jln@portia.Stanford.EDU (Jared Nedzel) (11/05/90)
From: jln@portia.Stanford.EDU (Jared Nedzel) In article <1990Nov2.195844.25807@cbnews.att.com> ehr@uncecs.edu (Ernest H. Robl) writes: >Now, for a question that I didn't get around to asking anyone at the >airshow: Some of the modern *AIR FORCE* fighters have tailhooks. Are >these ever used? If so, when, where, how? Thanks. Yes, they are sometimes used. No, these hooks are not as strong as those used for naval aircraft. They are used in conjunction with runway arresting gear in emergencies to reduce landing roll. As an example, a friend of mine and his boss (USAF zoomies) were in F-16s taking off from Moffet NAS one morning (don't ask what they were doing at a NAS, the answer will only make you jealous). Lead rolled first, with the wingman taking of 30 seconds after #1 was brakes off. Lead hit some birds and may have ingested some. #2 formed up with #1 and noticed blood trails around #1's intake. They decided to return to Moffet, but were both well over max. landing weight. Now F-16s can't jettison fuel (except by dropping their drop tanks, which Mountain View, Palo Alto and their neighbors would generally frown upon), so #1 stooged around Moffet at low altitude, with everything hanging out and at high throttle opening (This was 7am Monday morning, so Moffet Public Affairs Officers earned their salary that day...) to burn off fuel. Once the arresting gear was in place, #1 made an arrested landing somewhat above max. landing weight. My buddy, in #2, got to spend 90 minutes flying a racetrack pattern in the clouds before he could land. 30 sec strait and level. 30 sec standard turn. Repeat until you go nuts.... -- Jared L. Nedzel --------------------------------------------------------------------- e-mail: nedzel@cive.stanford.edu jln@portia.stanford.edu