving the aircraft manufacturer.
The introduction of carbon brakes has, with the three generations developed by Messier-Bugatti, provided an extremely satisfactory response from the threefold standpoint of performance (mass, efficiency), durability, and associated costs, notably in operation. Today, SepCarb® III and its offshoots (SepCarb® III-PLUS and SepCarb® III OR) are at top world level in these three respective areas.
Once approved by the aircraft manufacturer, the choice of wheels and brakes is usually left to the operating company. There is a choice of maybe three or four suppliers.
