B-29 GROUND HANDLING - WWII 81870

n the b29 rugged in the skies was designed to carry heavy loads High fast and far but on the ground she's a fish out of water she can't take the kind of eating you'd give a Jeep taxiing parking Towing moing these jobs call for careful hand signals are the Pilot's only instrument for navigating hazardous taxiways and to The Men Who control this heavy airplane and know its terrific momentum almost any ground course is hazardous but with an emergency brake plus the foot brakes and engines at 700 RPM this plane is ready to stop short of trouble she goes where you lead her a sign from that finger will press his foot on the right brake and swing her into the lane brakes are used to control Direction nose wheel responds quickly to slight brake pressure on the turn all engines are kept at idling speed the nose wheel does the work pivoting on one wheel would tend to damage the tires but this rolling turn puts little strain on Treads or sidewalls and when you're Round the Bend point the nose wheel forward here the left brake will do the trick when the plane has been brought up straight ahead it's time to stop for a checkup the parking brake goes on Magneto check that's one for the engineer the Magneto check should be limited to a few seconds per engine at the most these engines were built to puller at high speed in the air but running them too long on the ground will overheat them engines are run up to 2,000 RPM for the test both right both left both number two engine Bombay doors on the b29 now open pneumatically formerly doors operated electrically had to be opened on the runup of number one or number four engine to provide enough electrical power the pilot inboard air uncovered keeps radio on command in contact with the tower while the co-pilots on interphone to relay orders to the crew with all engines checked she's ready to roll but the Pilot's going to wait for the signal from his crew chief all clear give him the flash that means breaks off throttles are Advanced to about 1,000 RPM to start this 60 tons of airplane down the lane then back come the throttles to idling taxiing speed is not the result of engine speed momentum does the trick Wing men are needed to check clearances in the tight spots how's hydraulic pressure okay when the going is close it's up to the men on the ground to keep the flight crew posted crew chiefs the pilots key man when trouble looms ahead where planes are parked or other obstacles stand in the way watch those wings how close a yard a foot hold it hold everything better check crew chief Is referee on close decisions it's first down by inches and goal to goal there's the signal and it's straight through Center On this man's team whatever position you play you've got to remember to go easy on those engines brakes and tires this game's played with three quarterbacks the crew chief and two wingmen keep your eyes open your signals clear remember RPM at 700 idling speed once the plane is rolling she'll ride on momentum racing the engines would overheat them and when it's necessary to stop well there'd be danger of burning the brakes excessive braking might pivot those 60 tons and one set of tires roll through the turns let her follow her nose as much as possible take it easy all set run those engines to 1 12200 to clear them then cut them now you're ready for parking the equipment for the job is stoed in the rear compartments the putt putt should be switched over to idle first however and turn off the generator wait a few minutes before turning off the ignition in a plane as heavy and as high powerered as the b29 such additional weight as chocks braces covers and other parking and moing Equipment when properly stole can be carried with her at all times without making a great difference in their performance chalks are first get them set in place at once so the brakes can be released set the chocks a couple of inches away from the wheels too close they might get wedged in there when the plane pulls forward on engine runup rope should be laid out on the ground where you can reach them easily the pilot will release the parking brakes when all the chalks are set now there's more to parking than just putting on gimmicks there's the form 1A for instance and the flight engineer will be waiting to turn it over to the crew chief you know there's lots of things that don't go down on paper very well things it takes hands to see things that hands make it easier to see checking this over however doesn't suspend other operations static lines for the tail and nose should go on early there are permanent ground wires on the landing gear of course but special Danger on refueling makes additional lines a must clamps guarantee that static goes into the ground consider their speed in Flight the metal they contain and the equipment installed and you'll have some idea of the real danger these planes face from static electricity another tough deal easily avoided is the chance that safety switches on the landing gear might fail in an emergency This Plane would go down on its nose or belly so fast and so flat you'd never be able to pick get up again whole so an important part of the b29 parking gear is a set of braces to keep the wheels on the ground and the plane standing on them the brace is placed with one leg against the ool and the other against the drag strut each brace carries a red streamer as a warning signal this streamer should be allowed to hang free there are braces for each of the three landing gears watch those streamers next to go on our wheel covers gasoline and oil drippings are pretty tough on rubber those breathers on the 29's engines could turn into trash collectors in a good Windstorm parking equipment includes pads to cover the openings set them so the red streamers fly free most of the gadgets are installed now except of course the pedo covers they're usually carried in the forward compartment as air intakes the pitos are delicate instruments and must be protected whenever the plane is on the ground don't give moisture and dust a chance to do their dirty work here too the red streamer should fly free make sure the cover is on tight last job before your plane is buttoned down is to check the position of all electrical switches and throttles an open switch could kick up a terrific mess don't assume the engineer took care of this detail check it yourself with your eyes and your hands same thing goes for switches in the Pilot's aisle stand bomb doors stay open of course so gas fumes won't accumulate in the bomb bay check the engine and surface controls to make sure they're locked make sure also that the pilots and co-pilot's windows are closed and locked all such details in parking the plane are vital but they don't actually take long probably about the time it takes for the flight crew to leave the plane and when these details are done you're done that is except for the jobs that turned up on the engineers form 1A Towing 60 tons of b29 out of a hanger isn't kids play but it doesn't have to be hard either in spite of slick floors and other hazards mix some caution with a dash of practical mechanics and the job is a cinch a pair of Towing cables carried in the track behind the driver's seat will do the trick one cable for each of the main Wheels a little time spent here in laying them out on the ground and un wrinkling The Kinks is a handy precaution against having one or both of them snaap the toe line from the winch and the cl's chin should be played out carefully for the same reason while you're getting this done two other guys can be attaching the toe bar to the nose gear knuckle Four Strong hands on that bar will keep her on the straight and narrow now you'll need a man up in the cockpit to work Annie's brakes first however he'll have to check hydraulic pressure both gauges must show between 800 and 1,000 PSI to maintain that pressure the hydraulic pump motor will draw on the batteries so the putt putt will have to be started when the word has been passed along the necessary electrical switches can be turned on including of course the putt putt ignition switch the putt putt on this plane carries an early type switch panel but there's one rule for all about 5 minutes warmup before switching to run now if the kaks are all out of the cables you can hook onto the main landing gear struts and take away the chocks sto the chocks and the cleat track for the time being hook the cleat tracks winch line onto the cables from the main landing gear and the towing mechanism is complete a nicely balanced V able to give a good even pull now with the putt putt running ladder stowed and ground wires disconnected coiled and placed in the rear compartment ready for use the airplane is about ready to head for Open Country path is cleared her wheels are free to roll when the brakes are released and she has two men at the nose to guide her check every step of the operation don't trust the luck but before she rolls there's slack to take up in that tow cable get you set for a steady starting pull on both sets of Wheels that's a good idea to check with your forward crew particularly the men in the wings chances are they're only headed for a pleasant walk into the sunlight but on the other hand that clearance over there might be less than you think ready now to release the parking brakes press on the man in the cockpit that he should keep his feet off the brake pedals until he gets a signal from the chief the slightest tou could jerk that toe bar and flatten out those two men guiding it now when you've checked up in the tow line you're set to go pass the word on to the driver remember the first pull should be firm but steady don't kid yourself that just because the wheels seem to roll easily they're not putting plenty of strain in the tow line keep a sharp eye on that skyscraper Rudder as it clears the door and just as in taxiing put a Watchman at each wing tip too there's no automatic pilot for this job it takes watching eyes and foot rule judgment all the way none of these jobs was laid out by armchair Pilots who've never seen the inside of a hanger in most cases they've been figured out by men who've been doing the work and learning from their mistakes someday some guy may find an even simpler way of doing this job but it's 100 to one you won't be able to eliminate safety precautions incidentally it's okay to put the cleat track on the nose bar and push the plane provided you're on a smooth surface where she'll roll with minimum effort when you've got room enough to swing her around the wingmen can detach the cables and get ready to tore forward cabl should be stored in the cleat track and the toll line reeled in you won't need them anymore this trip you maneuver this plane forward the way a circus trainer pulls an elephant into the ring by the bar hooked into her nose that's another one of the advantages of the tricycle landing gear you can pull Annie and steer her with that one short bar and response but good be sure the toolbar is firmly attached and you're on your way again so it brakes off the to bar is built to stand a little less pull than the nose gear if Annie won't budge you can be darn sure the bar will break long before she gets herself torn limb from limb you don't have to try proving that of course but a broken toe bar is a lot easier to replace than a broken nose gear any day using the bar for forward Towing keeps your plane under Max control because the nose wheel swing so easily the we think of everything department has put a pair of stops on either side of the gear to keep the Wheel from swinging too far those stops are set to allow a 68° swing in either direction and don't tow what the stops engaged it's well to remember that your cetac dber can't get away with one of his Sensational open field pivots not with all that tonnage tagging him around take all the space you have and swing it easy treat Annie right and she's a docel old girl follows you like you had a bag full of penuts remember you've got to use a lot of patience and a lot of caution in handling this huge piece of equipment when she's in the air she's nobody's fool but when she's on the ground she's out of her element and brother that calls for caution bad weather and airplanes get along like cats and dogs and a good wind could whip a plane around like a Weather Vein while you're blinking a speck of dust out of your eye especially if that plane has wing and tail the size of the b29 when the command comes to tie your plane down to earth there's a few things about this particular design that will make the job different from other heavy aircraft the various anti weather gadgets to protect the plane are stowed in both rear compartments along with the rest of her ground paraphernalia first of all you're going to need four lengths of moing rope the tie down fitting for the nose is on the rear wall of the wheel well just forward of the turret where a good stout knot that won't slip a Bolan for instance is essential this guy of course has been practicing but if the Navy can do it so can you when you tie the other end into the ramp you'll have to detach the ground wire first another of those can't slip bolons is needed here draw this line up fairly close no need here for slack and before you pull out remember that ground clamp has to go back where you found it eyebolt fittings for tying down the wings are low located near station 539 when you're tying into the ground fitting under the wing leave plenty of slack in the line about 2 ft is required another line goes on the tail skid and you've got to re-clamp the ground wire a little slack is needed here too be sure the main entrance door is closed and that things that might get tossed around by the breeze are left flat on the ground or stowed away dust and sand riding the wind can make the finest Precision instrument about as effective as a leaky bucket see that the doors to the pressurized compartments are tightly closed up in the cockpit two important details have to be taken care of you need the battery switch for the first job closing the cowl flaps this is going to take a little time those cowl flaps close slowly so don't be in a rush let them get fully closed give those engines a fighting chance against sand dust and moisture battery switch off the second inside job is to check the windows and see that the flight controls are securely locked now when you're sure you've put out the cat and turned off the water heater your housework is done so down the hatch and pull the door closed after you see that the latch is locked too and when you're through your men outside should have things practically shipped shape for a final checkup make sure that the air scoop covers are installed and that the red streamers are flying clear you never know when a pigeon's going to scoot in there while the storm is on check the pedo covers make sure they're on tight and that the red streamer is free get the stands away from the plane too she should be ready now for whatever the four winds blow playing the wind you play for luck stack the cards for your b29 may be dirty poker but slipper the winning hand in ground handling careful attention to details plus caution will help keep these Tokyo Raiders fit for their job

Channel: PeriscopeFilm

Views: 101,264

Keywords: Periscope Film, Stock Footage

Id: MjHUSKSnAYI

Length: 21min 3sec (1263 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 01 2013