Settle a bet....

[Russ]

Generally speaking can fighter/attack type aircraft fire their guns on the ground? Seen them do it at bore sites, but I don't know if they were somehow tricked by messing with pseu's/squat switches/equivalent.

 

[slowto250]

It's a gun.. you can shoot it at whatever you want. I have Tomcat buddies that were strafing trucks in afghanistan once they'd expended everything else. (And they can't tell the stories without huge grins)

Uhhh.....how do you strafe anything while on the ground ?

 

[slowto250]

Go easy on yourself Patmack. I remember being in indoc at a 121 job years back, and after "breezing" thru a written test on A/C systems, got smacked with like a 75% grade. Then, while going over the test with the instructor, realized that I had mis-read a question which affected the next 4 or 5 answers. That's when my ex-marine sim partner leaned over to me and said ,"RTFQ" dumbsheet. LMAO, as that was the first time I'd heard that one

 

[Nalo Boy]

theres a switch that the weapons troops use on the ground to fool the squat switch...so yes it is possible, but no. half the pilots dont even know where it is.

 

[Slye]

They fired a missle on the ground at some trucks in Iron Eagle, IIRC. It has to be possible if I saw it on TV. I would imagine you can do the same thing with a gun...

 

[weekendwarrior]

theres a switch that the weapons troops use on the ground to fool the squat switch...so yes it is possible, but no. half the pilots dont even know where it is.

In the Apache there is two ground override switches. One in the cockpit, and one at the load maintenance panel. Either the armament guys or the pilot could easily fool the system. Problem is, if you action the gun, you'll drive it into the ground and cause a big mess. So to answer your question, at least the Apache could. If I were in a FARP and were being overrun, I just might try it.

 

[Hobit]

Weekend,

Did they do away with the -6.45 degree elev. inhibit while on the squat in the L.B.? If memory serves, the only way to override that inhibit on the ground was to pull C.B.'s in the back cockpit. My experience is with the A models only though, I hear your D models are completely different.

I have seen a bird lift it self off the ground with the 30mm when the generators were brought on line. The bird just came out of phase and the armt guys hadn't CBHK'd the elev resolver yet. Pilot had a red face and bruised ego... bad preflight.

 

[hawg2hawk]

theres a switch that the weapons troops use on the ground to fool the squat switch...so yes it is possible, but no. half the pilots dont even know where it is.

Ground safety override switch in the hog. Every pilot I flew with knew where it was.

 

[weekendwarrior]

Weekend,

Did they do away with the -6.45 degree elev. inhibit while on the squat in the L.B.? If memory serves, the only way to override that inhibit on the ground was to pull C.B.'s in the back cockpit. My experience is with the A models only though, I hear your D models are completely different.

I have seen a bird lift it self off the ground with the 30mm when the generators were brought on line. The bird just came out of phase and the armt guys hadn't CBHK'd the elev resolver yet. Pilot had a red face and bruised ego... bad preflight.

The D models are quite different. It still has the inhibit while on the squat switch. Come to think of it, the typical ground override switch does not allow the gun to drop in the ground, because we action the gun during a weapons operational check and slew it. There is another ground override that is in one of the menu pages on the MPD's, but I can't seem to remember what the function is. I did have an IP tell me one time that you can drive the gun in the ground with the override on (the one on the MPD page, not the weapon ground override we use for a weapons operational check). I'll have to look into it.

 

[Lead Sled]

They fired a missle on the ground at some trucks in Iron Eagle, IIRC. It has to be possible if I saw it on TV. I would imagine you can do the same thing with a gun...

Didn't Indiana Jones shoot up some German trucks while his plane was on the ground once in one of his movies? I'm sure it's possible.

'Sled