Forum: F-16 Design & Construction

Hi, I was having a little debate with a friend the other day about maximum speeds... And this question came up, mostly based on the fact that the analog speed indicator stops shortly after 800 KIAS, and that some red marks can be seen near 800 KIAS on some cockpit photos. I have read that you can overspeed the external tanks by going supersonic, but other than that, can you overspeed the actual airframe? Is 800 KIAS the limit (why is there a red line or tick on some photos)? And if you can overspeed it, would the pilot get any indication of that (HUD warning possibly)? Thank you.

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http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives ... index.html

OL

I have done over 800 KCAS... (in the sim) Smile

And, you can fly supersonic with external tanks.

Thank you both for your replies. So it seems that the limiting factor is the engine, and even so it's not that limiting with the newer engines and the limiting factor is actually the canopy. And I take it that there is no warning for an overspeed condition in the jet (obviously excluding the ones relative to the possible engine failures or the canopy breaking)?

Neither the PW-220 or PW-229 will fail before the canopy. The DEECs are programed with logic that prevents the overpressure condition in the compressor.

I believe the engine failure prior to VMAX was associated with the PW-200 only.

TEG

outlaw162 wrote:

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/1993/articles/apr_93/stretch/index.html

OL

Wow

… another fascinating read by By Joe Bill Dryden — Senior Experimental Test Pilot Thumb

I wish I could of met him Sad

Thanks for the post.

Indeed, that was a great read!

outlaw162 wrote:

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/1993/articles/apr_93/stretch/index.html

OL

Wow! I never thought the jet had so many tattle-tellers. Cant belive someone was crazy enough to climb so high in a viper.

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

I had a friend tell me that he was having deductions out of his paycheck for exceeding the recommended speed of the F-16 in a mock dogfight, that crazed the canopy. I'm not sure if he was joking or not, I didn't bother to ask him.

We had a pilot that basically was told by Bill Dryden that the only reason his jet departed in flight was due to input he (the pilot) made during his manuever. I'll say it was a bit more colorful than that. Pilot told Dryden he didn't do it. That was a mistake. Every bit of data on the aircraft said otherwise. He wasn't flying F-16's much longer after that.

Chickenlegs

Great article from Bill Dryden! Especially considering that was over 16 years ago and every bit is still relevant. I really used to like the old Code One articles and think they have really dropped the ball the last few years. Now it seems they focus on unit information and has turned into more of a newsletter.

I didnt read the article, but I know that an F-16 over the Gulf of Mexico exceeded its maximum engine speed in a dive. The engine began to disentegrate, destroyed the flight controls, and the pilot ejected supersonic. The pilot survived the ejection, but both his arms were broken, and he subsequently drowned when he couldn't release his parachute.

And from that incident came SEAWARS...

Best Regards,

The Gulf incident wasn't an overspeed event, it was a compressor blade flutter event. The combined speed of the A/C accelerating downward and the engine drove one of the stages of compression into an aerodynamic condition where the blade alternately stalled and recovered very quickly and at a very high frequency. This high frequency basically overcame the structural limits of the blade causing it to depart the disk. Subsequent corections to the blade resulted in a compressor blade that could not have the condition duplicated, this was confirmed by a flight test where the bird was flown along the 800 knot line with extremely good laser instrumentation confirming no propensity of the blade to flutter.

Does anyone know where this Code One article lives anymore? I am looking for a specific one by Joe Dryden on why the F-16 Limits are what they are. I can't seem to find the old Code One articles on their website.

Thanks

Forum: F-16 Design & Construction

Can the F-16 be oversped?