bbi F-16 Questions

[Tinman]

As I like to do, I kept my F-16 in the box for over a year and finally put it together this weekend. Definitely a keeper! Even my teenage son likes it, and he generally has no interest in aircraft, only armor (doesn't share my jones for both!).

Question about the drop tanks - are they supposed to be blunt on the back end? Looks odd to me, and I would think a more streamlined shape would cause less drag. I googled some images and found a couple that make the bbi drop tanks look legit. Does anyone know why the tanks are shaped that way?

Also, I was surprised to see that the F-16's refueling access is toward the top rear of the fuselage. How does the pilot guide the probe into that spot, since it's behind him or her?

Always glad to be educated by this resourceful group. Thanks!

[tmanthegreat]

The BBi F-16 Droptanks are right on the dot accurate, as you can see in the below picture of the actual plane:



Also, aerial refueling is a constant ballet between the boom operator and the pilot. The operator guides the plane into the right position, then literally "flies" the boom into the refueling socket on the fighter. So, the F-16 can refuel with the boom going in behind the pilot.

[Tinman]

Once again a picture's worth a thousand words. Thanks, tman!

[KAGNEW]

i was told that if tank were pointed in rear they would interfear with flaps

[Folkwulfe]

The droptanks are blunted at the rear in part to keep from interfering with the flaps when they are extended. Should the tank need to be jettisoned while the flaps are part or fully down, the tank pylon is designed to push the tank's nose down first, and let the airstream cleanly seperate the tank and wing. Since the nose goes down first, a longer tailcone would rise and strike the flap (which also works when the aircraft is manovering in combat...not just on landing and takeoff). The small amount of "paralytic" drag caused by the blunt tailcone actually helps the tank seperate and fall behind when released. As for refueling, the fighter pilot is guided by two rows of lights along the belly of the tanker (kind of like the fresnal mirrors carrier pilots use during landings) and they tell the fighter to move forward or back...left or right. The refuel boom operator then fine-tunes the position and flies the boom to pre-contact. By this time, the fighter pilot has opened the refuel door exposing the receptor and the boom operator extends the boom into it. Hard contact...fuel transferred. The fighter pilot merely maintains his position (remember his aircraft is getting heavier as the fuel is transferred) by watching the lights. The boom operator can then "disco" and fly the boom up and away, the fighter slows or turns down and away...usually right. The next fighter (flying formation on the tanker's left wing) then is clear to slide right into the "slot". Hope that helps some.

[Jericoeagle1]

I was a Boom Operator for 9 years in SAC and your description of Air Refueling from the Boomer's view is pretty accurate. The one deviation I found was that it was very seldom that a fighter pilot or group of pilots would maintain an order while refueling. More often then not I would find a guy flying over from the left rather then the right and vice versa. Sometimes a pilot would refuel numerous times to keep his tanks topped off while other would take the minimum. Sometimes especially when going across the pond, the fighters would play games with each other to keep from getting bored, like trying to see each other through the windows of the tanker fuselage and try to fly formation that way. It was always interesting at least and sometimes scarey especially when problems occured most often then not with F-4's which had a notorious reputation for its inflight refueling system to fail. I once had to drag one to an alternate landing base in Goose Bay, Canada.

[Teamski]

Wow, neat story!! I once got very ill during a 6 hour air-refueling local in a C-141. I was an airman at the time and got to go up as part of a sort of incentive flight. Well, I had a huge tupperware bowl of cold tuna casserole that my wife had made me as we were climbing out. Well, 6 hours of bouncing around in the A/R track with the pilot yanking and cranking the yoke off the west coast did me no help! I calmly excused myself from my postition on the floor next to the co-pilot and went to the lavatory....... I felt much better afterward!!

-Ski

[Tinman]

Appreciate all of your input!