explosive quick release wings anyone?

[Aeronut]

Spinning touchdown
An inventor from Bangkok is patenting an outlandish emergency landing system for aeroplanes.

Normally, when a crash landing is inevitable and no runway is in sight, a pilot would make a controlled belly flop to prevent the plane from ploughing into any buildings nearby.

But Polchai Phanumphai's idea is for aircraft to spin their way down instead. As a suitably fitted-out plane prepares to crash down, an altimeter would trigger explosive charges to make one wing break away from the fuselage and kick the one-winged plane into a horizontal spin.

Phanumphai says the spinning motion would produce lift in the same way as a helicopter's blades, while the centrifugal force should keep the body level. So, the inventor says, the falling plane ought to hit the ground relatively slowly.

The result, in theory at least, is a "reduced loss of life". But the inventor gives no clue whether the rapid spin might do more harm to the passengers than the crash landing itself. Any volunteers for a test flight?

[soupisgoodfood]

They had a nice little diagram showing the explosion points. One took off the right wing. One removed the tail. The other removed the cockpit (probably with the pilots still inside :}).

Even if it worked, would you ever fly in an aircraft that had been strategicly rigged to blow its airframe apart? :hmm:

[PT6ER]

I remember many years ago being told that the F8F Bearcat originally had wing tips that were jettisoned using explosive bolts so as to unload the wing during extreme positive G. The person relating the story said that asymetric release and inadvertant below carrier deck release led to them being removed.

Anyone care to comment as to the verasity of this verbal story?

I still know the guy and would be willing to tell him he is full of it if you professional keepers of life's trivia can prove this story wrong:)

[Rusty Bifilar]

I've read of plans to equip the early AH1 Cobras with an ejection seat system that included explosive bolts in the rotor head to jetison the main rotor before the ejection seats fired. The guy with the one wing plan must have never seen what an airplane does when one wing comes off.

[Torqueman]

I wouldn't want to be the Avionics guy who has to test the system while in maintenance.

And what a nightmare in flight. How hard was it to get Airmarshalls on planes with guns. I can't see them letting anyone rigging a plane to essentially self destruct. What a bloody nightmare. :confused:

I'll take my chances with the pilots putting it down somewhere by the way. :ok:

Torqueman

[barit1]

The Sikorsky S-72 RSRA (http://helis.com/70s/h_s72.php)(Rotor Systems Research Aircraft) - late 70s - had such a blade-jettison system. I don't know if it was ever tested. :eek:

[Blacksheep]

I well remember explosive bolts - the 'no volts' and squib tests. Structures shops full of damaged Canberra navigator's hatches... :rolleyes:

You had to be careful where you poked your Avo prods in those days... :ooh:


Then there was the 'V' Bombers' light triggered, explosively actuated fuel tank 'explosion suppression' system. My God! Who dreamed up that bit of crap? :uhoh:

With only 14 tanks you'd think a chap would be able to deactive the right one, once in a while. :hmm:

It sure puts another edge on 'Human Factors' engineering...

[McAero]

Sorry, I had to just check that it wasn't April 1st. :rolleyes:

[PAXboy]

The F-111 had a 'cockpit module' that was designed to be jettisoned with the two crew still in their seats and could then provide a full support 'environment' for them when it had landed in the deseret/ocean.

As I recall, one of these came down in the UK in the early 1990s (on an industrial site but missed the town - cue the cheers from the newspapers) and the module landed upside down which was aproximately 180 degrees away from the design intention. But I sit to be corrected.

[Severance]

I've often thought of fitting a spoof guarded 'press to jettison wings' switch. Any takers on if it would be activated by the master race when a little bored?:rolleyes:

[Tinymonkeys]

I've seen the video of the explosive released helicopter blades, can't remember where though. Linked to a rocket powered crew extraction system. Basically the crew were pulled out on the end of a rope, rocket on one end pilot on the other, made me laugh, a lot.

[anartificialhorizon]

The Concorde had what I understand was an explosion suppression system if I remember in tank 11 ( the rearmost tank ) at the vent..........designed to close an therefore be airtight should a bright light be detected ?

Anyone expand ?

As for the F111 incident above , recall it was just outside Newmarket and the crew survived so what ever the outcome it worked !!!

[Mycroft]

If I remember correctly the JB film Goldeneye uses a helicopter with a rotor-jettison-then-upwards-ejection scenario. I think in practice that the seat would have difficulty clearing the rotor mast (I have also heard of downwards ejecting seats; obviously only active above a certain height)

[SNS3Guppy]

Our A model C-130's had wings that explosively detached. To my knowledge, nobody survived.

The wing separations were never intentional, and no explosive squibs were installed. It was the wing itself that exploded. And it was no safety feature.

A large prehistoric-looking red jeweled lense light cover was in the center of the panel, formerly attached to strain gauges used in certification of the aircraft. We affectionally referred to the light (which I never saw illuminated, by the way) as the "Wing-Off" light.

[Garyc]

Spinning touchdown
An inventor from Bangkok is patenting an outlandish emergency landing system for aeroplanes.

Normally, when a crash landing is inevitable and no runway is in sight, a pilot would make a controlled belly flop to prevent the plane from ploughing into any buildings nearby.

But Polchai Phanumphai's idea is for aircraft to spin their way down instead. As a suitably fitted-out plane prepares to crash down, an altimeter would trigger explosive charges to make one wing break away from the fuselage and kick the one-winged plane into a horizontal spin.

Phanumphai says the spinning motion would produce lift in the same way as a helicopter's blades, while the centrifugal force should keep the body level. So, the inventor says, the falling plane ought to hit the ground relatively slowly.

The result, in theory at least, is a "reduced loss of life". But the inventor gives no clue whether the rapid spin might do more harm to the passengers than the crash landing itself. Any volunteers for a test flight?

Back in the late 80's we had a Macchi lose a wing in flight, the Pilot ejected and the remaining wing came around and "tennis Served" him, that's how violent the spin is on an Aircraft with only one wing ! let alone an Airliner that isn't stressed to take anywhere near as many G's as a Jet Trainer, the thing would litteraly revert to Kit Form on the way down, and I have the feeling that the safest place to be would be on the wing that got blown off. The guy is obviously some form of Nutter and should be placed in a large rubber room somewhere and not alowed sharps or string lest he injure himself with another Brilliant idea.

Gary

[4SPOOLED]

Personally i think that wing slung donks should be able to be jetisoned if a ditching was required and the donk should be parachute assisted back to the ground for the Authoritys to investigate.

And why do they keep thinking a helicopter needs the ejection seat to go up like a plane? cant they be launched sideways?:ok: