Upgrade & Training

Master Question File (MQF)

Ask a question,    

But first,  please look at the questions and answers below.  
Yours may already be answered!

OR   Send your answer to any of the questions below.  OR, if you have discovered an answer to something that has puzzled you before, then send both the question and the answer.  I'm sure that there are others with 'inquiring minds'.

QUESTION?:

[see also  GLOSSARY  for other questions and answers]

Upendra Singh wrote:     sir please tell me how a plane fly.  which principle it follows and how.

Snacko replies -  at 15 years old in Ground School (before I soloed at 16) I was taught by my 'all-knowing' instructor that Airplanes fly because of Bernoulli's Principle.  We now know that birds studied Bernoulli long before the Wright Brothers.  Then later, the Wright Brothers shot some birds and saw that the top of their wings are curved, and this generates a low pressure area ABOVE the Wing.  Hence, with that Low Pressure area, an airplane is sucked up into the air.  On the other hand, a helicopter is so ugly that the Earth Repels a Helicopter.                        for an 'alternative' view see http://www.amasci.com/wing/airfoil.html

 

Pragati wrote:    
I am a citizen of India.
Q1.What is the minimum age to join airforce?
Q2.Which subjects should be chosen in class10th?
Q3.What physical requirements are needed?
Q4.How is the examination held?

Snacko replies -  Each country with fighter planes has its own physical requirements for qualification for flying training and fighter pilot qualification.  Also, those requirements change from time to time depending upon the recruiting needs.  You should contact your country's military recruiting offices for specific information.  It is a great aspiration to become a fighter pilot and it is a great career, but there are lots of ways to serve your country which are very fulfilling. Don't get discouraged if you don't qualify to fly.

Good Luck in pursuing a Fighter career!        

Hello Dudirirai,

Re: cockpit duties in Fighters

Yes, lots of Hollywood films show the “G” Forces which can go up to 9 for some fighters.   But you learn how to handle the “G’s” with muscles and breathing and a special “G” Suit.    However, the most important cockpit issue is handling the thousands of things that you must have mastered for a normal fighter mission.  Besides just the skill of flying the jet, there is Navigation and interacting with your Wingmen, plus the Radar, Armament, Defensive Electronics, Weather, and Tactics, … and oh yes …   dodging missiles and bullets if you screw up your tactics or are just ‘unlucky’.  For a Fighter Career, it’s a new definition of “exciting”! 

                     -  Snacko  

Snacko replies -  Ashton, that is a very insightful question.   On my deployment to Desert Shield/Desert Storm, we flew a 14 hour mission from the east coast all the way to Ta 'If, Saudi Arabia.  I had a very nice "box lunch" with sandwiches, candy bars, etc. and also a thermos of coffee right in the cockpit.  If you are interested in the inevitable results of all of that coffee, then just do a web search of "Piddle Pack" (or go to the Glossary).  Of course, there is no provision for other 'facilities' in a fighter.   When I was in Southeast Asia, the story is told of a new fighter-gator on station who was the victim of some local Thai restaurant.  He flew his first mission anyway, and regretted it.   He barely made it back to base, but after landing had the pilot shut down one engine, and he 'egressed' quickly into the open field where he remained for some time in view of everyone.

 

Well, the "Snacko" in an American fighter squadron is the lowest ranking fighter pilot.  He has to keep the squadron bar supplied with beer and pretzels at all times (and strong coffee) or suffer the disgust of all of his squadron mates.  When I first got to my F-104 squadron as an instructor I was lowest in rank.  Now, I'm Squadron Commander, Snacko, Intell, etc. of “fighterpilots.net”  -  and so I still have to get the beer myself!

Snacko Says:
Remember that besides the fun, Flying (and especially Fighter Flying) is also very demanding, and is much more than just pointing an airplane around the sky! You are 'right on' to ask about academic preparation. It is very important to be preparing yourself early for all of the many subjects that a pilot must master. You should be taking as many math, science and engineering courses as possible since this will prepare you for learning complex concepts. Consider the following areas that you will have to learn as a part of Pilot Training:  Aerodynamics & aircraft flight controls, Aeronautical Engineering, Jet Engine theory and mechanics, Hydraulics, Electrical Systems, Pneumatic Systems, Fuel Systems, Radios, Navigation, Communication Procedures, Airspace & Airways structure and Rules of Flight, Flight Instruments, Instrument Flying Procedures, Fighter Air Combat, Ground Attack, Weapons, Tactical Formation, and all applicable military procedures.  That's several subjects off the top of my head, but you can see why Military Pilot Training is a year long, and then another 6 months or so of training in your first fighter.  

The sequence for United States fighter pilots is:

Yes, it's long and hard training, but believe me, IT IS WORTH IT!!   KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE SKY!!!  

By the way, us Air Force Fighter Pilots all know that "Naval" means sea, and "Aviator" means sky, so "Naval Aviator" is an oxymoron; and I've known a few of them also which confirmed my opinion!

Here's a "Spin Pilot" answer.
I flew the Tweet for 4 1/2 years after Vietnam and was a Stan/Eval "Spin Pilot". As I recall, both the minimum and maximum limitations had to do with center of gravity. Don Simon, Cessna Chief T-37 Test Pilot, helped us once with an anomaly we discovered in spin recoveries. He told us that the limitations were placed on the aircraft so that spins would be fairly consistent and the bold face recovery would always work. Because of the CG, at heavier weights the elevator had increased effect and would break the spin even if the rudder was not used correctly. At Vance AFB, we had a number of planes that would recover during the "wrong rudder" demonstration.  Don informed us that this occurred because we were doing that demonstration early in the profile - if you had between 1400 and 1250 lbs. of fuel, the aircraft would recover even if you held full pro-spin rudder (assuming you had the guts to wait it out - about 6 accelerated turns). It seems logical that the minimum fuel could relate to a similar characteristic involving the rudder.  I do know that you could get a quick recovery by "bouncing the stick off the forward stop at the lighter fuel weights as long as the rudder was full anti-spin.  ATC wanted to emphasize the necessity of using both controls and holding each for the appropriate time.  
                -       submitted by  perryp.davis@worldnet.att.net

Here's another T-37 pilot's response:
I wasn't an IP, but I flew the T-37 as a FCF pilot (see Glossary). I don't remember that particular limit, but I would suspect the same as Snacko. When the recovery was performed and the stick slammed full forward for a second, the resultant negative G load would most certainly cause fuel starvation and engine flame out - not what you would want during your spin recovery!

Another related question:

EmailAddress:  mike_13a@hotmail.com
MQF_Question:

In any single engine plane, the recovery for a spin in apply opposite rudder to the direction of the spin. On instrument flying, apply rudder opposite to what the turn and slip indicates.....
But in an inverted spin, visual it would be the same recovery technique but pulling on the controls instead of pushing...My question is, would my turn and slip indicate the right direction of turn, or would it be showing the other direction since it is a gyro and it doesn't know if it's upside down?

Snacko's Advice:   EJECT, or pull straight back on the pole and take it like a man!  

SNACKO Says:
   Sky,

G's are acceleration, not speed. That means the 'change' in speed, not a constant rate. One "G" is 32 ft per second per second acceleration (I don't know where the 19 meter number came from). Let's drop a ball from a roof top. This means that in the 1st second it travels 32 feet down, but in the 2nd second it has 'accelerated' to 64 ft/per second. Note that we don't have a constant 'speed', but rather the ball continues to accelerate until it hits the ground. (Also note that terminal velocity of a human falling through the air is about 125 mph due to wind resistance but without that, it would continue to accelerate at 32 feet per second per second).

Also, the number of G's that a plane pulls in a turn means the multiple of the pull of gravity. In other words, an F-16 pulling 9 G's to turn sharply makes a 180 pound pilot weight 1620 pounds. No wonder I couldn't lift my arm!   You've felt the increased "G's" in turning a car going around a corner.  The tighter the turn, the higher the lateral "G's".  But, the car is still going the same speed and it isn't dependent upon how fast the car is going, but just how tight the turn is.  In the same way, when I jam on the throttle of my 330 HP Corvette and drop the clutch at the raceway, I'm pushed back into my car seat with some extra G's as the car accelerates.  Once I'm at top speed (I've had it to 130 mph but backed off) there is no more pressure pushing me back into the seat.  I'm back to 1 G.   Same with an airplane.

So, the top speed of an F-16 has nothing to do with how many G's it can pull. It is a function of Engine Thrust and Aircraft Aerodynamics such as drag and stability.  I've pulled 9 G's in the F-16 at speeds from about 350 up to 600, and I've pulled 10 G's in the centrafuge going much slower.  Likewise, I've been at 1 G (straight and level, constant speed) in the F-104 going Mach 2 (over 1200 mph) at 40,000 feet.  

        -  Snacko

Someone help me out here.   
                                       -  Snacko

_________________________

AE2.  Wingtip Vortices.     One thing that those of us that fly light planes try to avoid is wingtip vortices. They can ruin your whole day. I recognize that an F-16 is huge compared to a Cherokee, but it's pretty small compared to a KC-135 or a KC-10. So how do fighters snuggle up close enough to a tanker to take on fuel without being tossed around by the tanker's wingtip vortices?