Warbird Information Exchange

Whenever I go to an air show they always have the S-2 Tracker/ C-1 Trader aircraft parked on a hard surface (ramp). Are they not able to park in grass? Is it because of tire pressure or some other reason.

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"Keep 'em Flying!"

I'm guessing it has something to do with a combination of the small tires creating a lot of ground pressure and the castering nose wheel. It probably isn't very easy to caster the nose wheel on grass.

Skinny tires are possible but a free castering nose wheel wouldn't matter.
The B-25 is a good example.

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Don't touch my junk!!

I was thinking more about the skinny tires on the castering wheel. The B-25 has the nice sized tire on the front. Then again the S-2 has 2 tires so maybe not an issue but then again usually when something is built for soft ground such as sand etc it has bigger tires for better flotation over the surface. Just a guess but those nose wheel tires have always seemed so small. I think that the B-25 has a little more "improvised airstrip" qualities than the S-2.

I guess it could be the same for the big and small nose wheeled T-28s.
Althought nobody i've ever heard of will operate a T-28 off the grass due to the weak nose strut.

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Don't touch my junk!!

It is the skinny tires.
With the particular weight distribution to the footprint of the landing gear, they will sink into soft surfaces very fast if not careful. Steve Sevier brought his C-1 to Geneseo one year (early 1990's) and they had to keep it taxing until it was firmly on three large steel plates. That prevented it from sinking as it sat there. As long as there wasn't rain, he could taxing to and from his spot, but he couldn't stop until it was on those plates.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Grumman Bridge and Iron Works built em heavy!

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"Hindsight is usually 20% off!"

The S-2 and C-1 have an empty weight that is around 16 to 17,000 pounds. The main gear tires are the same size as used on a TBM. With all that weight on that small profile tire, it's a great candidate to bury itself in the soft ground. In 1999 C-1A "MISS BELLE" was parked in the grass at Oshkosh and that night it rained about 2 inches. The C-1 was sunk in the soft ground and took full power to move her out of the ruts. NEVER AGAIN....AND A LESSON LEARNED. Park them on the hard surface. Jake

"THOSE WERE THE DAYS"

The Tracker with the Old Dominion Squadron, CAF is not parked on grass as the weight is too high for the foot print. That said, I have seen pictures of '404' flying and parked at Geneseo back in the day with another operator before it was donated to the CAF. So it can be done if the ground is hard enough but I don't want to explain why I would have to drive home from upstate New York to the family in VA.
Bob
Asst Ops
Old Dominion Squadron