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Stupid questions about Naval Aviation (Pt 2)

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Harrier Dude said:
It's darker and harder to see.
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That's what she said...

More to the point I was wondering if it was illuminated in any way, and how long the US has been at the practice... You never see any pictures of the practice precisely for the reason above, it seems like it could be one of those factors to make up a really bad night coming back to the boat.
 
raptor10 said:
That's what she said...

More to the point I was wondering if it was illuminated in any way, and how long the US has been at the practice... You never see any pictures of the practice precisely for the reason above, it seems like it could be one of those factors to make up a really bad night coming back to the boat.
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Night tanking isn't a lot of "fun", but it isn't a huge deal either. If you want gas, then you have to do it. Think of it like flying night formation. Same issues. A little harder to judge aspect, etc.

The basket is glow-in-the-dark, but not really lit. You have a probe light, if it works. The tanker might have all of it's nav and form lights on, or it might not. Depends on who is aided. On a KC-130, you might not even see the basket until it's about 10 feet away. Just maintain position off of the tanker and keep it coming. It's right where it was during the day. The basket doesn't know that it's dark outside.

If you're going to tank on the goggles (currently prohibited in some commands), just be sure to give yourself a little more eye relief. Roll them out 4 or 5 turns so that at the last second you can look past them for the final "big city move" to plug. This is mainly a Harrierism because of how our probe is set up. Hornet guys probably don't need to worry about that.

Trim, scan, relax, and keep the closure coming. Repeat until you have enough gas or divert.


EEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNJOY!!
 
raptor10 said:
That's what she said...

More to the point I was wondering if it was illuminated in any way, and how long the US has been at the practice... You never see any pictures of the practice precisely for the reason above, it seems like it could be one of those factors to make up a really bad night coming back to the boat.
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That reminds me of one night during the "Shock and Awe" days. Flying around on goggles in the Gulf, when we look up and notice the tanker a few 10K feet above us with everyone in trail waiting for a drink before going downtown. That was a cool sight to see and a good night to be an American.




I hate my desk.:(
 
Harrier Dude said:
Night tanking isn't a lot of "fun", but it isn't a huge deal either. If you want gas, then you have to do it. Think of it like flying night formation. Same issues. A little harder to judge aspect, etc.
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What he said. It's really not that hard, when the air is stable and all the appropriate lights, etc are working. Once you get the hang of it, it's really no different than day time... except it's dark.

The basket is glow-in-the-dark, but not really lit.
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Unless you're on one of those British tankers over Iraq. Not only are their baskets very well lit, but they usually have a nice sounding female on the boom freq. :)
 
I have a question that maybe stupid that I have wanted to ask. I have always wondered if there are difficulties of adjusting power for altitude with spool delay while in flight. For instance, on short final when you airspeed is slow. Is there even a delay in power for the engines to spool with the momentum that they are at, or is it instantaneous? I hope I made sense…:confused:
 
usnfa18 said:
I have a question that maybe stupid that I have wanted to ask. I have always wondered if there are difficulties of adjusting power for altitude with spool delay while in flight. For instance, on short final when you airspeed is slow. Is there even a delay in power for the engines to spool with the momentum that they are at, or is it instantaneous? I hope I made sense…:confused:
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Are you asking if there is a spool-up delay when you change power settings on a jet engine?
 
Fly Navy said:
Are you asking if there is a spool-up delay when you change power settings on a jet engine?
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I know they have a delay, at least I thought. But yes, is there a delay? Is there a difference in delay when your moving through the air compared to dead still on the ground from idle to full? When I watch some landing (trap) clips you can hear the engine being constantly adjusted, are they setting a speed bug or is it all manual? seems tricky :o
 
usnfa18 said:
I know they have a delay, at least I thought. But yes, is there a delay? Is there a difference in delay when your moving through the air compared to dead still on the ground from idle to full? When I watch some landing (trap) clips you can hear the engine being constantly adjusted, are they setting a speed bug or is it all manual? seems tricky :o
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There is an inherent "delay" in power response for a jet engine. There are a lot of variables: engine design, altitude, current power setting, and many others. At low altitude, where the air is thicker, power response is better. At higher power settings, engine response is also better. For example, if you're up at 90% thrust, your engine will response faster with power corrections, as opposed to being back on the throttle, say 75%. As for what you're hearing on landings, the pilot is trying to maintain a specific glideslope, which requires multiple power corrections, as well as slight attitude corrections, in order to maintain that. You just can't select the perfect power setting, as everything is changing all the time: weight (fuel state), winds, for carriers the ship is moving, etc.

Does that help?
 
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