Wake turbulence during dogfight

[Dangerman]

Holy smokes, you needed reheat (in your lingo:smilewink: ) to stay on the tanker in the fin? I mean I have heard that the RB199 wasn’t the most powerful engine on earth...but really? Or was that just with an extremely draggy loadout (and what would that have been) or at rather high altitude?

 

Not always, ........but with a war load or heavy fuel fit you would need it at the higher altitudes. The drag index for us was huge with 1000lb paveways, 2250 tanks 2x aim9L, a skyshadow pod and Boz pod

 

Jets in theatre also had their engines tweaked and swapped to have the latest model engine fitted with artificial limits removed.

[bbrz]

Sometimes the quick bump as you pass through someone else’s wake can do damage... we had a chap on ex cope thunder ‘93 lose the top foot of his fin after he passed through someone else’s wake.

The first time I've experienced wake turbulence I was stunned how incredible brutal, fast and concrete like it hits you. Sitting in a sturdy tiny fighter I wasn't concerned about the structural integrity...reading your story I guess I should have been ;)

[maxTRX]

Holy smokes, you needed reheat (in your lingo:smilewink: ) to stay on the tanker in the fin? I mean I have heard that the RB199 wasn’t the most powerful engine on earth...but really? Or was that just with an extremely draggy loadout (and what would that have been) or at rather high altitude?

 

Check out this old vid. Go to 5:45 Oh hell, watch the whole thing if you haven't seen it. Some cool footage.

[Darcwaynard]

Some awesome responses on this guys thanks! @Dangerman, sounds like you may be Dangerman from the Tornado episode of the fighter pilot podcast??

 

Based on all the feedback it would seem that my encounter with the wake during BGM is pretty legit! Cheers lads.

 

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk

[Hog_No32]

Check out this old vid. Go to 5:45 Oh hell, watch the whole thing if you haven't seen it. Some cool footage.

 

Awesome! Thanks Gripes!

[castrum8]

Even in a Cessna 172 you’ll encounter your own wake while doing 360s.

 

Verified, thought I hit a bird when it happened to me:pilotfly:

[majapahit]

Just was on the GR server, with quite some wind approaching the K135MPRS one experiences crazy wake turbulence, with three bags surface and still plenty of AA, one is thrown around quite a bit from 3 miles out.

 

Only at connect distance it mellows out, and connected and tucked underneath the wing it's OK, and better stay there.

[Deano87]

Just was on the GR server, with quite some wind approaching the K135MPRS one experiences crazy wake turbulence, with three bags surface and still plenty of AA, one is thrown around quite a bit from 3 miles out.

 

Only at connect distance it mellows out, and connected and tucked underneath the wing it's OK, and better stay there.

 

Don’t approach a large aircraft from directly behind for this very reason, especially not at the same altitude or just below. You’re asking to get caught up in the wake. Approach from off to one side.

[majapahit]

Don’t approach a large aircraft from directly behind for this very reason, especially not at the same altitude or just below. You’re asking to get caught up in the wake. Approach from off to one side.

Problem is with 1050 lbs. in the tanks, still with heavy racks, and the K135 miles away, I'm in quite a bit of a predicament, and simply pointing at the tanker a way of quick intercept.

Then again the bouncing being quite entertaining, then why.

[maxTRX]

Problem is with 1050 lbs. in the tanks, still with heavy racks, and the K135 miles away, I'm in quite a bit of a predicament, and simply pointing at the tanker a way of quick intercept.

Then again the bouncing being quite entertaining, then why.

 

 

Even before ED implemented wake turbulence option, in our little group we used couple of different ways to rendezvous with tankers. The most common was 500 to 1000ft above, regardless of intercept geometry. Once converted on the tanker at least 0.5nm behind, slightly offset to the left. We approached the tanker while descending into "observation" position which was basically a left echelon with the tanker (slightly below his wing). The wingtip vortex is above and to the right, then just scoot over into pre-contact under the vortex. You can also do diagonal from below, etc. I'm sure you can develop your own procedures... whatever works.:smilewink:

[majapahit]

Even before ED implemented wake turbulence option, in our little group we used couple of different ways to rendezvous with tankers. The most common was 500 to 1000ft above, regardless of intercept geometry. Once converted on the tanker at least 0.5nm behind, slightly offset to the left. We approached the tanker while descending into "observation" position which was basically a left echelon with the tanker (slightly below his wing). The wingtip vortex is above and to the right, then just scoot over into pre-contact under the vortex. You can also do diagonal from below, etc. I'm sure you can develop your own procedures... whatever works.:smilewink:

How to avoid a wake seems obvious, but how to improve command over a plane (as per AAR supposedly being 'difficult') since I'm there anyway, after fill up of 3 xrta bags, I practice by barrel rolls over and around the tanker fuselage in our DCS simulator. Like, whatever.

Edited July 8, 2019 by majapahit

[Emmy]

Verified, thought I hit a bird when it happened to me:pilotfly:

 

I do the occasional air to air photo shoot and if we’re going to do 360s with a subject, we do them in a 300ft/min climb to avoid crossing our own wake.

[ams999]

I was somewhat amazed that even in a WW2 dogfight (Spitfire against 190 A-8 ) I was thrown about quite a bit when following the AI in a pure pursuit during his climbs with a slight right turn...

I thought my joystick was doing uncommanded inputs but I checked it and that was not the case.