Forum: F-22A Raptor

"carted than?"...Like I said, I didn't know they had the option, can you explain?

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The entire pylon can release from the plane (pylon + tank) and jettison both togther. But, the pylon can also be "carted" so that just the tank jettisons (F-16 style). Why you would want to jettison just the tank and not the pylon is beyond me, but they set it up so that you can do one or the other.

der03301 wrote:

The entire pylon can release from the plane (pylon + tank) and jettison both togther. But, the pylon can also be "carted" so that just the tank jettisons (F-16 style). Why you would want to jettison just the tank and not the pylon is beyond me, but they set it up so that you can do one or the other.

Well here's one reason.

http://www.aircraftguru.com/aircraft-vi ... p?v_id=353

Lawman wrote:

der03301 wrote:

The entire pylon can release from the plane (pylon + tank) and jettison both togther. But, the pylon can also be "carted" so that just the tank jettisons (F-16 style). Why you would want to jettison just the tank and not the pylon is beyond me, but they set it up so that you can do one or the other.

Well here's one reason.

http://www.aircraftguru.com/aircraft-vi ... p?v_id=353

OK, did that F-111 manage to land or not? Question

You might want to jettison just the tank and not the pylon if pylons are rare and expensive and tanks are not. I have no idea how many of each the Raptor community has ordered. Of course, if you're in an Eagle, your rails are on the pylon. Doesn't apply to Raptors, I know.

der03301 wrote:

The entire pylon can release from the plane (pylon + tank) and jettison both togther. But, the pylon can also be "carted" so that just the tank jettisons (F-16 style). Why you would want to jettison just the tank and not the pylon is beyond me, but they set it up so that you can do one or the other.

Duhhh I knew that...I had a dumb moment...thanks for the explaination. I need a drink....

Loader2088 wrote:

OK, did that F-111 manage to land or not? Question

Honestly Id like to know myself. I just knew where to find the video.

The F-111 landed safely. The 600 gal. tank struck the airplane directly on the centerline between the engines. It left a hole in the fuel tank between the engines about a foot in diameter and did no damage to the engines or tails. The tank was dropped from sta 2 (inboard fixed pylon on left wing).

Forum: F-22A Raptor

F-22 using drop tanks