Forum: General F-22A Raptor forum

Sounds like the cartridge start system on the F-4. I remember that the crew had to be using 100% o2 because of the gasses produced. Only in this case, the gasses are being fed directly into the pilot's life support equipment. Scratch the OBOGS for the time being and go with bottled o2.

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seems a simple fix right?

sprstdlyscottsmn wrote:

seems a simple fix right?

Simple to get them back in the air?? I hope so. Simple to get the system working properly?? This is LM, makers of the Joint Strike Financial Meltdown. I wouldn't bet on a timely and cheap solution.

southernphantom wrote:

sprstdlyscottsmn wrote:

seems a simple fix right?

Simple to get them back in the air?? I hope so. Simple to get the system working properly?? This is LM, makers of the Joint Strike Financial Meltdown. I wouldn't bet on a timely and cheap solution.

Good at prototypes and silver-bullets, not so good at anything else.

fang wrote:

That's the media version, you don't know if that's what realy happened!
The investigation just started and you're running to conclusions too soon
You're acusing them in such horrible things, based on what? newspapers?

Maybe you should get a clue..

Paint a pretty picture to defend your wonder toy all you want. But the simple fact of the matter is, those .22 pilots got sent up with those problems not being fully sorted out. What would have happened if that pilot (devil forbid) hadn't recovered & ended up like those other poor sods? Some people would have looked pretty stupid wouldn't they. Think about it.

Like Shep1978 said ~ 'just what did they expect to happen considering they never fixed it in the first place.'

good news is this time they can fixate on a particular airframe with regard to this issue

Hawaii's raptors back in the air
http://www.staradvertiser.com/s?action= ... =132511953

This may sound stupid (and it most probably is as I know nothing about these things) but can't they stick an F-22 in one of those big climatic chamber things and simulate the conditions of flight without using the pilots as aerial guinea pigs. That way if something does go wrong the pilot won't crash and burn along with the multi million dollar jet.

shep1978 wrote:

This may sound stupid (and it most probably is as I know nothing about these things) but can't they stick an F-22 in one of those big climatic chamber things and simulate the conditions of flight without using the pilots as aerial guinea pigs. That way if something does go wrong the pilot won't crash and burn along with the multi million dollar jet.

My guess? Not with the engines running.

Flying the entire fleet with a known, but as yet undiagnosed problem is risky. The reason they started flying again with the problem unsolved was this: the Edwards based test aircraft still flying trying to isolate the problem were not showing the problem during their sorties. Flying the whole fleet with the additional precautions and procedures essentially expands the test fleet involved with trying to find the problem from a few airframes to 150+ while expanding the environmental conditions info base from the Edwards area to all the regular operating areas at the same time.

All the jets are back in the air:

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... &s=AIR

Ladies and Gentlemen, place your bets on how long it'll be till the next hypoxia related crash...

(I would hate to have a family member flying one of those things for a job!)

BDF wrote:

All the jets are back in the air:

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... &s=AIR

Strange, wonder what the blood-tests showed? Something exonerating the plane maybe?

The AF has drawn blood from every Raptor pilot to establish a personal blood oxygen profile and now meters each pilot against this baseline while flying. To me this indicates AF isn't convinced the problem originates from oxygen delivery. It's possible the pilots are being exposed to a toxin released from the aircraft or its or the pilots' environments. For example, Raptor makes use of highly toxic materials and the pilots may be exposed to these during pilot walkarounds or while maskless preflight. (Maintenence crew might not experience symptoms because they remain at ground level.) I find it interesting AF has installed activated carbon filters for the pilots. Resolution might be a lot cheaper if OBOGS isn't the source but I might be concerned about longterm effects on the pilots' health.

Has anyone looked into what might be leaching into the cockpit itself during flight? With all that equipment, seems there'd be a lot of exotic material getting heated up, possibly getting vaporized into the air outside the mask. If a guy goes to scratch his nose or something, he might inhale something he shouldn't, something that might interact with the stresses of high g-load or something else. How is cockpit temperature maintained anyways? It might explain why the problem seems worse in Alaska. Perhaps a heating element of some kind is having to burn hotter or longer than usual in the colder climate. Has anyone ever noticed how heaters sometimes give off fumes when they're turned up all the way?

Forum: General F-22A Raptor forum

Langley Raptors Grounded Again