F/A-18 flying with Wings folded?

[TonyG]

Dude he got a press access to do stupid things like that wtf ? You guys & me are waiting the Hornet like we were waiting for a child, well this type of video is absolutely useless!

 

No doubt....free access, flies with wings folded.

 

Paid on first day of early access....get to watch people fly media access with wings folded.

[Wags]

Technically possible, but will void the warranty.

[Jack McCoy]

Technically possible, but will void the warranty.

Is that an official DCS statement, or after-dinner-beer-induced humor?! ;)

[SkateZilla]

The outter wing is less than 30% of the total wing area.

[Oceandar]

No doubt....free access, flies with wings folded.

 

Paid on first day of early access....get to watch people fly media access with wings folded.

+1

I dont know about how professional review looks like but Redkite's review was waaaay much better.

[Vitormouraa]

As many pointed out, you don't need the ailerons to take off and keep yourself in the air, you also have the elevators and rudders which can work together in order to roll left or right.

 

 

It's quite funny to see this kind of stuff actually. :)

[aceofspades9963]

As many pointed out, you don't need the ailerons to take off and keep yourself in the air, you also have the elevators and rudders which can work together in order to roll left or right.

 

 

It's quite funny to see this kind of stuff actually. :)

 

Fun fact about the ailerons as well above 400kts they reverse the control, aileron up makes the wing go up so to fix this they use the leading edge flaps to roll, at the beginning both left and right leading edge flaps moved together but after this was discovered they had to seperate the left and right LEF's to move independently and add an extra servo and switching valves in the left lex , you can really tell this was an engineering stretch when working on it its like a spiders web.

[David OC]

If you did your checks correctly, wouldn't the Hornet warn you when you do the flight control check of the stick? You know that ditdo ditdo sound that's stuck in my head already,:huh:

[Residual]

Fun fact about the ailerons as well above 400kts they reverse the control, aileron up makes the wing go up so to fix this they use the leading edge flaps to roll, at the beginning both left and right leading edge flaps moved together but after this was discovered they had to seperate the left and right LEF's to move independently and add an extra servo and switching valves in the left lex , you can really tell this was an engineering stretch when working on it its like a spiders web.

 

I haven't met many people that are aware of aileron reversal. You are correct that at the speed of sound the ailerons no longer move to control roll. I used to use that as a question for my new guys when teaching the maintenance manuals. It happens at the speed of sound.

 

A1-F18AC-570-100 WP 15 page 11: An airspeed that is 50 knots or more under the reversal point results in maximum gain. The reversal point is an airspeed where the ailerons have the opposite effect on the aircraft. The airspeed at which reversal occurs is between 600 to 670 knots depending on mach number. At and above the reversal point the aileron command is reduced to zero.

[Jack McCoy]

I haven't met many people that are aware of aileron reversal. You are correct that at the speed of sound the ailerons no longer move to control roll. I used to use that as a question for my new guys when teaching the maintenance manuals. It happens at the speed of sound.

I was about to comment... 400 kts, depending on pressure-altitude. Yes, Mach is the operative number.

 

This reversal is valid for any control surface and a similar thing happens in the engine exhaust duct, IIRC. :smartass:

[Residual]

This reversal is valid for any control surface

This is true, but happens at a much higher airspeed based on fuselage bending, where aileron reversal is at a lower airspeed due to outboard wings having more flex. No logic is programmed into the flight control computers in the 18 for the other flight controls in regard to reversal.

[David OC]

F-4s and F-8s have done so as well, although not recommended.

 

 

What where the flight deck crew and catapult officer doing?

 

Look at this guy here LOL, he hasn't even folded down his wings. Oh well, lets launch this thing and see what happens anyway.:music_whistling:

 

That's a lot of people to get past....Strange if true.... Awesome debrief tho:).

 

"on May 10, 1966, LT JG Greg Scwalber and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) Bill Wood were launched from USS Roosevelt (CVA-42) and once airborne they discovered that their Phantom II was flying with outboard wings folded."

 

https://theaviationist.com/2014/02/19/us-navy-fighters-folded-wings/

Edited May 17, 2018 by David OC

[Coxy_99]

Well if the damage model is anything to go by but why would you do.this?

[gabgio]

Nice olde dit from some Navy pilots;

 

"Wings Folded

Richard (Dick) Green - VAN Team #3

 

A little over 50 years ago [....]

I also revised the Checklist a tad. "Wings Locked" was now No.l on the list. Also No.4 and No. 7. He took the needling graciously, though, and we never mentioned the "embarrassment" again."

 

Loved the story!

[holimoli]

Well if the damage model is anything to go by but why would you do.this?

 

Is an 1-wing burning F15 with 3bags (2) doing 15g+ turns and shooting u down realistic? I guess not and still u see it.

 

Soon: Wing folded F18 and 1-wing burning F15 in formation flight shooting down bandits :pilotfly:

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Of course no serious pilot would fly in this configuration

When I clicked that video in the original post and heard Cap's voice about a second in, I knew enough :megalol:

[RuskyV]

What makes you so sure?

 

https://theaviationist.com/2014/02/19/us-navy-fighters-folded-wings/

 

 

Thanks mate, you learn something new every day lol!

Edited May 17, 2018 by (504)Blade

[BIGNEWY]

thread derailed, will clean up'

 

edit: thread clean of off topic

 

This thread is for F/A-18C wings folded discussions please keep to it

 

thread reopened

 

thanks

Edited May 18, 2018 by BIGNEWY

[wereferret]

Ha my first ever cat shot inadvertently tested this! I forgot to drop the wings! I actually flew a good bit and was like "uh this...does NOT feel right!" Before figuring it out and ejecting at the last second. She definitely sorta flew a little ways!

[maxTRX]

Ummm... sure it is possible the question is why...

 

 

Boredom for once. Also, who doesn't dare to be a test pilot in a comfy chair.

So... been there, done that:

https://youtu.be/zQnRhZ8nzJE

[dchriest]

I also revised the Checklist a tad. "Wings Locked" was now No.l on the list. Also No.4 and No. 7. He took the needling graciously, though, and we never mentioned the "embarrassment" again."

 

 

LOL

[Lex Talionis]

Entertaining thread.

 

Any aircraft , even one with out wings, will "fly" if you get it fast enough. Wing surface area is not the issue.

 

The ailerons and flaps are inop with the wings folded. Even if they were, they would articulate into each other and bind given the ailerons are positioned directly above the flaps when folded. Whats more, they are not just "flaps", they can move as much as an aileron. If the trailing edge surface try and move with the wings folded and bind, it will probably be asometric and induce an uncontrollable roll. Most flaps (control surfaces) fail in this mode when binding occors. The odds of having both opposing control surfaces break at perfectly symmetrical angles, with those odds better make a trip to vegas. (One of the primary issues i have with the f-14 and F-18 damage models, there should be more uncontrolled rolls when over Ged, but i digress)

 

Folding the wings was a relitively delicate process because of the tight tolorances between surfaces. If you rotated the handle before the beer cans were up, bind. If ya moved the stick before the wings were fully folded, bind, if you looked at the flap lever with a smirk on your face at any point during the process, bind. I can only imagine what would happen under flight load.

 

All roll/pitch control/ stability would be from the stabs.

 

The aircraft is barely stable under aprox 200 knots on the stabs alone. It would be tantamount to operating in what is known as "MECH". If you tried to take off in mech it would uncontrollably pitch up, stall, porpoise, and make a hole in the ground. And if you were lucky enough to get airborne, ya need to transit back down to below 200 to land. We practice this EP in the sim so we would not make the mistake and try to take the aircraft airborne if the emergency presented past line speed.

 

Fun thought experiment, not realistic at all.

 

EDIT: lots said the same things i did. Sorry for the redundancy.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Lex Talionis

[Mr_Burns]

So we only need wings to fill full of fuel and hang ordnance off!

[Zeagle]

So we only need wings to fill full of fuel and hang ordnance off!

 

yeah, just look at the Jag. Wings on heavy and fast jets are not like wings on your Cessna. They are more of a guidance system at speed. Most jet fighters now have lifting bodies. The F-16 for example generates a majority of its lift from the body under normal operating conditions.

[mkosmo]

Boredom for once. Also, who doesn't dare to be a test pilot in a comfy chair.

So... been there, done that:

https://youtu.be/zQnRhZ8nzJE

 

 

First time I did a shot and trap with the wings folded was on the AO servers. I made a "hold my beer" call on their Teamspeak and I'm not sure anybody thought I was going to make it, but I did! :D