Joined: Dec 16, 2003
Posts: 779
Location: Florida
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Salute!
The ripple mode for the pods allowed each rocket to clear the tube before the next one went. That was the design/theory.
Sometimes the cheap a$$ intervalometer would "fuse" two contacts and two rx would launch at the same time. This was when they would collide. The intervalometer was a soft metal doofer that resembled a pocket comb. The "teeth" would melt in sequential fashion. With zillions of these things being produced, it was not uncommon to have a few bad ones. The reuseable pods had mechanical stepper switches that were much more reliable. LAU-7, for example, and the SUU-20.
More common was a fin coming off a rock. Hence, the A-37 had screens over the intakes to keep the fins from being ingested. You could tell if a fin came off because the rock would do huge barrel rolls or just head off to another country!
out,
Gums
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Viper pilot '79
"God in your guts, good men at your back, wings that stay on - and Tally Ho!"
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MabJab23
Posted: Mar 06, 2007 - 05:11 AM
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Joined: Jan 20, 2007
Posts: 35
Location: Kunsan AB, ROK
Boman wrote:
Thats an LAU-68 7-shot, while the LAU-131 is 19-shot.
I think 31FW is/was flying with the same launchers on one side while carrying GBU-12`s on the other. Sounds like a killer combination if you ask me
That's true... when I was there at least. While we were flying Operation Joint Guard/Joint Forge, we used that config. Once those operations ended, we just flew LAU-68s only on training missions. I was reminded of this because we had a portion of a LAU-68 break-off, and was injested in aircraft 89-2035 during a training mission. That was an ugly engine change.
mckenzy7,
Salute,
Has anyone tried LAU 5003 (19 x CRV 7)?
Years ago, but not sure if anybody is using it since I know the LAU-3 is now decertified on USAF F-16's.
Cheers,
ViperDude
scorpio110367
Posted: May 07, 2008 - 08:33 AM
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Joined: Jul 31, 2005
Posts: 86
Status: Offline
We flew 2.75WP's(willie pete's) on the onset of OEF, lau-131 rocket pods on slant loaded ters @ sta7, and 2x gbu-12's on sta3... it wasn't for hitting anything, it was for marking spots for the gunships and bombers. We were aerial tacp's b'cuz we carried the LiteningII's and the only unit using sadl at the time. It's not a primary munition anymore.
F16guy
Posted: May 07, 2008 - 08:54 AM
Active member
Joined: Apr 22, 2004
Posts: 114
The primary Air Force Forward Air Control Airborne (FAC A) school in the 310th at Luke uses WP all the time (almost every flying day)or used to. Great little suckers. New code in the avionics accounts for the different motors and viola' they hit where you aim. Wish more munitions were this fun to use.
scorpio110367
Posted: May 09, 2008 - 06:00 AM
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Joined: Jul 31, 2005
Posts: 86
Status: Offline
Boman, LAU-131's are 7 bored launchers, they are the only 2.75 launchers we use "downrange".. and they're not for killing(primarily), we FAC-A'ers use them to spot for other big dogs to lay steel on the ground.
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mckenzy7,
