Hand Me That Wrench

For the 1946 Convair XB-36 prototype, the two main landing gear tires were the largest aircraft tires Goodyear ever made, weighing 1,320 pounds each. The tricycle landing gear setup was used for all larger aircraft at the time, but the immense weight of the largest bomber ever built restricted its landing to just three runways nationwide. That changed with the second pre-production bomber, the YB-36, with the invention of a 4-wheel bogey design with smaller tires, distributing the weight evenly, allowing the plane to land on any major runway. With a few exceptions, this became the new standard for all future large aircraft. Constant upgrades throughout its career were made to keep pace with the speed of the era's aeronautical advancements. The most visible change was the adoption of a new, raised canopy for better pilot visibility, first used on the YB-36. 

Note: The B-36 was the United States Air Force's first true intercontinental bomber, entering Air Force inventory in 1948 and remaining active through 1958. The final flight of the bomber was in the Spring of 1959, delivered to the United States Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio for permanent display. Three other B-36s remain in American museums.