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...Yes at evidence the Neptune was designed somewhere as a triplane!!! The reason ? The aircraft being naturally balanced fore, the nose had a quite severe tendency to drop during flare despite fully pulled back yoke and so the aircraft landed on its nose landing gear element and, excesive speed existing, frankly and dangerously bounced. From this, the idea to modify the camber of the whole horizontal tailplane by piloting movable surfaces inserted between tailplanes and elevators, otherly said by a third plane...!!! In the reality of a P2V final, low speed forced pilots to maintain axis by large moves of the controls with elevators almost fully up to follow final slope until they simultaneously put yoke fully back and piloted the VARICAM from neutral to full to level off and flare. VARICAM acted as a super trim or, to be more picturesque, as a second elevator coming and rescue the first unable to move a bit more...If this very delicate manoeuver succeeded, then wheels kiss landed at 150 Kts and with assistance of the flight mechanic, pilot applied reverses to propellers with considerable raise of noise in the cabin and fore shock-absorber at the lowest so great was deceleration. Taxi was then quiete and soft while sometime to time brakes longly mourned to negociate some turns in the woods and moors of the Lann-Bihoué NAS immensity.. |
