Viscount 756D VH-TVJ parted-out and with TAA markings removed at Eagle Farm, Brisbane circa May 1970. Unseen inside the cockpit, TAA Engineer Stan Dawson retracted the undercarriage using the hand pump. The aircraft was subsequently broken up on this site east of TAA's Hangar 12 and north of the Ford assemply plant. The unusual retraction sequence between this and the previous photograph is explained by QAM member and former Viscount LAME, David Thollar.

My thoughts on the photos come from experience with Viscount 700 hydraulic hand pumps. They were pathetic, stop pumping and the pressure drops off quickly. In the first photo, the nosegear would have retracted first because it would have required the least pressure to break the downlock. In the second photo, when the right hand gear retracted, the wingtip would have dropped to earth and the fuselage would have settled in a nose high attitude. Because there would be no pressure in the nosegear up line, the nosegear would have partially extended under its own weight.

Picture: Graham Bowden