Forum: F-16 Armament & Stores

That's brilliant information. Thank you very much, Exfltsafety. And just to help me understand how things work - EPU runs on hydrazine, so it must have some sort of combustion engine, am I right? What does the JFS runs on then? Is it battery powered?

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The H-70 for the EPU is forced through a catalyst bed where a very rapid decomposition process produces exhaust air that spins a turbine. The JFS runs on aircraft fuel and needs battery bus electrical power.

Don't forget if the engine is still operational and the EPU is receiving enough bleed-air from the motor, the run time is unlimited (until the engine stops or doesn't provide enough air) The EPU uses the H70 when bleed-air is not sufficient to maintain it's RPM.

TEG

Hi,
Just wanted to let you guys know the first volume of my novel is going to the publishers office today. I won't hold my breath, but I really hope it will get accepted. I will let you know of the publishers' decision as soon as I get a reply (if I get any at all).
I really appreciate all your help and willingness to share some of your astonishing knowledge with a clueless fellow condemned to walk the surface of the earth for life. Thanks

Best of luck with your novel shrimpman. Hope someone picks it up look forward to reading it! Thumb

Hi,
I have a new question. This time it is about air to air weapons. It's a very basic thing about the Russian SARH missiles, like R-27 or R-77. My understanding is that when launched, they are guided by the radar from the launching platform until the terminal stage, when the built-in radar is close enough to follow the target on its own, pretty much the same as AMRAAM. But what about the IR homing warheads used on R-27 and R-77? During the initial phase are they also guided onto the target by launching aircraft's radar or maybe by some kind of IR seeking targeting pod? Sorry for asking for non F-16 weapons, but I'm sure you would know how that all works.
Thanks a mil
Shrimpman

Hi,
Let’s assume a fictional situation where a pair of Vipers must take off in a very bad stormy weather, with a very strong side wind. The storm’s been raging for a couple of days, all air assets grounded, but the wind starts calming down and the planes have to go airborne as son as possible, no matter the risk. What wind velocity would I need to make the take-off and subsequent landing in the story very risky and difficult, but still possible?
Thanks guys
Shrimpman

shrimpman wrote:

Hi,
Let’s assume a fictional situation where a pair of Vipers must take off in a very bad stormy weather, with a very strong side wind. The storm’s been raging for a couple of days, all air assets grounded, but the wind starts calming down and the planes have to go airborne as son as possible, no matter the risk. What wind velocity would I need to make the take-off and subsequent landing in the story very risky and difficult, but still possible?
Thanks guys
Shrimpman

Well, the speeds are probably a bit lower in the Viper because of its lower weight and subsequent theoretical increase in vulnerability, but I checked my 1F-4C-1 and the crosswind landing speed in single plane landings is max 25 kts, and just under 20 for no restrictions. The drag chute is liable to break above 25, so that's probably your remotely safe limit right there. I'm also sure that you could find the Viper Dash-One manual with all performance specs.

Unless you're authorized to view military technical orders, you shouldn't be able to just find a Viper -1 or its performance manual. They are not releasable to the general public.

Deploying the drag chute with a 25 knot crosswind in a Viper would be a very sporty event. The pilot had better be ready to counter the resulting direction change or the aircraft will be off the side of the runway PDQ. Are your fictional Vipers configured with drag chutes? How long is your fictional runway and is it dry, wet, icy? I don't know what upper limit crosswind number would be "very risky"; maybe some of the forum Viper drivers can provide their opinions.

Thank you for quick replies. Just out of curiosity I have googled Viper Dash One and to my amazement there are websites that sell it. I didn't order anything though, as I'm pretty convinced this is illegal. At least they wouldn't ship anything outside USA, but that is not very reassuring. Anyway I am a non-flyer and non-native English speaker, so I doubt I would understand a technical document. I've seen an ancient flight manual for F-4 once and couldn't make heads or tails out of it.

The planes in the story are F-16C block 30J's & 30K's, the very same serving in HAF at the moment. In the story Greece went belly up in 2012 and in the ensuing chaos some of their hardware found its way into the 'wrong' hands of the protagonists. I believe they do have drag chutes, but am not 100% sure.

The conditions in the story are as follows: the runway is pretty big and well drained, over 9000 feet, but surface would be wet from the recent rain. Altitude is 2000 feet above sea level, air is humid and hot, around 30 degrees Celsius, that seems to be 86 Fahrenheit. Would I be correct to assume there would be no need to deploy the chute if the runway was that long and landing without it would be a safer option in this case?

For the conditions you described, over 9000' of well-drained wet runway and a significant crosswind, and assuming your F-16s are at a normal landing weight, I would say use of the drag chute would not be necessary or desirable.

I took a look at eflightmanuals.com. Their Export Warning section mixes apples and oranges. They mention the valid Export Warning; but, then they list multiple Distribution Statements and call them another type of export warning. The Distribution Statements are just that - statements that say what organizations are authorized to receive a specific manual. For the F-16, distribution is authorized to Department of Defense Components only (Direct Military Support). I don't know how this website can legally sell such flight manuals.

shrimpman wrote:

The planes in the story are F-16C block 30J's & 30K's, the very same serving in HAF at the moment.

http://www.haf.gr/en/mission/weapons/f16blk52.asp

HAF's has Block 52+ Vipers as well.

TEG

Oh, yes, at first I planned to use the new and shiny 52's, but for the sake of the storyline I had to give them up for the older, worn-out birds. Thanks!

Hi guys.
Would you mind explaining me few things about CBU-58 bombs?
1. The name I find on the web is CBU-58 A/B. Is this A/B a full name or are there two separate A and B variants and if so, what is the difference between them?
2. How many can be fitted on a Viper if external tanks are removed from stations 4/6 ? Some sources say 4 bombs, other say up to 8 ( 2 bombs each on stations 3,4,6,7)
3. Do the BLU-63 bomblets explode on impact or by delay fuse or can they be programmed to explode at a certain attitude during the fall?
Thank you!
Shrimpman

Practically, you can load up to 3 CBU's on a TER on any station capable of carrying these.
The problem often stem from the folding fins of these weapons - as they deploy upon release, they often will interfere with either droptanks, fuselage or other weapons if loaded too tight. This is why you most of the time see these slant-loaded, to avoid ripping open tanks or other elements vital to getting to and from the target area.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-58.htm

The difference between A/B is to distinguish whether it is anti-materiel / anti-personnel bomblet submunitions inside

Forum: F-16 Armament & Stores

Can anyone help me with a couple of technical questions?