FedEx 727

[CopilotDoug]

Do the FedEx 727s have Nosewheel breaking? How is the operation of the nosewheel break operated?

 

[Golden Falcon]

all 727's have nosewheel breaking if you slam it down too hard...however nosewheel BRAKING....not knowing...

 

[skybert]

From what I've been told,the ones that had it installed had it disabled. Thats second hand info for what it's worth

 

[Piper877]

all 727's have nosewheel breaking if you slam it down too hard...

Yeah I think most planes are like that. If you slam the nose down too hard it breaks. That JetBlue plane that landed on live TV in LA had a broken nosewheel.

 

[TheBaron]

The FedEx fleet of 72's do not have nose wheel braking or nose wheel breaking. Our MD-10's have both main gear braking and main gear breaking.

 

[CopilotDoug]

From what I've been told,the ones that had it installed had it disabled. Thats second hand info for what it's worth

I could see them disconnecting it for MX purposes. I was trying to figure out if it would have been actuated through the rudder pedals or a seperate system like a hand brake.

 

[hkgorbust]

I flew a 727 with nose brakes some years back. As I recall, they were actuated automatically as a function of the amount of brake pedal application. They were ultimately removed.

 

[CopilotDoug]

I flew a 727 with nose brakes some years back. As I recall, they were actuated automatically as a function of the amount of brake pedal application. They were ultimately removed.

Makes sense. Thanks

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

This is going back a few years, but as I recall, nose wheel braking (note spelling) was an option Boeing originally offered to 727 customers who operated into high/hot airports with relatively short runways. Obviously, under such conditions, the actual touchdown speed can be much greater than bugged IAS, leaving a great deal of energy to be dissipated by the brakes.

The combination of high/hot airports and short runways are most commonly found in South America and parts of Africa, which, coincidentally, is where most of the airplanes that were originally equipped with nose wheel brakes were operated. In North America, however, the highest and hottest airports (DEN, PHX, TUS) are also served by the longest runways. Hence, no need for the added weight and complexity of nose wheel braking.

I recall flying a few 727's that had nose wheel brakes installed, but don't think I ever flew one that had them operable.

Nose wheel breaking, on the other hand, is a phenomena that seems to be restricted mostly to the Airbus A320 series of airplanes, about which I will defer to those with some first-hand knowledge.

 

[spotterpilot]

As previously mentioned the FedEx fleet of 727's have had the nosewheel braking system deactivated. The nosewheel braking system was an option on the 727, and the 747. If I remember correctly, the nosewheel operated the same as main gear during autobraking. I believe that manual braking only actuated the mains.