Originally Posted by
777fly
There were no particular issues with the Trident nosewheel offset when manoeuvring on the ground, as I recall. As already observed, the offset did keep the nosewheel off the centreline lights during takeoff and landing, thus avoiding the annoying thump thump thump experienced on other types. I always believed that the offset was built in for this reason, as the triplex auto landing performance was expected to put the aircraft exactly on the runway centreline every time. However, I learned later that it was that way to accommodate the larger than normal electronics bay that dealt with the auto land system. The one unusual effect of the offset was the need to add one clockwise turn on the rudder trim to zero the yaw effect of the offset wheel and gear door.
I wonder - did the Trident's nose wheels have brakes on them then - not for stopping the aircraft but for halting the wheelspin on retraction, since the sideways retraction would involve tilting the axis and thus induce considerable gyroscopic forces, unlike forward/backward retracting nose units.