737 Tailskid

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Tail Skid (Series 400/800/900 only)

Always worth checking the tail skid, especially when accepting an aircraft if only to prove that it was not you that scraped it ! Check that the decal on the skirt is showing plenty of green and that the shoe is not worn to the dimples. In this example, the operator has painted the bottom of the shoe red to help detect evidence of a tail strike.

See this page for more information on tailstrikes and their avoidance.

A 737-900 tailstrike after a bounced landing. Notice the contact of the extended tailskid, a feature only installed on the -800SFP and -900ER

All of the information, photographs & schematics from this website and much more is now available in a 374 page printed book or in electronic format.

*** Updated 16 Sep 2016 ***

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The yellow and red discs to the right of the picture are the APU fire bottle discharge indicators.

NOTE THAT THE TAILSKID ONLY PROTECTS THE AIRCRAFT DURING TAKE-OFF, NOT LANDING.

The new short field (SFP) -800s and -900ER's have a two position tailskid that extends a further 5 inches for tailstrike protection during landing due to the lower landing speeds.