bomber question

[jon]

what is this gizmo on this bomber? I got this picture off a youtube video.

[FBplmmr]

just a guess but..

ya ever set up a pop up camper and forget to set the jacks at each end?

guess what happens when you crawl into the bunk at one end?

I saw this happen at the track in Daytona ...omg it was funny

you hear a big crash a couple of the thuds and then some lady yelling at her husband!:lol

[Krusty]

It's a tail skid. The B-24 bombers were slung low to the ground, with very little clearance. When landing you had to nose up to touch the rear wheels first, but there was a chanse (pilot error, damage, gust of wind) that you'd slam your tail into the ground while landing. The skin kept that from happening, minimizing damage when it did happen. As you can see, the skid retracted when in flight.

EDIT: At least that's how I've always understood it.

[Hornet33]

That is actually a retractable strike plate. It prevents the tail of the plane from striking the runway on takeoff and landing. The red part is just an attachment to stabalize the plane while stationary. That's why the guy in the pic is kicking it. He's trying to get it off so they can move the plane. It looks like it's threaded on the bottom so they can adjust it. Probably would have been better off using a hydraulic jack.

[jon]

makes sense.ty:aok

[Rino]

Since the aircraft appears to be the Collins Foundation B-24 Witchcraft,
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the stand is to support the tail
when folks enter the bird on "tours".

     Believe it or not, Learjets still use a tailstand alot when parked.  Not just
the old ones either

[Tails]

Originally posted by Rino
    Believe it or not, Learjets still use a tailstand alot when parked.  Not just
the old ones either

For good reason, too. On Lear 24's and 36's atleast, you could pull the tail down one handed.

[Krusty]

poor design, IMO, if that's true.

[kennyhayes]

Looks to simple to work. I would think of something like that being more complex.










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[frank3]

I've worked with 747's last year, the freighter versions. They use enormous tail-jacks as well (prevents them from falling backwards )

I once walked trough one of those things, when the entire nosewheel came from the ground!
They forgot the jack...
Most frightening moment of my life, can you imagine? A 747!