Aircraft landing gear assembly

1. An aircraft landing gear assembly comprising:

a main strut;

a bogie beam coupled to a lower end region of the main strut;

a steerable axle pivotally coupled to the bogie beam, so as to define an axle pivot axis;

first and second wheel assemblies, mounted on the axle on opposite sides of the bogie beam, each wheel assembly comprising a respective wheel and a respective brake disc attached to the respective wheel and arranged to rotate with the respective wheel;

first and second brake plates mounted on the axle, each of the first and second brake plates being displaceable towards and away from a respective one of the brake discs to provide a braking force to the wheels upon contact with the first and second brake discs;

a cross member coupled between the first and second brake plates, the cross member being distinct from the steerable axle;

a brake rod having a first end region pivotally coupled to the cross member so as to define a cross member pivot axis, and a second end region arranged to be attached to an anchor point on the aircraft landing gear;

wherein the axle pivot axis and the cross member pivot axis are substantially coaxial.

2. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the brake rod is attached to the cross member by a ball joint.

3. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the cross member and the brake rod are spaced apart from the bogie beam and the steerable axle.

4. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the brake rod is attached to the cross member at a point equally spaced between the first and second brake plates.

5. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the aircraft landing gear assembly includes a single brake rod.

6. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second brake plates are rigidly coupled to the cross member.

7. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the brake rod is arranged to be pivotally attached to the anchor point.

8. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the cross member is coupled between the first and second brake plates such that brake torque is transmitted from the first and second brake plates to the cross member.

9. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the cross member is parallel to and distinct from the axle.

10. An aircraft including one or more aircraft landing gear assemblies according to claim 1 .

11. A method of forming an aircraft landing gear assembly, the method comprising:

providing a landing gear assembly comprising:

a main strut,

a bogie beam coupled to a lower end region of the main strut,

a steerable axle pivotally coupled to the bogie beam,

first and second wheel assemblies, mounted on the axle on opposite sides of the bogie beam, each wheel assembly comprising a respective wheel and a respective brake disc attached to the respective wheel and arranged to rotate with the respective wheel, and

first and second brake plates mounted on the axle and being displaceable towards and away from the brake discs to provide a braking force to the wheels upon contact with the first and second brake discs;

coupling a cross member between the first and second brake plates, the cross member being distinct from the steerable axle; and

pivotally coupling a first end region of a brake rod to the cross member and coupling a second end region of the brake rod to an anchor point on the aircraft landing gear such that the pivot axis of the axle and the pivot axis of the cross member are substantially coaxial.