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BAC 221 in Detail
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The nose landing gear.
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Moving in to have a look at that stencil on the undercarriage
cover. The flash reflection is not so elegant, but it brings
out a very interesting detail: the earlier application
of the same stencil text, but slightly offset. Possibly this
is from the F.D.2 period, when the plane was finished in
unpainted metal.
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This is the stencilling on the second set of nose
gear covers, tailwards of the first we saw. The BAC 221
rebuild necessitated a considerably taller undercarriage than
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A three-quarter view of the nose gear. It is a very sturdy
construction of high-tensile steel. It has been painted in light
grey, but there has been a bit of paint chipping around the joints.
We can also see parts of the rather complex retraction mechanism.
The gear well covers appear to be painted in the same light grey on
the inside surfaces and are also scuffed here and there.
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Standing inside the nose gear bay, looking towards the nose of the
aircraft.
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Still in the nose gear bay, now looking upwards. Avionics
equipment is accessible from here and have a rather worn
appearance, suggesting frequent poking with screwdrivers.
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Completing the turn, now looking towards the tail of the
aircraft. Still a bit of tubing and stuff, but the actual
nose wheel bay seems empty enough, though a bit grubby. Note
the hydraulics at the top of the picture.
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This is where those five hydraulic pipes lead: the starboard side
rear nose gear cover. They presumably drive the locking
mechanism. These rear covers were normally closed except during
actual retraction/extension.
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Moving on to the main gear. This view of the starboard main
landing gear is from three-quarters behind. Note that the
"WG774" serial is not repeated on the port wing, nor on
the wing top surface. It is however painted on both sides of
the rear fuselage.
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Inside the port main gear well, looking towards the tail of the
aircraft. Note here too how the area where the wheel ends up is
kept clean of plumbing.
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The port side inner gear well cover. Things to note are the
recess in front to fit the wheel and the "EXT I/C PLUG" box for
communication with the ground crew. There has clearly been some
overspray inside the well when the aircraft was painted –
one wonders whether this was done with the wheels up and the
covers weren't 100% tight.
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Extremely narrow wheels are necessary for retraction into the
thin wings.
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