Indian Airlines A320 Ten-Wheeler :)

[niki]

Hi everyone,

One of my earliest civil aviation memories refers to the A320 with the 'non-standard' landing gear flown by Indian Airlines:

http://www.crashdehabsheim.net/autre%20crash%20indian%20airlines.htm

Has anyone of you build a model of this? Is there perhaps another 1/144 kit you reckon I could borrow the main landing gear from so that it makes some sense proportionally if not outright perfectly dimensional. Perhaps from a 757 or would even that be too big?

I have just saw the Vintage Flyer Decals sheet(s) for the Indian Airlines 737-200 and remembered the atypical A320...

Cheers,

NIki

Edited February 18, 2016 by niki

[XV571]

Hi Niki,

A 757's MLG and wheels would be too big. On the A320 bogie gear the upper section of the leg itself is identical to the standard 'twin wheel' version. The only difference is in the oleo and bogie section. After all, the whole assembly has to fit in the same space . It was going to be offered as an option to all operators but only Conair of Denmark showed any interest; one aircraft was modified but changed back when the airline probably decided it would cause too many maintenance and operational issues.

Coincidently, I found a post-it note the other day with the wheel dimensions I'd copied from one of the manuals. The MLG tyres are 36 inches in diameter and 11 inches wide. The wheel itself is 18.75 inches in diameter. A quick look through some of the airliners I have on the go indicates the Revell A330/A340 nosewheels are about the right diameter although a little wide. You could use a suitable length of rod to make the beam, cut off the twin wheel axle from the leg then glue the new bogie assembly in its place.

HTH,

Jonathan

[PMG Offramp]

Niki,

Thank you for the decal link, it will come handy because I just started one.

757 mldg bogies are 216cm long (including wheels) vs 192cm on the bogie A320. In 1/144 the difference is 1.7mm, I'd say not huge.

On the 4 wheeled bogies A320s, the gear bogie door (on the W/F fairing) is of a slightly different shape and 223cm long - 15.5mm in 1/144 vs 183cm long - 12.7mm in 1/144 on regular A320s. The mldg bay may very well be the same size but the opening is bigger to allow the bogie stowing.

Out of curiosity, are you building the Zvezda or Revell kit ? Will be following this topic for sure !

[niki]

Jonathan, Steven,

Thank you both very, very much for your help! I was secretly hoping for some figures so as to have a solid starting point and you guys delivered those and then some! Most interesting the comments on the MLG bay too.

And, Jonathan, the unwritten question has been indeed if there was any other [prospective] operator. No question about it: you are a mentalist!

Steven, I was initially set on the Revell kit but now I would rather have a flaps down aircraft taxiing for departure. and the most easiest way to achieve this would be to use the Zvezda kit. I will dig them all out of the stash (Revell and Zvezda A320, Revell A330 and Minicraft 757), compare, measure, "proportionate" and see from there what the best mix is. I will also try and see if I can find a good picture or two of the MLG.

Once more a big thanks, guys!

Cheers,

Niki

[niki]

Hello again,

Encouraged by the information received here I went on to figure out what I could cobble together for this build.

In doing so I came across another two earlier Britmodeller threads which dealt with the subject at hand and which eluded me when I opened this topic. Some additional and useful information is to be found therein:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234922591-revell-airbus-a32-query/

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234943441-air-india-a320-200/

Then I discovered an interesting table from Michelin listing tire sizes for all sorts of flying things, ranging from Airbuses , Cessnas and helicopters, to MiGs and Tupolevs [see here for a discussion on the 'correct' plural form]:

https://www.airmichelin.com/uploadedFiles/MichelinAirDev/StandardContent/Resource/databook.pdf

So, what epiphany produced the consulting of that table? Strictly dimensional, the main wheel tires from the Tu-154 are just about the same size as those used by Airbus on its bogie equipped A320. This is particularly convenient as the Zvezda Tupolev has more than enough MLG wheels to donate... and a wheels-up Tu-154 looks pretty on a stand anyway

Once the theoretical (i.e. dimensional) issue sorted it was time for real life (i.e. plastic kit) comparisons and some adjusting and proportioning. Indeed, Zvezda's Tu-154 main wheels look proportionately correct when compared to Revell's A320 front gear wheels.

Then, dreading the perspective of having to cut/ scratch the main landing gear leg and its bogie I started looking for ready made solutions. You would never guess what I found out! Zvezda's Boeing 767 unit fits the bill almost perfectly: the gear leg is just as thick as Revell's one, it is tilted slightly and correctly backwards and is fine enough to pass as coming from the same kit box. Visual disadvantage here: the tiny Tupolev wheels would look a bit too far apart on the bogie as opposed to their full size Airbus counterparts.

Minicraft's Boeing 757 main gear leg on the other hand is a tiny bit thicker than Revell's A320 unit, is tilted slightly but incorrectly forwards and is not on par with the finesse of the part coming in Revell's box. Visual advantage here: Tupolev's wheels would be spaced better on the bogie.

In case you are wondering: yes, both Zvezda and Minicraft parts would probably need a slight chop at the top (somewhere around 1.5 mm) to fit the height of Revell's A320 main landing gear leg, taking care though not to overdo it for the 'new' wheels are anyway smaller, accounting for an overall tinier MLG height.

Needless to say I am biased as to which route to take but I will report back when I'm getting there.

Thanks again for your help!

Cheers,

Niki

Edited April 11, 2017 by niki
Updated Michelin Aircraft Tire Data Sheet Link

[pinky coffeeboat]

Please keep us informed, I like little gems of research like this. Thanks.