Arbitrator Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 how do pilots do jettison fuel tanks or missiles during flight? in game, we do jettison fuel tanks when we know we are heading into a hostile environment and ready for some serious maneuvers. but in real life, do the pilots do the same? i mean is there any regulations or the pilots just drop whenever they wanted to bc the fate of the jet has way more value than anything that could destroyed by the dropped fuel tanks, or any jettisoned weapons. i was wondering what are the effects of the dropped fuel tanks if the pilots just do whenever they felt like it bc it would be pretty awesome to see a fuel tank fall off the sky while walking down the street someday :huh: just wondering :smilewink: ps: also it would be cool that in lofc dropped weapons would have bomb liked effects instead of just magically swallowed by the ground [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Home address: 81°28W, 29°85N Don't try to Waste Your Bombs and Missiles BC They are More Expensive.
vistrel Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 ps: also it would be cool that in lofc dropped weapons would have bomb liked effects instead of just magically swallowed by the ground also it would be cool to add people running around, and lawyers ready to sue the airforce that drops those fuel tanks :D Warning: The following might cause stupidity http://youtube.com/watch?v=25LceCPO1ys
hitman Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 how do pilots do jettison fuel tanks or missiles during flight? in game, we do jettison fuel tanks when we know we are heading into a hostile environment and ready for some serious maneuvers. but in real life, do the pilots do the same? i mean is there any regulations or the pilots just drop whenever they wanted to bc the fate of the jet has way more value than anything that could destroyed by the dropped fuel tanks, or any jettisoned weapons. i was wondering what are the effects of the dropped fuel tanks if the pilots just do whenever they felt like it bc it would be pretty awesome to see a fuel tank fall off the sky while walking down the street someday :huh: just wondering :smilewink: Well...since every drop tank costs upwards around 25k dollars, dropping them is only mandatory in life threatening situations, and a2a combat or a2g combat are life threatening. Certain envelopes you cant go outside of with the extra weight on the wings as this could damage the airframe.
RogueRunner Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 Then you have a certain editor of a certain aircraft magazine down here in South Africa who got a ride back from an airshow in one of the L29's. While enroute he was fiddling with buttons in the back seat and as a result jettisoned the droptanks under the wings :D Needless to say he was taken apart by the GA fraternity :) Lucky for him the tanks landed in an open field on a farm and not in a populated area!! With the price of ammunition these days do not expect a warning shot.
SuperKungFu Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 Not to mention the cost of dropping tanks but also the potential dangers. Some tanks would actually fly back up at you once its dropped, i have seen several videos where that actually happened. It could damange the weapons on the wing, the airframe, or worse (like the video i saw) the tank destroyed the entire back portion of the F-111. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
Force_Feedback Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 Not to mention the cost of dropping tanks but also the potential dangers. Some tanks would actually fly back up at you once its dropped, i have seen several videos where that actually happened. It could damange the weapons on the wing, the airframe, or worse (like the video i saw) the tank destroyed the entire back portion of the F-111. That's why there are such things as flight testing... If the thing has been properly designed it should drop clear of the aircraft fine. Creedence Clearwater Revival:worthy:
EscCtrl Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 That's why there are such things as flight testing... If the thing has been properly designed it should drop clear of the aircraft fine. Flight tests are usually done in level flight at reasonable speeds. If the pilot is being a fool and dropping them in turbulence whilst diving and rolling at ridiculos speeds then it's his own fault if he is hurt.
Fox One Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 Fuel tanks are never dropped under peacetime conditions IRL. Only if there is an inflight emergency and the a/c type’s specific procedures call for the tanks to be dropped, they are dropped indeed in an unpopulated area. In wartime, let’s say two MiG-29 will be tasked with a CAP mission – due to pretty low range and endurance is almost sure there will be 1520 liter central tanks fitted. If there is no combat activity, the tanks will not be dropped. If there will be air combat, tanks will be definitely dropped. With central fuel tank MiG-29 has Mach 0.8 restriction IRL, there are also other restrictions. MiG-29 AA missiles IRL cannot be emergency dropped, because are directly-forward, rail launched (from APU-type launchers) and once mounted, the missiles can be removed only on the ground by sliding them back. LockOn has that wrong. For this particular a/c the missiles can only be emergency launched (unguided). Earlier fighters like MiG-21 had the option to emergency drop AA missiles (possible only together with APU launchers specific for each missile type, because as above the missiles can be removed only by sliding them on the rails, no matter if are slided by mechanics on ground or slided by rocket motors :) ). They could also be emergency launched (unguided). But on MiG-29 pylons cannot be dropped (together with AA missiles). On Su-27 underwing AA missiles pylons are also APU-type (VPU for tip launchers) and what applies to MiG-29 applies here too. But the under-air intakes and central pylons are AKU-type, which means the missiles are first jettisoned before missile’s motor will ignite, like in LockOn. Those missiles can indeed be emergency-jettisoned. My DCS videos
Arbitrator Posted May 31, 2007 Author Posted May 31, 2007 If the pilot is being a fool and dropping them in turbulence whilst diving and rolling at ridiculos speeds then it's his own fault if he is hurt. I think even in lock on you cant really jettison weapon under those circumstances, especially the diving and rolling part.:smilewink: [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Home address: 81°28W, 29°85N Don't try to Waste Your Bombs and Missiles BC They are More Expensive.
EscCtrl Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 I think even in lock on you cant really jettison weapon under those circumstances, especially the diving and rolling part.:smilewink: Gentle diving and rolling of course :P
mcnab Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 BTW, have you noticed that in Lomac it takes a lot more time for the ejection seat chute to deploy? Remmember those Mig/Su crash videos in which pilots eject very low but have their chute deployed like, in a second!
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