v059l49z@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Paul C Stacy) (02/05/91)
From: v059l49z@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Paul C Stacy) Any fact/speculation on the effectiveness of the intake screens against birds and other objects hitting it? Thank you. Paul "Joe Friday" Stacy
shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) (02/14/91)
From: Mary Shafer <shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov>
Paul c Stacy (v059l49z@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu) asks:
Any fact/speculation on the effectiveness of the intake screens against
birds and other objects hitting it?
Those intake screens are there to keep radar from seeing the fan
face. Just like the screen in the door of your microwave oven.
The screens are fairly coarse and wouldn't do much against ground
FOD. (FOD means "Foreign Object Damage" but is used to refer to
the foreign objects, too. In this case I refer to gravel, etc.)
But such a high engine wouldn't see ground FOD anyway. Plus, I'm
sure that F-117s don't operate off anything but paved strips.
As for birds, I suppose the screens would keep them out, but that's
not the primary reason for them. Once again, the position of the
engines mitigates against bird strikes on/in the inlet.
--
Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer
NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
Of course I don't speak for NASA
"A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all"--Unknown US fighter pilot