Forum: F-16 News

<a href="news_article1991.html">Shaw F-16 drops two fuel tanks after malfunction</a>

Those things had to have been full as the tanks dont pressurize until weight is off wheels correct?

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Hate to burst your bubble, but they are the first things that start feeding once the engine is running. WOW or not.

different in the 15 then.

Funny I remember reading a story about an F-16 that was lost trying to burn off fuel before landing. I think it was a 157th TFS/FS jet. But it was stated that the jet was in afterburner and thus didn't burn any external fuel stores. I'll have to dig up that mishap. I wonder if this issue was fixed because of this prior mishap?

Sorry, I was wrong, it was 159th FIS, Florida ANG. It was this serial:

81-0766

March 11, 1988

Ran out of fuel in afterburner while trying to burn off excess fuel for landing after a training mission. Apparently the external fuel tanks won't feed with the afterburner running and the speed brakes deployed. The pilot, Ltc Levis Deweese, was forced to eject from the aircraft as he lacked sufficient altitude to attempt a relight.

So is it an afterburner + speed brake thing or can it be just one of these things?

Jon wrote:

Ran out of fuel in afterburner while trying to burn off excess fuel for landing after a training mission. Apparently the external fuel tanks won't feed with the afterburner running and the speed brakes deployed. The pilot, Ltc Levis Deweese, was forced to eject from the aircraft as he lacked sufficient altitude to attempt a relight.

So is it an afterburner + speed brake thing or can it be just one of these things?

I don't think it has anything to do specifically with the AB or the speedbrakes. It has to do with the rate at which the fuel can be transfered from the externals vs. the rate at which the engine can consume the fuel. The speedbrakes have nothing to do with it.

In this case, it sounds like there could have been some other problem that the tanks wouldn't pressurize and transfer. If the plane is already airborne, there normally wouldn't be much, if any, fuel left in the externals. He could have aerial refueled and forgot to close the air refuel door, this would cause the tanks not to pressurize and "trap" fuel in the externals. It could also be possible for another problem to have caused the fuel not to transfer.

Hill AFB lost an F-16B in the early '80's when one of the student pilots from Belgium forgot to close the A/R door and "ran out of gas" with full externals. He was in the pattern for landing when the engine flamed out and he had to eject.

Smitty

Forum: F-16 News

Shaw jets contributing to the environment :)