Speaking of a/c wheels...

On the 1950s FJ-4B ( a Navy fighter-bomber version of the USAF F-86) the
main mount wheels were in two pieces since the sixteen ply tires could never
have been stretched over the wheel rims. The two wheel pieces were bolted
together facing each other against the respective tire rims. The bolts
required washers that had one edge beveled to fit the curvature of the
wheel.

An inexperienced mech put a wheel tire combo together with the sharp edge of
the washers facing the wheel instead of away. He mounted the wheel on the
plane and pressurized it to the required 600 psi for carrier landings. As he
walked back to the line shack there was a tremendous explosion. The plane's
drop tanks had been ruptured by wheel debris and the plane was on fire,
becoming a total loss.

Like the poem said "For want of a nail the shoe was lost...". When all else
fails, read the instructions!

WDA



end

"boomer" wrote in message
...
why does it seem that most modern jet aircraft unstick at around 160kts?
Fighters, bombers, transports all of them frequently seem to takeoff at
160kts, is it a tire speed limit kind of thing?