F-16 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Can anyone tell me what this safety pin, behind the retraction strut, is for on this tomcat? I assume it is to lock the actuator strut, since there is no safety pin on the strut itself. Scott CNJC-IPMS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CF104 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Yes, that's the nose gear downlock pin. The downlock actuator is located behind the panel the pin goes through. Cheers, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
F-16 Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Thanks for the info John! It's funny that there is no gear locking pin on the strut itself anywhere. Maybe where the actuator attaches to the strut or somewhere... Scott CNJC-IPMS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 56 minutes ago, F-16 said: Thanks for the info John! It's funny that there is no gear locking pin on the strut itself anywhere. Maybe where the actuator attaches to the strut or somewhere... Scott CNJC-IPMS The only other safety lock used on the nose strut is the kneel strut that prevent the nose gear from going into kneel, there are no other download safety devices/pins for the nose strut. GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CF104 Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 3 hours ago, F-16 said: Thanks for the info John! It's funny that there is no gear locking pin on the strut itself anywhere. Maybe where the actuator attaches to the strut or somewhere... Scott CNJC-IPMS Hi Scott, The strut that angles aft is the drag strut. The actual NLG actuator is quite small in comparison and is located forward of the gear up in the wheel well. It's the drag strut that locks the gear in the extend position. here is a link to some info on the nose gear. http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-detail-gearnose.htm Cheers, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 From the NATOPS Nose Landing Gear. The dual-wheel nose landing gear has a shock strut consisting of an outer cylinder and a lower internal piston that has a maximum stroke of 18 inches. During normal ground operations, the strut is fully extended. Pilot control is provided to kneel the strut (4 inches of stroke remaining) for catapult operations. During retraction, the fully extended nose strut is rotated forward by the retract actuator into the well and enclosed by two forward and two aft doors. The forward doors are operated by a separate actuator that also engages the gear uplock, whereas the two aft doors are mechanically linked to the shock strut. An uplock hook actuator engages a roller on the lower piston to hold the gear and doors in the retracted position. During extension, the telescoping dragbrace compresses so that a downlock actuator mechanically locks the inner and outer barrel to form a rigid member for transmission of loads to the airframe. Note There is no foolproof visual check of the nose landing gear locked-down status. Neither the downlock mechanism, which is concealed in the fuselage, nor insertion of the ground lockpin will provide a positive indication of gear-locked status. In flight, the pilot must normally rely on his indicator. Visual determination of nose landing gear unlocked status is assisted by a red band painted on the nose landing gear dragbrace. If red is visible, the nosegear is not locked. An additional sequencing switch in series with the existing down-and-locked switch provides the pilot with a positive indication of nosegear position. If the nose landing gear is unsafe in the down position because of premature deployment of the nose landing gear locking pin, nosegear indicator will indicate unsafe and transition light will illuminate. Maximum strut extension and wheel steering angle are controlled by torque arms interconnecting the steering collar and the lower piston. The split-type wheel assembly incorporates tire pressure relief device to prevent over inflation of the tire. Additional hardware on the nose landing gear include the launch bar, holdback fitting, approach lights, nosewheel steering actuator, and taxi light. The wheel axles incorporate recessed holes for attachment of a universal tow bar with maximum steering angle of ±120°. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
F-16 Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 Since we are on the nose gear... What is that small "wheel" on the tip of the launch bar? When the gear retracts, does this wheel contact the "black" strip area ion the roof of the wheel bay? Scott CNJC-IPMS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 11 hours ago, F-16 said: Since we are on the nose gear... What is that small "wheel" on the tip of the launch bar? When the gear retracts, does this wheel contact the "black" strip area ion the roof of the wheel bay? Scott CNJC-IPMS Yes, the little roller on the end of the launch bar helps the launch bar fold when the NLG is retracted. It contacts the launch bar strip on the top of the wheel well and prevents the launch bar from sticking or catching on something as is folds against the NLG strut as the gear retracts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
F-16 Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 Cool info..THANKS! Scott CNJC-IPMS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.