Originally Posted by
BEagle
haltonapp wrote:
Anyway, notwithstanding water pooling on the windscreen obscuring the HUD (which reportedly suffers from vibration effects in such conditions), how much HUD-out instrument flying do regular F-16 pilots practice, let alone the rather more specialised Thunderbirds pilots?
The HUD is not obscured and the symbology is perfectly sharp. Its just that you can not see anything ahead of the aircraft.
What is the vibration effect you are referring to?
Here you go Gums:
http://www.airforcemag.com/AircraftA...16D_Dayton.pdf
I thinks flying fast on approach by that much is not the way to fly the Viper. Water pooling or not, 40 knots over the recommended speed crossing the numbers is not gonna help you land safely.
Worst I've tried was landing in 28knots gusting to 57knots with a slight crosswind component. Just added 20 knots to the final speed to avoid getting the horn (15 AOA). Landed slightly long and maybe slightly fast, but with plenty of headwind slowing down before the end was easy. With 40 knots over, I bet the jet is going to be convinced that its required to fly, not to land.
The Viper is a great handling aircraft on the ground and in the air. However, its a bit tricky in the transition between the two phases. We teach the students to fly the final approach with 3 degree angle, flight path marker on the piano keys, 11AOA until the start of the roundout, then cut the picture in half (FPM at 1,5 degrees), smoothly retard the go handle to idle while raising the FPM to half a degree below the horizon, and touch down at 13 AOA. If slightly hot, we teach them to delay raising the nose to 13 AOA during the aerobrake or the jet is gone go flying again.
Pushing the stick forward during rollout is a big no no. I wonder if its some technic carried over by the MP from the A-10, but it sounds strange.
AIFF is not RHAW, it's the interrogator....like the old APX.
I'd rather have that equipment with less forward viz in the rain, than not....maybe if necessary with duct tape.
Agree with OK465. The Interrogator is a pretty useful piece of kit.