C-17 Vacuum

[flywithastick]

The talk and pics of jet engines kind of ties with something I saw this weekend at the Houston air show. There was a C-17 that flew for a few minutes. Before taking off, he started up and backed out of his parking spot. Pretty neat, but understandable with the thrust reversers.

What really impressed me was as seeing the engines start lifting water off the ramp in the form of 6-8' dia vortexes/tornados (it was a little wet in the HOU are over the last 10 days or so). I've never seen anything like it. 15-20' tall tornadoes of water droplets and vapor coming off the ground, up and bending into the engine inlet. I'm pretty convinced it would have picked a pretty light person up off the ground when he had is spooled up. didn't have time to get my camera out, but sure would have made an interesting picture.

Anyone seen this before?

 

[5w5flyer]

When I worked as a ramper at RDU I saw the tornados a few times on the B757's engines. Also saw a gal at United almost get sucked into a 737 engine while the flight crew was waiting for external power. She started walking up to chock the wheels. Luckly someone grabbed her. Turbo fans are a force not to be messed with.

 

[Superfueler]

Check out this shot from airliners.net

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/115974/M/

 

[TgrPlt]

I've seen it a once or twice on other jets while they are doing engine runs. Makes you want to really stay out of the way of a running engine. Reminds me of a video of a guy getting sucked into a A-6's intake I saw a while back.

 

[FastCargo]

Tornados...

Saw the same thing when I flew Bones...it was amazing! An engine running at idle could do that...

FastCargo

 

[C-5 MEM]

I am flying on the C141's and while over in Ramstein we would sit next to the C17's. There nice and all, but being an 141 guy I am pro to our aircraft. They can power back and you get that mini tornado. In Turkey we saw a C17 parallel park. It took a while but they got stuck between a C-5 and an 747.

 

[El Cid Av8or]

Snow removal equipment now obsolete

Just taxi a C-17 down the freeway and you'll have nice, clean, dry roads to drive on

 

[A Squared]

I've seen those tornadoes on 737's with their relatively low slung engines. The ones on the C-17 are a little more impressive. 737-200s which have been modified for gravel operations have a probe ahead of the engine inlet which vents bleed air to break up the vortex so gravel will not be sucked up (or at least that's my understanding of the mod)

I was riding in a DC-9 one time on a humid day. There was a "tornado" which came out of the engine inlet and instead of going down, turned 90 degrees toward the fuselage and ended on the window just inches from my face. kind of a weird perspective.

regards

 

[Typhoon1244]

Okay, this is going to sound silly...I've seen those "tornados" under the propellers of Brasilias, King Airs, and even a couple of Seminoles. It's a really neat effect...but you don't have to hang around C-17's to see it.

Of course, the ones around the C-17's are much, much, bigger.