The Super VC10 (VC 15) was originally designed to be 17ft longer with an APU and forward airstairs (VC1000). With typical BOAC foresight and technical arrogance Giles Guthrie and his management team decided that they didn't want to lug this extra weight around the world so told Weybridge to think again. Thus we have the present aeroplane, with a C of G not very far forward of the main gear, and the resultant delightful propensity to tip on its tail in certain loading conditions. Particularly so if 5 tons of fuel were being uplifted into the fin tank, hence the reassuring necessity of the tail steady.
The use of a tail steady is not at all unusual in that we still use them today in loading and unloading B747 freighters.
VC10 Tail support?
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speedbird591
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 4:56 pm
- Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK
After more than two years, I have finally found a photo that proves what I knew (but many others doubted) - that tail props were often used under VC10s during transits. This frame was taken from the Classic Wings Vickers VC10 DVD and CLEARLY shows the prop under the tail of an aircraft at LHR!
Sorry for the delay in finding this evidence, but I have never given up the search!
All the best
Ian
Sorry for the delay in finding this evidence, but I have never given up the search!
All the best
Ian
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Tonkenna
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2002 7:32 pm
- Location: Boldly going!
- Contact:
Still not sure about that pic... I have seen the ones that other ac use and they are way more substantial than that. Also, they are always attached to the ac... by the time the ac hit that it would already be going at some speed and there would be no guarantee that it would hit the strengthened area.
Still not convinced and in 10 years on the 10 I have never seen one...
Tonks
Still not convinced and in 10 years on the 10 I have never seen one...
Tonks
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Murray Keene
- Posts: 138
- Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:14 am
Bill Eltham said
My least favourite job was standing on a ladder with my head up the access hole under the pilots feet. Inside there was the aircraft jacking datum point where we hang a plum bob. The idea was to keep the ponter in the middle of the cross as you jack, calling out instructions to the jacking teams as needed - 2 ON THE RIGHT, 1 ON THE TAIL etc. This referred to inches as it was jacked in one inch increments screwing down the jack lock ring after each pump.
Another nasty job was sitting in the cockpit doing the undercarriage functionals. When the gear was free falled the whole airframe physically rocked on the jacks! Seen from a distance it was quite unnerving seeing that thing sitting there with its wheels up!
But back to the first point. The nose was never used as a jacking point PURELY a steady. Also looking at that flimsy looking 'tail steady' I doubt that would have stopped a paper bag falling on it never mind an aircraft!
Mind you if thye HAD employed tail steadies on defuels we wouldnt have lost XR806 unneccesarily when some jerk defueled the centre BEFORE the fin tank. I must have carried out defuels more times than I can remember and I NEVER stood a 10 on its bum!
The guy shoudl have been hung drawn and quartered and spiked out on the fence of Brize Norton!
Sorry Bill but a VC10 only had a jack under the nose purely as a steady. As a young oik it was my job to 'follow' the aircraft up whilst jacking, NEVER allowing the jacking block to sit in the cup on the jack, this could have resulted in a damaged fuselage. The 10 was jacked ONLY on a tail and wing jacks! The first time I saw this done it was quite scary all that aircraft sticking out in front of the wings hanging in mid air. However with all the extra weight of the engines theres no chance it could ever nose dive!Then there was the Tail jack used in major overhauls and undercarriage heavy maintenance and weighing. During a full lifting cycle, the aircraft C of G transfers forward to a point where the weight leaves the front jack and rests on the tail jack. A touchy little point that more than one engineer has come unstuck on.
My least favourite job was standing on a ladder with my head up the access hole under the pilots feet. Inside there was the aircraft jacking datum point where we hang a plum bob. The idea was to keep the ponter in the middle of the cross as you jack, calling out instructions to the jacking teams as needed - 2 ON THE RIGHT, 1 ON THE TAIL etc. This referred to inches as it was jacked in one inch increments screwing down the jack lock ring after each pump.
Another nasty job was sitting in the cockpit doing the undercarriage functionals. When the gear was free falled the whole airframe physically rocked on the jacks! Seen from a distance it was quite unnerving seeing that thing sitting there with its wheels up!
But back to the first point. The nose was never used as a jacking point PURELY a steady. Also looking at that flimsy looking 'tail steady' I doubt that would have stopped a paper bag falling on it never mind an aircraft!
Mind you if thye HAD employed tail steadies on defuels we wouldnt have lost XR806 unneccesarily when some jerk defueled the centre BEFORE the fin tank. I must have carried out defuels more times than I can remember and I NEVER stood a 10 on its bum!
The guy shoudl have been hung drawn and quartered and spiked out on the fence of Brize Norton!