Globerunner513 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Above and Beyond: Shooting Up a Shooting Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 That reminds me of the F15 that lost most of a wing, and still landed. Here's a video from Discovery Chanel of the story. Keep in mind there are no videos of the event, everything is dramatized except for the photos at the end. They also get several facts wrong. The landing hook should not have broken, it's designed to withstand repeated use at 300 mph, such as on an aircraft carrier. Also, the 'rocket' analogy is only sorta close. The fuselage creates much of lift the F15 uses, specifically the areas above and below the air intakes. The outboard wings are mainly for maneuvering and weapons storage. Also, the navigator was actually an instructor, who wanted to eject, but the pilot regained control and decided to try and land, not knowing how bad the damage was. It's worth it to watch the video to the end just to see the pictures of the damaged craft with people standing next to it. That's a view you very seldom see. Most of the time it's just the aircraft in the foreground, or a closeup of a person peaking out of a cockpit. The sheer size of a fighter jet is amazing. My cousin was a crew chief for an F15 (he's now an instructor) and I got to take a close look at his plane. Wow, amazing, and hands down THE most comfortable seat I've ever been in. I want one for my Z. -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_furious Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I love it! Air & Space always has a neat article on the inside back cover akin to this. The art is usually something whimsical along the same lines. Seat-of-the-pants flying: nothing else like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddmanout84 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Awesome. Its not as extreme, but when we had a malfunctioning component, our (the crewchief's) first action to correct it was usually to beat it senseless with a 1 inch wrench. You may be surprised how often that works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'm not surprised at all. My cousin's F15 had a sticking hydraulic valve which got that treatment regularly. His solution in the end was to use it like one of those in-wall timer-switches in your house, where you turn past 2 then sent time. Push hydraulic pressure past 60% then set as desired. Wanna see the pics I got at EOR? -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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