Flameout mission in 4.32 - Does it work?

[TerryW]

Hi,

I am trying the flameout mission. I drop all stores and confirm with outside view. I have 100lb fuel left and the engine is running but I cannot maintain level flight. I just slowly drop into the sea? I have seen videos where the pilot climbs and closes with the runway but I cannot do this. The airbrake is off.

I am wondering what I am misunderstanding.

TerryW

[ZZCheetahZZ]

Gear down maybe?

[Red Dog]

what’s your speed, what’s your AOA?

BMS dash 1 pg 173:

3.7.5.2. Flameout Landing
Landing the aircraft with no engine is not easy and must be carefully considered before being
attempted. The current weather (visibility, wind) must be taken into consideration but also the amount
of training and the success rate the pilot demonstrated in simulated flameout exercises (SFO).
That being said failing does not bear any consequence and the BMS ejection envelope is rather large.
Beside battle damage flameout landing will happen in BMS mostly because of fuel starvation. In that
case it is rather obvious that air-start should not even be attempted.
To perform a flameout landing turn immediately towards the nearest runway, jettison stores to
decrease drag and establish best range airspeed. Sounds simple but you first need to be able to know
where you are and where the closest runway is and to know what your best range airspeed is.
Solving the first issue is outside the scope of this manual and greatly depends on your situational
awareness and correct flight planning. The latter depends on Gross Weight and is 200 knots for GW of
20000 lbs and 205 knots for 21000 lbs GW. Add 5 knots per 1000 lbs of additional GW.
For reference, an F-16 empty of fuel and having jettisoned stores (with a centreline pod and air to air
missiles carried) weighs around 22000 lbs or 21000 lbs without the centreline ECM pod.
The best range speed is thus typically set to 210 knots. To find out your best range speed in any
configuration fly a 7° AOA attitude. To maintain that speed, the F-16 will trade 1000 feet of altitude
every nautical mile approximately, giving a glide ratio of one for one. Granted it is an approximate rule
but it is very handy to estimate your range and deciding which available runway to use. (The real dash
1 manual says that the F-16 will go 7nm over the ground for every 5,000 ft of altitude you lose. This
makes gliding calculations tricky in an emergency so just use 1:1).
Another consideration for long glides to the runway is EPU fuel for hydraulics and emergency power.
Once the hydrazine is depleted the EPU will shut down and the F-16 will be as controllable as a brick.
At that point your only way out is to eject. The EPU has about 10 minutes of autonomy running on
hydrazine. Don’t plan for a glide and flameout landing taking more than 10 minutes!
There are two basic types of flameout approaches: direct (straight in) and overhead. The direct
approach may look simpler but provides no extra room for error. The overhead pattern is by far the
safest as it provides good visual cues against known references (that is if you know them by heart)

[Frederf]

The default BMS flameout TE is a weird but workable scenario. A more practical initial condition would be to be far from the airbase and much higher. To be low and close on little fuel asks the question what was the pilot thinking in the minutes leading up to this situation. These unusual initial conditions demand a little more aerodynamics knowledge and pilot skill compared to the more plausible case.

The first thing to realize is flying at the given airspeed and height to the runway is a no-go. You wont make it. The drag associated with this high speed is too much to bear. When you have control over the jet the first thing to do is set throttle to idle. Emergency jettison your heavy and draggy load. Gently pitch up to about 30 degrees. As speed decreases through ~250 KIAS, feed in almost full power to keep 200 knots. In the climb make a left turn toward the runway (348°). Keep climbing positioning the throttle to keep 200 knots for whatever pitch you hold until the fuel runs out. The goal is to secure a glide path to the runway as early as practical while managing energy reserves (fuel-height-speed) effectively. Lesser climb angles provide nearly the same end game. With the jet near empty and no external stores the best specific range at 200 + 5 knots per 1,000 lbs load.

When speed decays quickly, pitch forward until the gun cross is on the FPM and keep it there until 5-10° pitch down. In the dive the airplane will pick up speed. Pitch up again to maintain 200 knots without letting the AoA get too large. It should stabilize at about +2 pitch -5 FPA which should be beyond the near end of the landing runway.

Of course get eyes on the runway and steer in azimuth and make the radio calls as necessary.

When the desired touchdown point is 10-11° below the horizon pull the alternate brake handle and lower nose to place the FPM at the beginning of the runway or slightly earlier. Maintain 180-190 knots in this steep descent until a few hundred feet when you begin the flare. Hold the airplane off the runway to touch down at the normal AoA and brake using normal or short field technique as appropriate.

The D model should use 5 knots faster speeds than the C model.

The key to the BMS flameout TE is to jettison stores, establish an efficient flight regime by climbing and reducing speed without delay. With some funny tricks it’s actually possible to touchdown with ~10 lbs of fuel left if you do things differently than above and sort of “wrong” by the book. The above steps will achieve the longest period of glide and highest base altitude which I think is most educational and applicable to flameout landings in operational conditions.

[caper]

There are two basic types of flameout approaches: direct (straight in) and overhead. The direct
approach may look simpler but provides no extra room for error. The overhead pattern is by far the
safest as it provides good visual cues against known references (that is if you know them by heart)

Has anybody been able to do a deadstick overhead approach? There is a deadstick video where the r/l pilot does enters the pattern on the base leg. And he does it with the landing gear down.
imo, the AFM has too much LG down drag, I can’t hold a 11° glideslope with the LG down. I prefer the straight in approach. Setting up a 5-6nm finial at 5000k for a 10° glideslope. Use the Speed Brake to keep CAS below 200kts. Lower the LG just before the threshold.

[Red Dog]

we mostly train overhead.
we lower the gear at low key, not sooner though

[caper]

What would be the minimum entry altitude?

A short finial would be better to make adjustment for head wind.

[Dee-Jay]

@caper:

What would be the minimum entry altitude?

A short finial would be better to make adjustment for head wind.

Check Red Dog’s checklist …

http://www.f-16.net/forum/download/file.php?id=17127&mode=view

[Red Dog]

@caper:

What would be the minimum entry altitude?

A short finial would be better to make adjustment for head wind.

I usually enter high key no lower than 7000feet, unless i’m feeling really Lucky
When i compute exercises from a long distance away, i take 7000feet hi key and glide ratio 1/1. So most of the time, 15Nm out (tolci for Kunsan) at 22000 feet
since you’re mostly flying 300-350 when you go idle or cut the engine, you have plenty of speed and altitude to make a confortable overhead flameout on either 18/36 runways according to Wind

Once you’re confortable with that, extend the distance a bit try wolf for Kunsan but mind the EPU fuel if you really shut the engine out…
although at 20Nm out, best glide 210kts , you’re still ok for EPU on hydrazine

[Frederf]

A line which connects the landing point with the airplane position at 7000’ AAL defines a series of points corresponding to certain angles. These points define boundaries to certain regions of action.

POINT A
8nm to go. 8°. Straight in required at low drag best glide. Delay LG extension when aim point is 11-17° below horizon. EPU fuel required ~45%.

POINT B1
6nm to go. 11°. Straight in required at minimum LG extended drag. EPU fuel required ~35%.

POINT B2
4nm to go. 17°. Straight in required at maximum drag. EPU fuel required ~25%.

AREA C
0-4m to go. >17°. Straight in not viable, use overhead procedures. EPU fuel required ~25%.

The concept is that you delay LG extension no lower than 2000’ AAL so the point at which LG is guaranteed extended is well defined. All of the procedures converge at 2000’ AAL, 190 knots, LG extended, 11-17°. What happens after this point doesn’t depend on how you arrived it it. The variation in how you get to this point depends on much excess energy you have. If you just barely make it (A) then you have to best-glide clean to this point. In the B range (B1-B2) you arrive using drag devices. In AREA C you are beyond safe intercept of this point and must switch to overhead flameout procedure.

As far as unable to achieve the 11 degree slope, I find that LG out, speedbrakes in, 11° FPA is almost exactly 190 knots. I would be much more nervous about trying to do the 17° straight in approach than the 11°.

[caper]

@Frederf:

I would be much more nervous about trying to do the 17° straight in approach than the 11°.

You get to use speed brakes at 17° I assume. Head wind might have something to with it.