Help please with i.d.of aircraft tail wheel?

Hi there,

The clue for me was the 27A/3861 Section/Reference number. This number refers to Section 27A of RAF Air Publication AP1086, which is the vocabulary of stores. Section 27A is for wheel equipment other than Dunlop.

The second part of the 27A number, in this case 3861, refers directly to the wheel in question. Looking up reference number 3861 in section 27A comes up with the following:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]229989[/ATTACH]

And as can be seen the listing is for Skeeter Mark 6

Hope that clarifies!

Regards

Dave

Many thanks Dave, that has now cleared up the mystery tail wheel,many thanks as always to everyone’s reply’s.
Brad.

AP1086

Hi there,

The clue for me was the 27A/3861 Section/Reference number. This number refers to Section 27A of RAF Air Publication AP1086, which is the vocabulary of stores. Section 27A is for wheel equipment other than Dunlop.

The second part of the 27A number, in this case 3861, refers directly to the wheel in question. Looking up reference number 3861 in section 27A comes up with the following:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]229989[/ATTACH]

And as can be seen the listing is for Skeeter Mark 6

Hope that clarifies!

Regards

Dave

Hi there,

The wheel is for Mark 6 Skeeter Main and Nose with a Palmer p/n of 922B, reference AP1086 Section 27A amended to AL206 19th Dec 1964.

Hope that helps

Regards

Dave

Thanks Dave, im impressed how did you know that?

Hi there,

The wheel is for Mark 6 Skeeter Main and Nose with a Palmer p/n of 922B, reference AP1086 Section 27A amended to AL206 19th Dec 1964.

Hope that helps

Regards

Dave

Sad to think how many of these types of ‘finds’ would be considered worthless junk by most and get melted down for scrap. Congrats on trying to repurpose and getting these old wheels back into the marketplace. I recently found a stack of ultralight carbs in a barn i’m going to list on ebay and get into the right hands.

Thanks “crazed pilot” to me this all partial of being a collector, as theirs nothing better than buying an unidentified item and trying to research either its history or identity. as this gives it a purpose and hopefully reach the hands of the right collector.

Still not yet positively identified as yet,but will keep going until i reach a conclusion.

Oh dear, couldn’t have been helpful by being an unusual size could they. 5″ is quite common on light aircraft. I seem to recall they were fitted to things like Cubs and Austers, maybe Tiger Moth and Messenger too.

Sad to think how many of these types of ‘finds’ would be considered worthless junk by most and get melted down for scrap. Congrats on trying to repurpose and getting these old wheels back into the marketplace. I recently found a stack of ultralight carbs in a barn i’m going to list on ebay and get into the right hands.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]229926[/ATTACH]

I just googled GAL 45 Owlet, there’s a civi version called the Cygnet as well. Main wheels and nose wheel look similar.

Thank you Scott
I will try to search for your suggestion of the Owlet aircraft. you suggest the wheel looks similar. would you have any links for this i.e. photos etc.

I recall seeing an advert in a 1940’s copy of The Aeroplane for Palmer wheels fitted to the Owlet training aircraft of the RAF. Could this wheel hub be one of these?, looks similar.

Here are the details from the display describing the Palmer Cord tyres at NAM:

“Palmers Cord Tyres of Shaftesbury Avenue, London, was first registered on 14 March 1895.

The Palmer Aero Tyre was displayed at the 1913 Paris Air Show as ‘a special tyre for aeroplanes’ designed to withstand the severe lateral strain to which such tyres are subjected – ‘A rim of special design is used for the Palmer Aero Tyre, and the beads of the cover are so constructed that they lock in the rim’. In 1914 they manufactured three sizes 700×75, 750×125 and 800×150 with the most popular size 700×75 as later fitted to the Sopwith Pup and Camel.

It is believed that these wheels originally came from a batch of Farman MF.7 Longhorn Reconnaissance and Training aircraft ordered from Robey and Company at their Coultham Street, Lincoln factory in 1916.

The order for 30 aircraft saw 16 completed before being cancelled.

These particular wheels were used as part of a funeral bier post WW1.

One Canvas Cover is marked No-655973, Palmer Detachable Wheel Shield, Slopers, Patent S19115-13 150B-15, No.9 Inside.”

“Palmer” also manufactured spade grips see link

http://www.aviationancestry.com/Components/Wheels/Wheels-Palmer-1939-4.jpg

Interesting add, as i have to admit i had never heard of “Palmer” as far as manufacturing of wheels.
would anyone have any ideas as to what type of aircraft they may of supplied?

Not a specific answer to your question, but the following link might be of interest to some http://www.aviationancestry.com/Components/Wheels/Wheels-Palmer-1936-2.html

I came across it while searching for details of some World War I Palmer Cord wheel sets for NAM. 🙂

Thank you for your input Mike, i guess it would be a fairly small aircraft as the wheel hub measures just 5 inches across the diameter.

At the risk of stating the obvious, given the markings I think you are looking for a type where the main and nose wheels were the same size or types where one’s main wheels can be used as nose wheels on a larger type.