Meteor rudder

Slight mis-type their Roger? 😉

Sycamore, looking at your reply, I think you are nearly there with the ‘one engine throttled back, Dan normally cruises with one engine shut down to save fuel, so that may be why he has a bit or rudder on.

A work task this pm saw me short-cutting through Hangar 7 and so I looked at the tail of the aircraft in question.

I can’t, for definite, answer the question as to whether the two rudder sections can be set at an angle to each other but can say the two sections on T.7 G-BWMF are perfectly aligned.

The NF.12 G-LOSM was a few yards away so I had a look at her tail feathers too. Not nearly so elegant but top and bottom sections are, again, perfectly aligned.

Roger Smith.

C6 ,I think that the aircraft is just `positioned` such that the photographer gets a better picture of the aircraft,and sometimes it`s necessary to fly slightly x-controlled to get the right shot,whether it`s in level or turning flight.Also ,another aspect is the relative speed range of the photo-taking aircraft,and the`star`,in this case the Meteor, as the Meteor`s engines don`t take kindly to lots of small /rapid throttle movements,whilst trying to hold a position,so it may well be that one engine is throttled back,other one is running in a `better RPM band`,more responsive,even though the aircraft is a bit `asymmetric`.Also ,to position for a `top-shot`,the aircraft is `slid` underneath,wings level,again requiring a bit of x-controlling…

Hey, that’s a great fag packet sketch! I see what you’re saying and that all seems ticketeyboo, but it still doesn’t explain WHY the rudder deflection at all in level flight. I feel I’m labouring the point, so now I’ll just accept that the pilot may have just kicked the rudder off to the right because he fancied stretching his legs! In level flight, the only effect would have been to yaw with secondary roll, or maybe he way countering assymetric thrust….It’s one of those things which makes me wish I had a scanner, and the ability to study the aircraft in detail.

Cheers,
Kurt

I’m afraid I have no scanner to clarify what I mean, the image must be on aeroplanes website though.

They are, but not big enough to make out detail.

I think it’s an optical illusion. Because of the angles you are seeing the top rudder section clearly, ie all edges of it, in relation to the fixed portion of fin that sits between the two rudder sections, but not quite so with the bottom rudder section, further complicated by the tailplane shrouding the view of the bottom section – this would be reversed if looking the other way, ie top section obstructed if looking from underneath.
A

Hard to explain in words, attached rather poor fag packet sketch to illustrate what I mean!

I’m trying to understand what Circus is saying here in his last para,

…and wonder if he means that the upper rudder section can be ‘set up’ on the torque tube at the rigging stage to be ‘twisted’ sightly from the bottom section, for trim reasons?

.

Pagen,
Thats exactly what I mean, can it be rigged to be off centre on the ground. The real thing I want to know that in the magazine, the (upper) rudder seems to be deflected in every image, even the shots of it flying straight and level (i.e. below the camera aircraft). I appreciate the need for a bit of rudder if the aircraft needs to be photographed at a pleasing angle in a side slip/knife edge, but not for any other reason in those images. The horn balance is waaay over to port…

I’m afraid I have no scanner to clarify what I mean, the image must be on aeroplanes website though.

What you are looking at in this photo above the lower portion of the rudder is the tail fairing which is fixed, and fits between the upper and lower rudder parts.

I know that David, that’s why I’ve posted that pic and the diagram.

I’m trying to understand what Circus is saying here in his last para,

Is the upper rudder section connected to the lower half by a torque tube?
The upper section appears to have a fixed trim tab, the lower a moveable tab, so is there a reason the upper half has the ability to be trimmed independantly?

…and wonder if he means that the upper rudder section can be ‘set up’ on the torque tube at the rigging stage to be ‘twisted’ sightly from the bottom section, for trim reasons?

I must admit that the pics that I have seen seem to show perfect alignment between the two rudder sections.

The early Meteors had such a lovely looking set of tail feathers, they dont make them like that any more.

Richard

In the pictures I’ve seen of T.7s (inc G-BWMF) the two sections of the rudder operate together with the same amount of deflection, using a straight edge of paper as a guide the leading and trailing edges seem to be perfectly in line to me.

The pic in the 2nd post seems to show both sections linked by a torque tube, as does the attached diagram which comes from the Meteorflights’ ‘Meteor in detail’ webpage here, http://www.meteorflight.com/A55D74/meteor.nsf/pages/meteor_design

You may be right in that the top half can be trimmed or ‘set up’ differently from the bottom half.
Without seeing the pictures you mean, I wonder with the rudder deflected that the movement of the bottom trim tab could cause it to give the impression that the two sections of the trailing edges aren’t lined up?

Meteor T.7 tail by jamtey71, on Flickr
Both sections slightly deflected to port.

The upper and lower parts of the rudder are connected together with a torque tube. They should line up together. What you are looking at in this photo above the lower portion of the rudder is the tail fairing which is fixed, and fits between the upper and lower rudder parts.

In the pictures I’ve seen of T.7s (inc G-BWMF) the two sections of the rudder operate together with the same amount of deflection, using a straight edge of paper as a guide the leading and trailing edges seem to be perfectly in line to me.

The pic in the 2nd post seems to show both sections linked by a torque tube, as does the attached diagram which comes from the Meteorflights’ ‘Meteor in detail’ webpage here, http://www.meteorflight.com/A55D74/meteor.nsf/pages/meteor_design

You may be right in that the top half can be trimmed or ‘set up’ differently from the bottom half.
Without seeing the pictures you mean, I wonder with the rudder deflected that the movement of the bottom trim tab could cause it to give the impression that the two sections of the trailing edges aren’t lined up?

Meteor T.7 tail by jamtey71, on Flickr
Both rudder sections slightly deflected to port.

Rudder Assembly on Rebuild. Hope this helps.