(Robert M. Gary) wrote

There are two things here. Tapping the brakes is something started
in WWII because a B-17 would tip over when the gear come up if the
wheels were spinning (imagine the gyro action happening on those
big wheels).
The DE who did my private told me about a friend that went through
flight training with him in the B-17 and later the B-24(could have
been 25 though). He crashed after take off because of this and spent
the rest of his life with scaring on his face from the burns.

First.... why would I want to believe anything that ANY Flight
Instructor or Designated Examiner has to say about anything?
I've worked with them for too long and know better.

Second... I can easily see how this story has become corrupted.
If the pilot DOES apply the brakes on a B-17 with spinning tires,
then there WILL be a pitching moment applied to the airframe.
On a barely flying B-17, this could be a problem.

But, you can be forgiven Robert. From many years of experience
in de-briefing new private pilots after their practical test, I
found that very few could recall accurately the problem areas that
they had encountered and in discussing these with the DE, I would
receive an entirely different story. :-)

BTW, most Boeing jetliners have automatic wheel stopping brakes
that are applied with reduced pressure during retraction. The nose
wheels were stopped by wooden rub strips in the nose wheelwell.
Pilots were cautioned to not apply the brakes due to the sudden
stoppage breaking the tire bead to wheel seal.

Bob Moore