Simviation Forum - Aircraft Brakes and Tail Wheels

Nov 11^th, 2011 at 4:04pm

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

Good afternoon all...

Got thinking about this after I posted in one of my other threads.

Have searched the Internet and came up with nothing.

Now I am sure there is a book at the old homestead that has the answer but again not sure which one.

I would like to know when the first aircraft brakes were introduced and tail wheels replaced wooden tail skids.

Pipers had a hand brake.

Cessna used toe brakes.

There were heel brakes.

The Avro Lancaster Bomber of World War Two had air brakes with a handle on the control wheel I believe.

Some World War One aircraft used the engine Blip Switch I think it was called to slow the aircraft down and the wooden tail skid was designed to dig into the ground at some point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine

The blip switch is, however, still recommended for use during landing rotary-engined aircraft in modern times as it allows pilots a more reliable, quick source of power that lends itself to modern airfields.[4] The landing procedure using a blip switch involved shutting off the fuel using the fuel lever, while leaving the blip switch on. The windmilling propeller allowed the engine to continue to spin without delivering any power as the aircraft descended. It was important to leave the blip switch on while the fuel was shut off to allow the spark plugs to continue to spark and keep them from oiling up, while the engine could easily be restarted simply by re-opening the fuel valve. If a pilot shut the engine off by holding the blip switch down without cutting off the fuel, fuel would continue to pass through the engine without combusting and raw fuel/air mix would collect in the cowling. This could cause a serious fire when the switch was released, or alternatively could cause the spark plugs to oil up and prevent the engine from restarting

But when and where was the first wheel brakes applied to aircraft and when did the tail wheel replace the tail skid?

Perhaps another trip to the bugsmasher field is in order to pick some brains as my old grey matter seems to have forgotten a thing or two... Grin

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #1 - Nov 11^th, 2011 at 4:58pm

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

Quote:

I would like to know when the first aircraft brakes were introduced and tail wheels replaced wooden tail skids.

Interesting subject Doug. The two are closely related but I don't know if all aircraft with tail-wheels were fitted with wheel brakes or vice-versa. Of course, not all tail-skids were made of wood.*

I think the Piper J-3 Cub (1938) was one of the first US-built light aircraft with brakes. Goodyear developed the first hydraulic disc brakes for aircraft in 1932. The Boeing Model 247 (1933) & Douglas DC-1 (1933) airliners had tail-wheels & wheel brakes.

On this side of the Pond the DH.80A Puss Moth & the Avro Tutor (1930) had a tail-wheel & wheel brakes. The Avro Anson (1935) was the first monoplane to enter service with the RAF & also the first with a retractable undercarriage. This was fitted with an early version of the Dunlop differential pneumatic braking system which would be used on most British-designed military aircraft during WWII, including the Hurricane, Spitfire & Lancaster.

Quote:

Some World War One aircraft used the engine Blip Switch I think it was called to slow the aircraft down and the wooden tail skid was designed to dig into the ground at some point.

The blip switch was an elementary form of engine control. It was used on aircraft powered with rotary engines without a conventional throttle. I think most, if not all, WWI aircraft were fitted with tail skids & no wheel brakes.

*The legendary DH.82A Tiger Moth used by the RAF had an all-metal steerable tail-skid & no brakes. The Canadian-built version was fitted with a tail-wheel so I assume it had some form of wheel brakes.

PS. I found an interesting article here --> http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1929/1929-1%20-%201276.html

« Last Edit: Nov 11^th, 2011 at 6:31pm by Hagar »

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group

Need help? Try Grumpy's Lair

My photo gallery

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #2 - Nov 11^th, 2011 at 8:22pm

beaky Offline
Global Moderator
Uhhhh.... yup!
Newark, NJ USA

Gender:
Posts: 14187

Interesting, but it is moot.. anybody who flies old taildraggers will tell you "brakes are for parking."� � Wink

�

Piper was wise in adding brakes to the J3 as a marketing gimmick, yet making sure that the teensy heel brakes were tucked under the front seat, where a solo pilot sitting in the back would be hard-pressed to find them, let alone use them.� Cheesy

As for a wheel on the tail instead of a skid: that goes back a long ways, before it became fashionable due to more and more paved runways being put into use. I'm pretty sure Santos-Dumont built a version of his Demoiselle that had a tailwheel, and that was before WWI. His 14Bis also had a wheel opposite the mains, but maybe that doesn't count, because it flew "tail first". Grin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Santos-Dumont

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #3 - Nov 12^th, 2011 at 8:28am

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

The Flightglobal archive is a mine of information. This 1920 article by J. D. North contains the earliest reference I can find to aircraft wheel brakes.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%200161.html

A paper on aircraft wheel brakes by G. H. Dowty was published in 1927. (It starts halfway down the right-hand column.)
WHEEL BRAKES AND THEIR APPLICATON TO AIRCRAFT

Note: John D North was chief engineer of the Grahame White Aircraft Co., Ltd & moved to Boulton & Paul Ltd in 1917. He would later own the company.

Sir George Herbert Dowty (1901-1975) was the founder of Dowty Aviation, now part of Messier-Dowty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dowty

PS. The Bristol "Seely Puma" Biplane (1920) was fitted with differential wheel brakes. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%200878.html

« Last Edit: Nov 12^th, 2011 at 9:32am by Hagar »

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group

Need help? Try Grumpy's Lair

My photo gallery

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #4 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 9:24am

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

Good morning all...

Thanks Sean you are absolutely right... Wink

I remember my Tiger Moth and Harvard days when "S" Taxiing and the Instructor always asking me if I was parking or taxiing...like get your boots off those brakes.

Fortunately for me I had quite a few Tiger Moth hours before learning the real way... Grin

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #5 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 9:38am

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

Thanks Doug... Wink

Lots of interesting reading in those Links, one I just have to go back and look at again and make a copy to take along to the bugsmasher field as we had quite a conversation yesterday about just this subject.

My dad and grandfather owned several Tiger Moths, one with the Canadian Winter Kit...canopy and skis.

They had brakes and a Caster Tailwheel.� Made for some interesting Crosswind Landings when dropping the wing... Grin

We had a doctor yesterday who has his own Mooney Aircraft and he tried to tell me a Caster Tailwheel was the same as a Steerable Tailwheel.

For many of us a Steerable Tailwheel can be locked for take off and landing where a Caster Tailwheel can not.� That is the way I look at it.
A Steerable Tailwheel would be much too heavy for the average bugsmasher like the Piper Cub to haul around however they are on some Pitts and Super Cubs I have seen.

I see Bombardier/Canadair has developed a revolutionary new braking system and it is on the news and in articles here and there.

Again thanks for your time and posts, I am going to keep searching to see what else I can post on this subject...

http://eaa691.org/files/Tech%20Note%20%236%20TailWheelShimmy.pdf

http://paris.aero.bombardier.com/en/20110620b_news.jsp

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #6 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 10:22am

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

Flying Trucker wrote on Nov 13^th, 2011 at 9:38am:

My dad and grandfather owned several Tiger Moths, one with the Canadian Winter Kit...canopy and skis.

They had brakes and a Caster Tailwheel.� Made for some interesting Crosswind Landings when dropping the wing... Grin

Hi Doug. My first job in the business was with the local flying club. We had three Tiger Moths & it was part of the job to taxi them a mile across the airfield from the hangar to the clubhouse in the morning & back again at the end of the day. (We later had a Beagle Auster Terrier with heel brakes & a steerable tail-wheel.)� I did this every working day for two years so reckon to know a thing or two about handling taildraggers on the ground.

Our Tigers were ex-RAF without brakes or tail-wheels. They could be tricky to taxi in a strong wind. Like most aircraft of their era they were intended to operate directly into the wind from grass airfields so crosswind landings/take-offs weren't necessary. In the past few years I've seen some Tigers retrofitted with tail-wheels & modern braking systems. I imagine these operate from hard runways.

Quote:

We had a doctor yesterday who has his own Mooney Aircraft and he tried to tell me a Caster Tailwheel was the same as a Steerable Tailwheel.

For many of us a Steerable Tailwheel can be locked for take off where a Caster Tailwheel can not.� That is the way I look at it.
A Steerable Tailwheel would be much too heavy for the average bugsmasher like the Piper Cub to haul around.

The way I look at it; the difference between a castoring & steerable tail-wheel is that castoring tail-wheels are freely castoring & have no steering mechanism. A steerable tail-wheel is exactly what it says - steerable. Our Tiger Moths had steerable tail skids connected to the rudder by two plates. http://ipmsnl.netfirms.com/walkarounds/CH-Tigermoth/IMG_6441.jpg

I don't know if it was originally fitted but the Piper Cubs I've seen have a steerable tail-wheel connected to the rudder, either with springs or bungee cords. http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/pages/grass5.html

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group

Need help? Try Grumpy's Lair

My photo gallery

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #7 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 10:38am

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

Hi Doug...

A mile taxi...that would be awesome...

Now are you going to tell me you never once tried to taxi that distance without the tail skid off the ground just a wee little bit... Grin

Those are interesting Links and thanks... Wink

Now the first link makes me wonder if the two metal pieces either side of the spring are there to protect the bottom of the rudder from the spring while in a turn over rough ground as well as acting as mounting brackets or supports.

Now did the skid itself (the metal piece which comes into contact with the ground) not actually tilt a number of degrees left and right?� I can't remember.

I do not think my grandfathers had a steerable tail skid and it was wooden if I recall right...dam it has been a long time...

Now dads had a steerable tail skid and it was converted over to a steerable tail wheel.�
He also upgraded to a winter kit and float kit (one of the few around our area) when he traded/sold that aircraft.

The second link shows exactly what a steerable tailwheel would look like and it is connected to the rudder.

Tail wheels came in various sizes and types along with winter skis as you well know...

Have used metal springs or bungee cords on type myself keeping in mind you do not mix them...like one spring and one bungee cord... Grin

This is a very simple system and easy to repair, add/remove skis or remove wheel to add floats.

What I liked about the DeHavilland of Canada DHC-3 Otter tail wheel assembly motor was it was inside the fuselage (like most were)� away from dirt, water spray when on amphibious floats/floats, snow, ice when on wheel/skis.

The tail wheel motor switch had two positions:
-locked...for take off and landing
-unlocked...for taxiing and towing into the hangar
When the aircraft was not started and you turned on the master switch and then switched the tail wheel motor switch to another position one could actually feel the tail rise and lower as the motor engaged.

Again thanks for the input Doug and I hope some of our members will take a look at these links which can only further add to their simulated flights.

« Last Edit: Nov 13^th, 2011 at 11:41am by Flying Trucker »

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #8 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 10:52am

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

Flying Trucker wrote on Nov 13^th, 2011 at 10:38am:

Hi Doug...

A mile taxi...that would be awesome...

Now are you going to tell me you never once tried to taxi that distance without the tail skid off the ground just a wee little bit... Grin

Not once or I would have been fired on the spot. I was a very responsible young man. To make up for the poor wages I was having free flying lessons as part of the job.

Quote:

Those are interestin Links and thanks... Wink

Now the first link makes me wonder if the two metal pieces either side of the spring are there to protect the bottom of the rudder.

Those plates are to guide the tail skid. Trust me. Wink

Quote:

The second link shows exactly what a castering tailwheel would do and it is connected to the rudder.

That would be a steerable tailwheel. The system is used on a lot of light aircraft.

This is a castoring tailwheel. http://www.proulx.com/~bob/photo_album/2002-05-26-helio-courier/midres/331-helio...

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group

Need help? Try Grumpy's Lair

My photo gallery

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #9 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 11:51am

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

Hi Doug... Grin

I was in the middle of changing something when you posted... Grin

Great link on the Castoring Tailwheel...thanks... Wink

Do you remember anything on the tail skid being used as a brake...I read it somewhere and not sure how that would work and how it would work for take off.

Perhaps the skid only slowed the aircraft down but I am sure I read somewhere the skid would dig into the ground to stop the aircraft...hmmm....

I was curious as to the spelling of the Castoring Tailwheel and apparently caster can be spelt with an "O" or an "E"... Grin

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #10 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 12:42pm

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

Flying Trucker wrote on Nov 13^th, 2011 at 11:51am:

Hi Doug... Grin

I was in the middle of changing something when you posted... Grin

Great link on the Castoring Tailwheel...thanks... Wink

Oops! Just call me Speedy Gonzales. Cheesy

Quote:

Do you remember anything on the tail skid being used as a brake...I read it somewhere and not sure how that would work and how it would work for take off.

Perhaps the skid only slowed the aircraft down but I am sure I read somewhere the skid would dig into the ground to stop the aircraft...hmmm....

Tail skids were intended for use on grass airfields. The conventional types I'm familiar with will slow the aircraft as soon as they touch the ground, thus acting as a brake. (Other types are mentioned in the articles from my links but I don't think they were ever used.) Of course, the braking effect will depend on the speed of the aircraft & the state of the ground surface. Long grass is a very effective brake. Our chief flying instructor insisted on three-point landings so the landing run was very short anyway.

I think the problems started when heavier aircraft with increased landing speeds came into service. That's when wheel brakes, tail-wheels & hard runways were introduced. Differential brakes could also be used to assist with steering on the ground.

Quote:

I was curious as to the spelling of the Castoring Tailwheel and apparently caster can be spelt with an "O" or an "E"...� Grin

I also wondered about that. My spell checker doesn't like either spelling but Castering looks wrong to me.

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group

Need help? Try Grumpy's Lair

My photo gallery

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #11 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 1:50pm

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

Hi Doug...

I can still see the guy on the best movie I think I have ever seen..."Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" throw out that anchor... Grin

I thought there was a second movie being made but not sure...

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #12 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 1:57pm

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

Flying Trucker wrote on Nov 13^th, 2011 at 1:50pm:

Hi Doug...

I can still see the guy on the best movie I think I have ever seen..."Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" throw out that anchor... Grin

Hi Doug. I believe an anchor was one method that was actually tried. It didn't catch on. Wink

Quote:

I thought there was a second movie being made but not sure...

Oh dear. I sincerely hope not. Shocked

You can't improve on a classic.

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group

Need help? Try Grumpy's Lair

My photo gallery

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #13 - Nov 13^th, 2011 at 2:08pm

Flying Trucker Offline
Colonel
An Old Retired Rocking
Chair Flying Geezer

Gender:
Posts: 11425

How true in both cases... Grin

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Back to top

IP Logged

	Search the archive:
	News: These are the archived forums. Click here to visit our new forums.