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I have a question about hooking up the ECS hose. I'm nothing but a lowly BB stacker, and up until a few weeks ago have frequently used the ECS hose right off the -60 for cooling during checks. Now there is a local policy that all our ops checks need to be done with the c-10 conditioner. It's not like it's a problem, I'm just curious as to why. I've been given nothing but vague reasons that using an ECS hose will 'burn up turbines' or that you can 'vent fuel' if you put air through the ECS hose without power. I haven't ever experienced a problem with using a hose right of the -60 and was wondering if the elite here can give a good explanation of the difference between what goes on inside the jet with an ECS hose and a C-10.

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Pretty much when you use the -60 you are running the ECS sytem putting additional wear and tear on it. With the C-10 the C-10 is the ECS system.

Here is my take on it for what it is worth. It is my understanding that the C10 assists in removing unwanted moister from the dash 60 prior to it being introduced into the aircraft. I am assuming we are talking about f16 / F15 with you being from Eglin AFB. There should not be any venting of fuel. If this happens check the vent valve ot the negative pressure release valve. One of my ol;d aircraft is now a training aid at Eglin ET. F16B 83-1169. I was at TJ-Torrejon AB Spain where it arrived new. I hope this give you some insite into the issue. One other thing, You are never a lowly anything. You are vital member of an operational team. You are as vital as the highest ranking member of the armed forces. good luck in your career. Check Six.....

Elite Joined: Apr 26, 2004 Posts: 1175 Status: Offline

If you run the ECS system the water seperator removes the moisture from the system. In the old days yes it did wear down the system. This was before the ECS turbine had "Air Bearings". Now I think it's just a good habit.

Purple

Newbie Joined: Oct 08, 2006 Posts: 5 Status: Offline

according to my understanding, the reason why we use C-10 is because the air flow directly to the cockpit n the avionics bay without going through the ECS package. using the ecs hose will induce wear and tear to the ECS turbine because the turbine runs on air-bearings. The most wear occurs when the turbine starts to spin and when the turbine starts to wind down.thus using the c-10 is to protect the life of the turbine and not solely for habit Razz

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hope that helps,juz my small opinion.

The bearings in the turbine use to be oil bearings and now they are air bearings so there is no wear and tear on the system. I can't remember the numbers specifically but the PSI that comes off a -60 is a lot less than the pressure that comes off the motor when the jet is running. I dont see how a -60 turbine can put excessive wear on it when a -60 puts out less pressure than the aircraft engine itself. Another thing that has been a constant pissing contest between avionics and QA is that for every task the JG has a prerequisite condition that usually calls for a C-10 or Equivelent. If you ever ask a QA guy what the equivelent is they usually stumble over their words and say they will get back to you on it. The bottom line is it is all up to interpretation of the QA inspector. It just sucks because sometimes you do need an ecs hose to run radar but trying to explain that to a weapons QA inspector is sometimes a tough one to get across. Its also nice to have when its 20 below at Hill but they don't seem to care much about that one too! hahaha Someone brought up about how it pressurizes the fuel tanks. Which is true but you can also flip the a/r switch to open. This opens releif valves to relieve the pressure even though the a/r door wont open. Thats what we use to do at hill and kunsan until qa had to ruin it. But keep in mind QA is just doing their job.

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Proper ECS hose application??