F-16 Question

[alvin]

I was at the airshow at Shaw AFB this past weekend (great show) the Thunderbirds were there and during the ground show at both engine precheck and when they were leaving at the end of the day they had trouble getting #4 started. The crew and then a bunch of others would all climb under the wheel bay and crank real hard on something like a speed wrench.

Can you really spin up the compressor enough to jump the engine?? is there a flywheel or impulse clutch??? Or are you pumping up an airstart system???

 

[GumbyflysVipers]

You start the jet fuel starter (JFS) with compressed air accumulators. Once the JFS is going it spins the compressor section, add gas and fire and there you go. What you saw was the crewchiefs taking turns at pumping up the JFS accumulators with a pump handle. The accumulators have to be pumped up to 3000 PSI before we get going.

Does that do it?

 

[alvin]

Thank Gumby

So if it dosen't start on the first shot, or if the acculilator bleeds down, you have to hand pump it up.....

 

[cessna_driver2]

Nothing like popping to clutch to jump start a F-16.

 

[GumbyflysVipers]

Alvin,

Rog, If you blow your accumulator wad (So to Speak), the crew chief gets to put about 169 hard pumps (STS) into the jet before you try again.

 

[GumbyflysVipers]

Patmack18,

I was assigned the A-7 out of pilot training on a program called Project Season. The idea was to send active duty Lts to fly with the experienced vietnam vets who were in the guard. It worked poorly. I flew the F-117 because the A-7 squadron at Nellis AFB was the cover story for the cockroach and I was current and eligible to become an IP in the A-7 and then once in the program everybody was dual rated anyway so I flew the cockroach. As to how it flys. I flys just fine. Since I was dual rated at the time I thought of the cockroach as a cadilac and the SLUF as a sports car. But who wants to fly the darned thing anyway. First of all, It's really ugly, fortunately we only flew it at night so no one would see you in it. Secondly, it is really boring. In a fighter unit we spend a lot of time on weapons and tactics. In the cockroach there is only one weapon used and the tactic is. "no one can see me therefore I will drive where I want and drop my weapon" BORING! The first 4-6 months were cool because it was new, but it was a drag after that. Any other questions?

I am Gumby Darnit