Master caution when bombs drop
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Thank you very much!! Appreciate it.
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It is a CAT I/III config warning…
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It means also you should check your Loadout stores config cat III to I I think ( atleast this way the master caution light goes out too)
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Hi,
I am brand ne w to Falcon bms, however I created a bombing training mission and when I drop laser guided munitions the master caution light goes on. Any idea why this would occur? Thanks in advance.
When you drop all your ordnance, you have to switch the CAT selector from III(loaded) to I(clear stores), they make your jet react differently according your weight. If you still using your external tanks you dont have to make it.
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and no reason not to to hit the switch. makes the plane alot more agile.
i’m not sure what the CAT III switch actually does. is it a G limiter? i assume it’s to prevent stress damage when the aircraft is heavy, though how it does that exactly i’m not certain.
anyway, you should flip it once you’re CAT I (AA weapons only) to restore your maneuverability. helps in combat or when dodging SAMs, for sure.
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What Netstat said. If you are in what the system thinks should be a CATI/III config, but you are in CAT III/I, then it will trigger a Master Caution warning.
Keep in mind that it can be entirely valid to have that warning. There exist configurations for which the jet thinks you should be in CAT III, but you can be in CAT I safely.
@Cik:
and no reason not to to hit the switch. makes the plane alot more agile.
i’m not sure what the CAT III switch actually does. is it a G limiter? i assume it’s to prevent stress damage when the aircraft is heavy, though how it does that exactly i’m not certain.
anyway, you should flip it once you’re CAT I (AA weapons only) to restore your maneuverability. helps in combat or when dodging SAMs, for sure.
Its an AOA limiter, and a roll limiter. You can pull 9G in CAT III. However, it severely limits roll rate.
Its to prevent departures when heavily loaded. Its entirely possible to stall or deep stall much easier with wing bags on, for instance.
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makes sense.
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Blu3 means wing tanks or drop tanks for those who aren’t english as first language.
-Babite -
So if I drop all my air to ground ordinance and see the master caution light (ctrl-c) and I have wingtanks how do I determine if the fuel (on normal) is empty and then CATI will drop them always?
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if you drop all your ordnance and have wing tanks, AND see a master caution, its for something else. If you have wing tanks on, the MMC assumes you should be in CAT III - even if that is not the case.
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you can pull 9G as in it will allow you to. the jet over Gs at what, 6 in cat III?
am i correct in that? -
in CAT III the jet can pull 9G as in it is capable of doing so.
If you have stores loaded then you are considered to have over Ged the jet much lower than that…. you can pull 4.5 G and be considered to have over Ged the jet in certain configs.
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in CAT III the jet can pull 9G as in it is capable of doing so.
If you have stores loaded then you are considered to have over Ged the jet much lower than that…. you can pull 4.5 G and be considered to have over Ged the jet in certain configs.
And if you bend the jet, you’ll have to explain it to the CC. No beer for you tonight.
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Over-G depends on your loadout, the idea is to stay below wing and pylon structural limits. Its pretty poorly modeled in BMS now.
Cat I/III is a switch used to modify the A/C limiters to avoid roll departure when loaded. The F-16 rolls along its velocity vector, meaning the AOA is conserved during the roll. But since the AC is not perfectly aligned with the axis (the bigger the AOA, the worst it is), centrifugal force is going upward on the forward part of the fuselage, and going downward on the rear part. This tends to make the AOA go up.
To counter that, the elevators usually automatically command pitch down during a roll. Plus, roll rate is dynamically limited depending on your AOA. But the more weight the AC has , the bigger the phenomenom, and the elevators can be unsufficient. Hence the roll rate and AOA limiter in CAT III, to make sure the elevators can cope with this coupling.
To see this in BMS, just be at 250-300 kts with tanks and bombs, switch to CAT I, and do successive rolls. You should see the AOA go up and the departure coming. FYI, successive 360 rolls are forbidden in flight, also for this reason.
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i’ve always tied the two together (easier to think of it that way, starting out) but i see the distinction. thanks gents.