General > General Technical Chat
WTF!!! (French Airforce FUBAR)
paulca:
--- Quote from: Gixy on April 16, 2020, 07:15:43 am ---Yes, and those levers are secured by "remove before flight" pins which must be shown by the mecanics to the pilot(s) once on board.
--- End quote ---
Yes and no. The pins are shown to the pilot by the crew chef when he/she hands the plane over to the pilot. The pilot will conduct a walk around while all the panels are open, then check them again when they are closed. He will then accept the aircraft. The pins are out long before he climbs aboard.
There may well be a pin in the arm/disarm handle, but I'm 99% sure that is out when the pilot boards the plane.
Here is an awesome video (F/A-18) uncut video showing the full sequence.
And here is a commentary video on the above.
The safe/arm handle is clearly visible at 6:00
At 07:00 other yellow/black chevron's items to note, from left to right. Canopy jetison (lever). Weapons Jetison (Round button, Admiral's doorbell) and on the right, the spin recovery mode switch.
jogri:
--- Quote from: paulca on April 16, 2020, 10:06:05 am ---The safe/arm handle is clearly visible at 6:00
At 07:00 other yellow/black chevron's items to note, from left to right. Canopy jetison (lever). Weapons Jetison (Round button, Admiral's doorbell) and on the right, the spin recovery mode switch.
--- End quote ---
That yellow/black handle at 6:00 is not the safe/arm switch, that's the manual relase... You can see the safe/arm under the papers, it is at the same height as the joystick and it is white as the seat isn't armed yet (you can see that the black/yellow "armed" side is tilted forwards).
The Rafale uses a slightly different system but since the manufacturer is the same i'd guess that the safe/arm is still in the same position although it has a different design.
I marked the manual relase handles red and the safe/arm switches blue in both pictures.
Here is a quote from that manual about the functions of both handles:
--- Quote ---EJECTION SEAT SAFE/ ARM HANDLE.- To prevent inadvertent seat ejection, an ejection seat safe/ arm handle (18) is installed. To safety the seat, you must rotate the handle up and forward. To arm the seat, you rotate the handle down and aft. When in the ARMED position, the portion of the handle that is visible to the pilot is coloured yellow and black with the word ARMED showing. In the SAFE position, the visible portion of the handle is coloured white with the word SAFE showing. By placing the handle to the SAFE position, it causes a pinto be inserted into the ejection firing mechanism. This prevents withdrawal of the sears from the dual seat initiators.
MANUAL OVERRIDE HANDLE.- The manual override handle (17) is located on the right side of the seat bucket. The handle is connected to the lower restraint mechanism. It is also connected to the manual override initiator.
MANUAL OVERRIDE INITIATOR.- The manual override initiator (19) is mounted in a covered compartment in the lower aft right side of the seat bucket. A linkage connects the sear to the manual override handle. Pulling the handle releases the lower restraints. Full upward movement of the handle is prevented by the pin puller. However, during ejection, the pin puller is automatically retracted. This allows the manual override handle to pull the sear from the manual override initiator, which will override the automatic sequencing. This is accomplished by routing gas pressure to the time-release mechanism and the secondary cartridge of the drogue gun.
--- End quote ---
MK14:
I didn't realise, BOTH ejector seats were actually activated (one ejected, the other partly did). But, the pilots seat, stopped, part way through its sequence. So, the canopy top, was explosively released (injuring the pilot, slightly), but then it stopped (malfunctioned).
So, it was not that easy for the pilot to return to base. Details in video.
Also, the dingy failed to inflate and all the fighter planes in the fleet (of that type) had to be grounded from flying for a few weeks, until the issues were processed (cleared for flying again). Some time later.
jogri:
--- Quote from: MK14 on April 18, 2020, 10:27:31 am ---So, it was not that easy for the pilot to return to base. Details in video.
--- End quote ---
That's quite the understatement given that the pilot had to deal with:
-a changed center of mass of his airplane (okay, we are talking about ~150kg on a 15 ton jet)
-a massively changed airfoil: losing the canopy meant that the plane suddenly produced a metric sh*tton of drag, ruining the normal airflow and drastically reducing the lift the plane generated
-a plane that is aerodynamically unstable under normal conditions and requires aid from a computer to be flown ->i don't think the computer has programs for a "the ejection sequence kinda worked/how about flying a cabriolet" situation, meaning that the pilot had to fly it with reduced help from the flight computer
MK14:
--- Quote from: jogri on April 18, 2020, 11:28:59 am ---
--- Quote from: MK14 on April 18, 2020, 10:27:31 am ---So, it was not that easy for the pilot to return to base. Details in video.
--- End quote ---
That's quite the understatement given that the pilot had to deal with:
-a changed center of mass of his airplane (okay, we are talking about ~150kg on a 15 ton jet)
-a massively changed airfoil: losing the canopy meant that the plane suddenly produced a metric sh*tton of drag, ruining the normal airflow and drastically reducing the lift the plane generated
-a plane that is aerodynamically unstable under normal conditions and requires aid from a computer to be flown ->i don't think the computer has programs for a "the ejection sequence kinda worked/how about flying a cabriolet" situation, meaning that the pilot had to fly it with reduced help from the flight computer
--- End quote ---
That makes sense.
Plus the risk, that the pilot, could have been ejected, at any time. He had to depart it very quickly, because of the risk of it suddenly deciding to work properly. Which is why the pilot (correctly), immediately moved safely away from any built up areas, before heading back to the military airport.
Apparently, they left the plane for 24 hours, after landing, without going near it. In case the ejector seat went off, if they went near it.
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