MIG torches on t-o:

Aren't you supposed to retract the gear after the wheels are off the ground?
 
I am surprised Belarus can afford to operate even one jet fighter. It is a poor and small country.
 
NoHeat said:
I am surprised Belarus can afford to operate even one jet fighter. It is a poor and small country.
Click to expand...

Maybe they're behind on payments and signed up for full coverage?

"Hello, AOPA insurance services, how can I assist you?"

"Yes...we had an unfortunate incident with our Mig...I'm afraid it's totaled....when can we expect a check?"
 
I saw the news clip this morning, but didn't realize that was what it was. They didn't show the initial takeoff roll so I thought it was a gear up landing.
 
Omalley1537 said:
Maybe they're behind on payments and signed up for full coverage?

"Hello, AOPA insurance services, how can I assist you?"

"Yes...we had an unfortunate incident with our Mig...I'm afraid it's totaled....when can we expect a check?"
Click to expand...

I'd be checking for warranty coverage from the Russians before calling insurance. ;)
 
He's not the first guy to try the S-H low transition trick only to settle after a bounce. That thing was *movin* after he jumped out, I wonder if he shut down the motors before going for help.

Nauga,
just scraping by
 
Does he get to paint a Belarus kill flag on his next airplane (which may be a R/C model)?

Cheers
 
I don't know why he bothered to punch out.
They will probably shoot him for screwing up.
 
Looks like a real good outcome; one less MiG, probably one less "active" MiG pilot; win-win. . .
 
Radar Contact said:
I thought with squat switches you put the gear handle up prior to takeoff so it's one less thing to worry about??
Click to expand...

It's called a weight on wheels switch. Looks like he was possibly enough weight off wheels to allow the gear handle to be moved too early.
 
35 AoA said:
It's called a weight on wheels switch. Looks like he was possibly enough weight off wheels to allow the gear handle to be moved too early.
Click to expand...
So there is no such thing as a squat switch?

And yes, as Nate mentioned, I was being sarcastic. I forgot the ;)
 
Radar Contact said:
So there is no such thing as a squat switch?

And yes, as Nate mentioned, I was being sarcastic. I forgot the ;)
Click to expand...

"WOW switch" sounds better though.

We had a UH-60 at my old duty station depart with both external tank jettison switches on. Soon as the wheels left the deck, "clunk clunk!" :D
 
Velocity173 said:
We had a UH-60 at my old duty station depart with both external tank jettison switches on. Soon as the wheels left the deck, "clunk clunk!" :D
Click to expand...

And now it can be told. I can't write as flowery as some of y'all but I can try. I did not personally witness this event but I know the subject and have seen the unedited video. Onwards (and TINS):

Once upon a time, a time of celluloid film, of analog flight test data, a time without GPS, a time when time was of the essence. A new, or maybe just updated "fighter" needed an estimate of takeoff distance to check the revised numbers in the flight manual performance charts. These were simpler times, when a good estimate of distance could be had by lining the runway close to the predicted liftoff points with foolish brave flight test engineers who would watch the takeoff roll and walk onto the runway to converge on each FTE's estimate of where the main wheels broke ground, establishing a mean liftoff point. The distance from this point to the point of brake release would be measured with an elegant tool, a surveyor's measuring wheel, or paces in a pinch. On this mild spring day a call went through the hangar, "Everybody give me a hand with a takeoff perf test!" and the line of victims, er, observers proceeded out to the runway and to take positions along the runway edges, all asplendor in their dark khakis, white oxford shirts, and black ties.

It wasn't required today, and maybe our intrepid crew didn't even know at the time, but a nearby ground camera was filming takeoffs that day. Well, not 'filming','cause the base had the luxury of a new fangled video camera (analog, natch) and a giant u-matic recorder. Roll tape.

FTEs standing ready, the mighty fighter throttles up, brakes held. The ground begins to shake. Takeoff clearance granted, the pilot radios, "brake release, mark!" and the fighter lurches slightly and begins slowly accelerating, twin afterburner plumes heating the already warming spring air.

Let's leave our team on the runway for a second to note an important little factoid about this airplane and most contemporary fighters. They have what's called an "Emergency Jettison" button, a yellow button that has the magical job of punching off all of the external stores, racks, sometimes even pylons, in the event of an emergency where quick drag and weight reduction is needed. Did I mention that this button is inhibited with weight on wheels? Hmmmm...

Back to the team. The fighter has now reached rotation speed. The nosewheel gracefully arcs up and the mighty jet readies itself to spring into the air. Our hero engineer, who drew the card for slightly upwind of the predicted liftoff point, peers intently at the mainmounts waiting for the precise moment when the main wheels leave the earth.

As the mainmounts extend, the magical "squat switch" (yes, we called them that) on both mainmounts open, signalling to the brain of the airplane that it's about to become airborne, or maybe already is. The brain of this jet is not particularly sophisticated, but it notes that the EMERGENCYJETT button is depressed (not sad, just pushed a little too far) as it sits in its little shielded corner under the glareshield, bathed in shadow. Perhaps it was depressed for some maintenance or ground test and left without resetting? The brain neither knows nor cares, it's time to go to work! The airplane brain thinks to itself, "Self, this is clearly an emergency and I've got to clean this jet up NOW!" <clunk-clunk>"

Back to our team. The hero engineer, sensing danger (as FTEs are wont to do), tears his attention away from the liftoff point of the now-airborne fighter, and notices a pair of brand new external tanks tumbling end-over-end towards him, spraying fuel and debris and fear in their wake. He does what he has been trained to do from his first day as a raw FTE - turns and runs. RUNS! RUNS LIKE A M****ER****ER! The tanks eventually get bored with their game of 'catch me flatten me' and roll to a stop. The engineer does the same, and all's well that ends well.

Within a few days the flight test team gathers for a review of the now-obtained video. Sure enough, the entire event has been captured in grainy analog haze. If you look closely as the tanks strip off you can see our hero, identified by the glow of his white oxford shirt and contrasting black pants, hauling ASS while two tanks tumble towards him in the background.

Legend has it that somewhere in the flight test vault there is cockpit audio between the pilot and backseater:

"Brake release...mark!
"Airspeed's alive.
"xx knots, rotating."
"Airborne"
[...]
"Hey, did you hear a thump?"

Nauga,
who would rather be lucky than good
 
Last edited:
Pure poetry, Nauga!
 
Great story Nauga! Was this episode codified in the TPS Course Syllabus?

Cheers
 
nauga said:
And now it can be told. I can't write as flowery as some of y'all but I can try. I did not personally witness this event but I know the subject and have seen the unedited video. Onwards (and TINS):

Once upon a time, a time of celluloid film, of analog flight test data, a time without GPS, a time when time was of the essence. A new, or maybe just updated "fighter" needed an estimate of takeoff distance to check the revised numbers in the flight manual performance charts. These were simpler times, when a good estimate of distance could be had by lining the runway close to the predicted liftoff points with foolish brave flight test engineers who would watch the takeoff roll and walk onto the runway to converge on each FTE's estimate of where the main wheels broke ground, establishing a mean liftoff point. The distance from this point to the point of brake release would be measured with an elegant tool, a surveyor's measuring wheel, or paces in a pinch. On this mild spring day a call went through the hangar, "Everybody give me a hand with a takeoff perf test!" and the line of victims, er, observers proceeded out to the runway and to take positions along the runway edges, all asplendor in their dark khakis, white oxford shirts, and black ties.

It wasn't required today, and maybe our intrepid crew didn't even know at the time, but a nearby ground camera was filming takeoffs that day. Well, not 'filming','cause the base had the luxury of a new fangled video camera (analog, natch) and a giant u-matic recorder. Roll tape.

FTEs standing ready, the mighty fighter throttles up, brakes held. The ground begins to shake. Takeoff clearance granted, the pilot radios, "brake release, mark!" and the fighter lurches slightly and begins slowly accelerating, twin afterburner plumes heating the already warming spring air.

Let's leave our team on the runway for a second to note an important little factoid about this airplane and most contemporary fighters. They have what's called an "Emergency Jettison" button, a yellow button that has the magical job of punching off all of the external stores, racks, sometimes even pylons, in the event of an emergency where quick drag and weight reduction is needed. Did I mention that this button is inhibited with weight on wheels? Hmmmm...

Back to the team. The fighter has now reached rotation speed. The nosewheel gracefully arcs up and the mighty jet readies itself to spring into the air. Our hero engineer, who drew the card for slightly upwind of the predicted liftoff point, peers intently at the mainmounts waiting for the precise moment when the main wheels leave the earth.

As the mainmounts extend, the magical "squat switch" (yes, we called them that) on both mainmounts open, signalling to the brain of the airplane that it's about to become airborne, or maybe already is. The brain of this jet is not particularly sophisticated, but it notes that the EMERGENCYJETT button is depressed (not sad, just pushed a little too far) as it sits in its little shielded corner under the glareshield, bathed in shadow. Perhaps it was depressed for some maintenance or ground test and left without resetting? The brain neither knows nor cares, it's time to go to work! The airplane brain thinks to itself, "Self, this is clearly an emergency and I've got to clean this jet up NOW!" <clunk-clunk>"

Back to our team. The hero engineer, sensing danger (as FTEs are wont to do), tears his attention away from the liftoff point of the now-airborne fighter, and notices a pair of brand new external tanks tumbling end-over-end towards him, spraying fuel and debris and fear in their wake. He does what he has been trained to do from his first day as a raw FTE - turns and runs. RUNS! RUNS LIKE A M****ER****ER! The tanks eventually get bored with their game of 'catch me flatten me' and roll to a stop. The engineer does the same, and all's well that ends well.

Within a few days the flight test team gathers for a review of the now-obtained video. Sure enough, the entire event has been captured in grainy analog haze. If you look closely as the tanks strip off you can see our hero, identified by the glow of his white oxford shirt and contrasting black pants, hauling ASS while two tanks tumble towards him in the background.

Legend has it that somewhere in the flight test vault there is cockpit audio between the pilot and backseater:

"Brake release...mark!
"Airspeed's alive.
"xx knots, rotating."
"Airborne"
[...]
"Hey, did you hear a thump?"

Nauga,
who would rather be lucky than good
Click to expand...

Change a few small details, and this could've been one of 6PC's instructional videos, perhaps on how to increase t/o and climb performance and simultaneously rid the area of lookie-loos...
 
↑
Thought this thread was going to be about welding
"Have you not seen the concrete-kerosene method before?"

Is that what they mean by "scratch start" o_O
 
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