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Post by alex94 on Oct 8, 2023 8:12:31 GMT
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Oct 8, 2023 10:30:06 GMT
Not all GK equipped B732's featured the retractable sled behind the NG door. Some featured the engine vortex blowers/tubes only (apparently capable of grass/or other type of field surface operations) .... hence our offering this configuration and reference to it among model descriptions within the forum based manual.   Some aircraft had the full GK partly, or progressively, removed. Others eventually had it removed completely .... or even added. Whether or not we eventually offer the full GK is dependent upon what we can do with the resources allowed us during OCT 2010 Mark C AKL/NZ |
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Post by alex94 on Oct 8, 2023 12:25:59 GMT
Thanks for that mark, i had only ever seen photos of full GK or no kit.  |
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Oct 8, 2023 13:14:02 GMT
I didn't know abut them either until just recently .... came as a surprise to me also.
Mark C
AKL/NZ
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Post by tristar - HJG on Oct 9, 2023 8:57:35 GMT
Thanks for that mark, i had only ever seen photos of full GK or no kit. Hi Alex. Its down to where they are operated. If it's on grass or dirt, they only have vortex generators as the nose gear sled has very little ground clearance. That is fine when it's used as a ski on gravel, but on soft or wet ground it acts as a plough and digs in. That is why its not fitted for grass or dirt strip operation. There are many like it. Take my Air Gabon. That was originally delivered with a full gravel kit in 1978, but the nose gear sled was removed later when the gravel strips were upgraded to dirt. It ended up in Canada with the full setup again. As it was a kit, it was designed to be fitted and removed at any time. Many 732's that ended up in Canada were fitted with that option even as late as the early 2010's. Hope that explains it for you. Paul |
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Oct 9, 2023 9:53:16 GMT
Precisely as Paul relates.
Ex-AIR NEW ZEALAND B737-200 QC ADF ZK-NQC (last operated in NZ by both FREEDON AIR and AIRWORK NZ) was sold to Canadian interests during October 2012 .... and leased to FIRST AIR (C-GTVO). In FIRST AIR service it was upgraded with the full GK system .... again just as Paul relates.
Mark C
AKL/NZ
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Post by alex94 on Oct 9, 2023 13:16:00 GMT
Thanks Paul for that further clarification.
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Post by randomizer on Oct 10, 2023 20:40:17 GMT
Is a dirt runway really an upgrade from gravel? Having spent a lot of hours driving on forest service roads, the gravel stretches virtually always seem safer, quicker and smoother than the dirt segments or parts thereof. Particularly in wet weather. Just wondering.
Chris
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Oct 10, 2023 22:12:33 GMT
I'd wouldn't think so .... by virtue of the possibility that any kind of non-pathed RWY (not a common RWY surface) promotes increased risk of FOD.
In the case of the B737's: GK's aided protecting not only the lower fuselage, gear bays, and the lower surfaces of inboard trailing edge flaps .... but .... are also composed of blower tubes (located below the intakes of both engines) that actually blow-away loose surface material to assist preventing such FOD .... otherwise a heck of a lot of damage with increased maintenance expense/repairs can possibly be incurred.
This was always a prospective imposition for AIR NAURU (whom I flew with a lot) during the late 1970's, 1980's, and early 1990's, when operating into some "extremely remote" Pacific islands destinations which other carriers were reluctant to want to service .... for reasons of RWY condition/s, basic airport facilities, and the increased risk of damaging their equipment servicing these remote destinations then prospectively having an aircraft "stuck" somewhere inconvenient.
Mark C
AKL/NZ
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