strake
9th Mar 2004, 16:31
Well...probably not but as we were taxying through DME yesterday, I noticed dozens of the above a/c parked with a 2-2.5 metre leg extending from inside the ventral area of the fuselage to the ground. At the end of the leg were two wheels about 0.5metre dia. This "undercarriage" was in addition to the normal nose/wing sets.
I couldn't tell if this system extended from the a/c or if it was shoved in by ground crew but, I did wonder what it was for. The obvious thought is that it stops the a/c from tipping backwards on the stand while loading; maybe because of the substantial rear four engine configuration. That would seem a little worrying from a design point of view however...!
Any thoughts.....?
I couldn't tell if this system extended from the a/c or if it was shoved in by ground crew but, I did wonder what it was for. The obvious thought is that it stops the a/c from tipping backwards on the stand while loading; maybe because of the substantial rear four engine configuration. That would seem a little worrying from a design point of view however...!
Any thoughts.....?