I recall an early magazine article about the brand-new 727-100 about the time of first deliveries (EAL?). One photo was of the aft fuselage, including the (pre-D.B. Cooper) airstair and an extended tailskid.
The text described the skid as having a crushable cushion of aluminum honeycomb. I'm fairly sure the skid was retractable.
Is my memory correct? Did this feature remain on 727 production ships? Have other types copied this idea?
Yes, all 727s had the tail skid and it was retractable, came up or down with the gear.
If the tail skid did not retract, there was a light on the FE's side panel, you had hell of a fuel burn penalty. I forget now how much, but it was shockingly high.
The 200s had a lot more tail strikes than the 100s did. I'd say that 99% of tail strikes were on takeoff, but I know of a guy that had a tail strike on landing in a 100. I was told it was a hell of a landing.