Taildragger726
Posts: 784
Joined: 1/28/2004
From: N Ft Myers,
FL, USA
Status: offline
|
Shameless cut-n-paste
>
> > The most aggressive flying in the Blue Angel show takes place in
> > the join ups behind show center. The timing requires "expeditious"
> > join ups involving huge overtake speeds and high G maneuvering in
> > the terminal phase of the rejoin to dissipate the overtake. The
> > video I saw shows No. 6 closing on the formation for the rejoin, but
> > before he gets there, the jet lags the formation, goes outside the
> > turn radius and descends in seeming controlled flight to the tree
> > line. This would be consistent with GLOC on the rendezvous. If the
> > pilot passed out at the join up, he'd be back on the power. Upon
> > loss of consciousness, the G would ease immediately taking him
> > outside the formation turn radius. At flight idle, the jet would
> > slowly descend.
>
> I don't know who sent this, so I don't know how familiar he is with the Blue
> Angel F/A-18. I did some of the test flights on the modified Hornet to clear it
> for the Blue's use. There is one particular difference in the longitudinal
> control system that would make the airplane go negative G, like it appeared
> to me it did on the video, if the pilot experienced GLOC.
>
> First, the Blues, and any good formation flyers, always fly with a nose down
> out-of-trim condition. This requires a constant pull force on the stick and
> allows smoother airplane control during close formation flying. By being out
> of trim longitudinally, there is no "break out" force required to initially move
> the stick like there is in a neutral trim condition, so there are no jerky
> movements in a tight formation.
>
> Second, unlike the Blue's earlier birds, the Hornet flight control system wont
> "allow" an out-of-trim condition. So we developed a "downspring" to make
> them have to hold the desired pull force on the stick. This downspring is an
> actual spring attached from the lower instrument panel to the forward part
> of the stick. To maintain level flight, you have to keep about a 10 pound pull
> force on the stick.
>
> The initial writer said at GLOC the G would "ease" immediately. Actually, in
> the Blue's Hornet, it would be an immediate negative G from the stick going
> full forward, and at the altitude they appeared to be, around 7-800 feet, that
> wouldn't give much time for recovery if the pilot ever regained
> consciousness.
>
> But, as the initial writer also said, we'll have to wait for the accident board
> to
> complete before we know if any of this is actually what happened. I just
> thought I'd throw in a little about the modified Blue Angel Hornet in case
> anyone didn't know.
>
> Spider
>
>
> - -
> CAPT George Webb, USN (Ret.)
_____________________________
Also known as N726AC
|
Printable Version
All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Full Scale planes, cars, helis, boats >> Airplanes - Full Scale >> RE: Blue Angels Jet crash 
RE: Blue Angels Jet crash - 
