chassis / landing gear
Loading your saved state.
chassis
The complete set of parts of a vehicle that create the connection to the road, such as wheels, wheel suspension, suspension, and brakes.
Das sportliche Fahrwerk des Autos sorgt für eine gute Straßenlage in Kurven.
The car's sporty chassis provides good road holding in curves.
The word is made up of 'fahren' (to drive/travel) and 'Werk' (work/mechanism). Here, 'Werk' does not mean 'factory', but rather 'mechanism' or 'technical device' — in other words, the technology responsible for driving or moving.
Der Mechaniker überprüft das Fahrwerk des Rennwagens.
The mechanic checks the racing car's chassis.
Whether 'Fahrwerk' refers to a car's chassis (meaning 1) or an airplane's landing gear (meaning 2) can be recognized from context. Words like 'Auto' (car) or 'Kurve' (curve) point to the first meaning, while 'Flugzeug' (airplane), 'Pilot' (pilot), or 'landen' (to land) point to the second.
Das Fahrwerk des Sportwagens ist sehr hart eingestellt.
The sports car's chassis is set very stiffly.
In connection with cars, 'Fahrwerk' is often described with adjectives such as 'sportlich' (sporty), 'komfortabel' (comfortable), or 'hart' (stiff/hard). Typical verbs are 'einstellen' (to adjust) or 'optimieren' (to optimize).
Ein komfortables Fahrwerk ist bei langen Reisen sehr angenehm.
A comfortable chassis is very pleasant on long trips.
With airplanes, the typical verbs are 'einziehen' (to retract, after takeoff) and 'ausfahren' (to extend, before landing). You also say that the pilot 'mit dem Fahrwerk landet' (lands with the landing gear).
Vor der Landung muss der Pilot das Fahrwerk ausfahren.
Before landing, the pilot must extend the landing gear.
drive / running gear
'Fahrwerk' and 'Laufwerk' sound similar and can both refer to technical parts that make movement possible. 'Fahrwerk' is used mainly for cars, other vehicles, and airplanes: it refers to wheels, suspension, brakes, or, in an airplane, the parts used for takeoff and landing. In everyday language, 'Laufwerk' usually means a device in a computer that reads or writes data. With tracked vehicles, 'Laufwerk' can also refer to the tracks and wheels. So there is a risk of confusion especially in technical contexts: for a car or airplane, 'Fahrwerk' is usually the right word; for a computer, 'Laufwerk' usually is.
Nach dem Unfall prüft die Werkstatt das Fahrwerk des Autos.
After the accident, the repair shop checks the car's chassis.
Das Laufwerk im alten Computer liest die DVD nicht mehr.
The drive in the old computer no longer reads the DVD.