Help please with Rapide tailwheel photo

Thanks Bruce for the interesting info, that explains why its different.

Ken

IIRC, the mod was done by BAe at Hatfield in 1986 after it groundlooped at the open day

Bruce

Thanks James for the great pics and John for the copies from the manual. Can you tell me what the manual is please as it looks very good, I have a copy (on CD) of a manual for the maintenance of the DH89 Gipsy Six but it isnt as comprehensive as yours.

Anyway both the pics and th manual show that the bottom of the shock strut is level with the bottom of the sternpost, whereas on the Comet at Shuttleworth it is mounted on a casting which puts it about 4 inches lower. An article in ‘The Aeroplane’ from 1934 shows a sketch of the tailskid mounted as per the Rapide so this must be a mod done by Shuttleworth… very interesting.

Thanks again for the help

Ken

Hi,
Can anyone help with a close up photograph of the tailwheel assembly and stern post mountings on a Rapide. This is to help with the Comet project as I want to compare it to the assembly used on G-ACSS. So far it looks to me that the Shuttleworth aeroplane has an extended tailwheel assembly possibly to lower the nose slightly on the ground, this is based on camparing it to old photographs.

Hope someone can help. many thanks

Ken

This help?

If you’d like high res copies of these, drop me a PM.

‘Just’ a side view, but maybe of help for the loaded position?

Hi James,

Yes they use a Rapide shockstrut assembly but have it fastened to a large casting bolted to the stern post to lower it down.
Thanks for looking
Ken

Shuttleworth’s G-ACSS restoration has, I understand, a Rapide tailwheel assembly.

I’ll see what I’ve got in the way of photos!