Pintle exotic metal alloys. For World War II aircraft with sideways-retracting main gear units, carefully set-up "pintle angles" for such axes of rotation during retraction and extension allowed the maingear struts to be raked forward while fully extended for touchdown and better ground handling, while permitting retraction into rearwards-angled landing gear wells in their wings to usually clear the forward wing spar for stowing while in flight. Pintle A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge. Other applications include pintle and lunette ring for towing, and pintle
Natal hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise The Natal hinge-back tortoise ("Kinixys natalensis"), also known as Natal hinge-backed tortoise or Natal hinged tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae which is restricted to eastern southern Africa to a relatively small area around the borders of Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland. The Natal hinge-back tortoise is one of the smallest of the hinged tortoises. It has an elongated carapace up to in length which is slightly domed with a flat dorsal surface, although averaging between in length. Its hinge, on the underside of its shell, is also poorly developed compared to its