Airliner Tailwheels

Greekdude – as you posted about the DC-8 its the same situation withg the HS748 and SD360, its just a pole on a hook hat hangs about a foot off the ground and provides a visual aid, as does the nosewheel oleo – i think on these models that is all they are designed for, not to support the a/c if it goes nose up, as i’ve seen a pic of a 748 that has done!

The wheel on the likes of the B763 and other long aircraft is to prevent tailscapes on t/o nothing to do with loading

That’s not a tail wheel. That’s just a little hydralic strut that is retractable.

The 767-300 has a tail wheel also I think…:confused:

No the VC10 does not have the tail post as it does not need one. The IL62 has its centre of gravity point further aft than does the VC10 and also has engines and a tailplane assembly which are heavier. There is also a water ballast tank in the IL62 located foreward of the wing which is either filled or drained before departure according to payload to provide a safe trim. From a load control/loadsheet point of view the IL62 could be a trial if not fully loaded, but I still enjoyed the challenge of working with them. The tail strut is hydraulically operated with two small wheels at the end which when rertracted remain partially exposed to act as protection against a tail strike on rotation. The strut is normally lowered two thirds or so after leaving the runway and always fully extended on arrival on stand, for departure however the strut is normally fully retracted prior to pushback as the onboard payload provides the required stability.

The 747 and other planes mentioned use the support in the cargo version only or do the passanger versions also have this feature too? The Il62 has this and it is a passanger plane. Does the British VC10 have this feature also? It is a similar design to the Il62.

Originally posted by EWR303
So this is not part of the plane, but is attached after it is already on the ground? Any pictures of a 747 with the support?

The support strut for 747’s is not part of the plane. I did ramp work for UPS about 9 years ago, and we used to load and unload 747’s, DC-8’s, 757’s and 727’s. The 747 required a strut which was attached upon parking. This is not part of the aircraft, just a piece of ground equipment. The Super DC-8 required this rather interesting pole to be attached, that didn’t actually touch the ground. It simply hung from this hook near the tail and stood about a foot off the ground. I was told the purpose was to monitor the loading and help prevent tipping. I thought it was totally pointless. If the DC-8 was going to tip, that poll contraption wasn’t going to prevent it, and I really don’t think it would have provided sufficient warning, either. If poll was about to touch the ground, DC-8 was going to sit on its butt. Besides, as long as the first container went in position #1 forward of the door, you were ok.

most cargo aircraft have them at the back during loading of the aircraft – both our HS748 and SD360 aircraft can have them placed in the tail.

Thanks for the information and the pictures.

The IL-62 has the strut built in. It is sliding vertically down when the plaane is parked.

Different angle

Sydney 2002

Most cargo planes have support struts like this whilst being loaded. Often, the pictures you see of aircraft with their tails on the ground and front wheels in the air, are where the ground staff have not put in a support strut. This can also occur if the plane is im-properly balanced. I’ll try and find a pic where this has happened….

So this is not part of the plane, but is attached after it is already on the ground? Any pictures of a 747 with the support?

That is not a tailwheel. It is a support strut to prevent it from ending up on its tail during loading/uploading. The 747 is often strutted as well.