Forum: F-16 versus XYZ

Elite 1K Joined: Aug 19, 2004 - 09:19 AM Posts: 1092

parrothead wrote:

Raptor_One,

The danger at that high of an altitude comes with the air pressure being so low that you get the "bends" just like a scuba diver as the dissolved gases in your blood form into bubbles and cause massive pain and possible death Shocked

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The suit has the same pressure inside it all the time. When in the pressurized cockpit, it doesn't look inflated only because the cockpit has the same pressure as the inside of the suit. Remove the pressure on the outside of the suit and now it looks inflated - think of taking a bag of chips from sea level to 8,000 or 10,000 feet. The bag looks fairly "flat" or non pressurized at sea level, but looks like it's been pressurized at altitude Wink

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The danger comes from not having the suit and suffering the consequences. Even with the suit "inflated" due to low outside air pressure, you're still alive, conscious, and functional enough to control the jet. It may be more difficult to move, but not nearly impossible Wink

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Here's some good links for some interesting info on the full pressure suits worn by the pilots flying the A-12, M-21, YF-12A, SR-71, U-2, and some Space Shuttle missions Smile

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http://www.roadrunnersinternationale.co ... clark.html

http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/press_suit001.html

http://www.davidclark.com/

Whoops... I misread what Roscoe wrote. I gave myself the impression that he was talking about a normal flight suit. I've been spending the last two days (and most of the last two nights too) trying to relearn C++ and it's fried my brain good. Yeah, I actually do know that stuff about pressure suits you just pointed out to me (although I sounded like a total idiot from my last post). Doh!

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Raptor_One wrote:

Interesting. Thanks for answering. But now I'm curious... if no injury happened to you when you became "Michelin Man", where does the danger from cockpit depressurization come from in the real jet? Just the inability to maintain control of your jet because your suit is blown up like a balloon? Or would that inflation effect actually be so extreme that when trapped in a small cockpit you might get suffocated or otherwise rendered unconscious/injured? When you experienced the rapid decompression, were you seated in something approximating a fighter-sized cockpit? Regardless of your initial position, what did the inflation of the suit do to your ability to move your limbs, breath, etc. I assume it wasn't that bad since you thought it was pretty cool. Very Happy

They wouldn't design a suit that would suffocate or bind the pilot.

When the suit expanded it definitely became more difficult to move. In the chamber, there was a fake stick to grab and pretend to fly...it was pretty tough. Keep in mind though that as the plane descends, the pressure increases and the suit softens.

Elite 1K Joined: Aug 19, 2004 - 09:19 AM Posts: 1092

Hehe... Roscoe, I was so out of it last night I thought you were talking about some sort of special flight suit, not a pressure suit. Very silly me. Smile

"The danger at that high of an altitude comes with the air pressure being so low that you get the "bends"..."

The primary concern was the lack of TUC (time of useful consciousnous) you had with that low of an ambient atmosphere, even with diluter demand or (as in the 6) 100% O2 under pressure. That time was measured in seconds b4 you'd be gooey-woo-woo.

I stand corrected - thanks Smile

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I wasn't thinking about time of useful consciousness, but that is one heckuva big concern up there! I must've been thinking more about the Blackbird and U-2 pilots way up high Wink

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Funniest competition I've ever read Laughing

F-106 against AIM-120 equipped Falcon has virtually no chance.

Even if Dart is better at high altitudes, nobody forces F-16 pilot to go that high where he cannot turn fast.

What weapons will Dart use? Nuclear-armed Genie? Or falcon? 60 years old first generation crap that will never hit 9g maneuvering target.

I think that only interceptors that really have speed advantage over Viper are Soviet Mig-25 Foxbat and Mig-31 Foxhoud. If properly driven, they have big chance to run avay even from missiles, if they get proper warning.

HunterKiller wrote:

Funniest competition I've ever read Laughing

F-106 against AIM-120 equipped Falcon has virtually no chance.

Agreed entirely. You cannot compare apples to oranges, nor bomber interceptors to modern fighters. The Dart will forever be my favorite aircraft but against a Falcon, there is no battle in ACM.

HunterKiller wrote:

What weapons will Dart use? Nuclear-armed Genie? Or falcon? 60 years old first generation crap that will never hit 9g maneuvering target.

Well, let's [Link pending approval]

AIM-4 - the Falcon (F16 and not the missile) easily moves out of the way. The AIM-4 was a bomber killer and never a fighter killer (despite 5 kills in Vietnam)

M-61 20mm - The Dart would never get close enough to use it.

AIR-2 Genie - [Link pending approval] more F-16. 9G maneuver makes no difference against a nuke. Of course, everything has to be perfect for the F-106 pilot to escape the blast as [Link pending approval] the Dart did not get shot down during AIR2 launch.

Forum: F-16 versus XYZ

F-106 Delta Dart versus F-16 Viper