Storage tank drop question.
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I want to drop my fuel storage tanks but not my bombs.
I go to the SMS page and highlight the fuel tank, an press the drop button on the left part of the cockpit.
But nothing happens, if I press it again, I drop my fuel tank as well as my bombs (which I didn’t want to do)
So how do you drop your fuel tanks and keep your bombs during a mission flight.
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Jettison stores button is emergency button, which drops everything but aa missiles (and ecm pod iirc)
To do selective drop, set Master ARM on, go to SMS page, push button labelled S-J (selective jettison) select the stores you want to get rid off and press pickle. -
what is the drop button on the left part? once you highlight the tanks (after selecting S-J) you should pickle (press & hold the red button) and also must have arm ON.
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I want to drop my fuel storage tanks but not my bombs.
I go to the SMS page and highlight the fuel tank, an press the drop button on the left part of the cockpit.
But nothing happens, if I press it again, I drop my fuel tank as well as my bombs (which I didn’t want to do)
So how do you drop your fuel tanks and keep your bombs during a mission flight.
Question apart, this is not likely to happen actually. Bombs are your secondary objective, fuel is your primary (your jet). And fuel tanks are very expensive. If you need them out, bombs shall follow.
Everything you need to know and links in my Youtube channel, "About" section.
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“Selective Jettison”. Hit the “S-J” button on the MFD. Select the tanks… master-arm ON… press and hold the pickle button.
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Question apart, this is not likely to happen actually. Bombs are your secondary objective, fuel is your primary (your jet). And fuel tanks are very expensive. If you need them out, bombs shall follow.
Hello,
It can be a prebriefed option to drop your fuel tanks early to reach a supersonic speed at very low altitude, to perform a Mach 1.5 / 150ft penetration (this kind of real life mission profile existed and was already used), but I’m not sure F-16 can sustain this.
To reach that pace, you can’t keep drop tanks, but A/G weapon would remain until they are fired on their target.
That being said, this is a rather rare scenario.
Radium
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Most Air to ground stores are limited to 1.2 mach and 600 knots for the store, which limits your ability to do 1.5 mach 150 foot penetration runs with ground stores. The TERs (when loaded) are limited to 550 knots or 0.95 mach (600 and 1.6 when empty - 700 knots in some configs). After dropping bombs, the remaining suspension gear (if no TER used) is limited to 700 and 1.6, and the tanks suspension gear, to 750 and 1.6.
The fuel tanks on the other hand are 600 and 1.6, so Im not seeing why the fuel tanks are the issue with a high speed low level penetration?
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Most Air to ground stores are limited to 1.2 mach and 600 knots for the store, which limits your ability to do 1.5 mach 150 foot penetration runs with ground stores. The TERs (when loaded) are limited to 550 knots or 0.95 mach (600 and 1.6 when empty - 700 knots in some configs). After dropping bombs, the remaining suspension gear (if no TER used) is limited to 700 and 1.6, and the tanks suspension gear, to 750 and 1.6.
The fuel tanks on the other hand are 600 and 1.6, so Im not seeing why the fuel tanks are the issue with a high speed low level penetration?
This is because you do not understand the concept nor the idea but because you focus on facts and the knowledge you have which is based on what you can read and that is available to the public eye. He was not talking about the F-16 as he said he is not sure the F-16 can do this.
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This is because you do not understand the concept nor the idea but because you focus on facts and the knowledge you have which is based on what you can read and that is available to the public eye. He was not talking about the F-16 as he said he is not sure the F-16 can do this.
Huh?
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Most Air to ground stores are limited to 1.2 mach and 600 knots for the store, which limits your ability to do 1.5 mach 150 foot penetration runs with ground stores. The TERs (when loaded) are limited to 550 knots or 0.95 mach (600 and 1.6 when empty - 700 knots in some configs). After dropping bombs, the remaining suspension gear (if no TER used) is limited to 700 and 1.6, and the tanks suspension gear, to 750 and 1.6.
The fuel tanks on the other hand are 600 and 1.6, so Im not seeing why the fuel tanks are the issue with a high speed low level penetration?
He may not be talking about bombs?
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If the point is to go fast and drop bombs on target then shedding the fuel tanks and keeping the bombs is the optimum decision. “Well the tanks are cleared for the speed” is irrelevant. Fuel tanks slow the airplane down by their drag. If that drag is unacceptable to the mission profile and mission is important enough (nuke strike or whatever) then tanks are expendable.
Anyway, as people say the yellow and black striped button is for emergency jettison only which has no pilot control except use/don’t use. For selective jettison you do it through the SMS “S-J” mode and the weapons release button on the stick is how the jettison is activated.
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If the point is to go fast and drop bombs on target then shedding the fuel tanks and keeping the bombs is the optimum decision. “Well the tanks are cleared for the speed” is irrelevant. Fuel tanks slow the airplane down by their drag. If that drag is unacceptable to the mission profile and mission is important enough (nuke strike or whatever) then tanks are expendable.
Anyway, as people say the yellow and black striped button is for emergency jettison only which has no pilot control except use/don’t use. For selective jettison you do it through the SMS “S-J” mode and the weapons release button on the stick is how the jettison is activated.
Are there bombs and racks you can fly with at Mach 1.5 close to the ground ?
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Why would that matter? You’re saying “keep the fuel tanks, the airplane will go that fast with them.” Doesn’t matter, more drag, more fuel burn, less fuel margin.
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Why would that matter? You’re saying “keep the fuel tanks, the airplane will go that fast with them.” Doesn’t matter, more drag, more fuel burn, less fuel margin.
Yes it matters, if you read Radium’s answer, which Blu3 did. Radium exposes a rare tactic that justifies keeping weapons (which?), and Blu3 argues that in this tactic, fuel tanks are not the limiters. So, yes, if it’s about bombs, which we’re not sure, it matters.
If this is just about flying with less drag, the speed difference with and without tanks, the need for fuel and the limits imposed by the rest of loadout will likely be in favor of keeping the tanks, unless you have a good example of the opposite (and actually not just one, to be honest).
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No point in keeping fuel tanks which are empty if maximum performance is required.
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Haha… If all you want is us to agree, nothing beats a truism in a trusim.
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Why would that matter? You’re saying “keep the fuel tanks, the airplane will go that fast with them.” Doesn’t matter, more drag, more fuel burn, less fuel margin.
Those last three lines are the key bit - in general, the fuel gained by keeping the tanks tends to outweigh the potential fuel savings by ditching the tanks.
Exceptions obviously exist, Operation Opera for example.
Spooky, distinguishing between the “concept” and the “idea” is not meaningful in English - perhaps this is something that has been lost in translation?
available to the public eye
At least in theory, this is what should limit all such discussions on this forum, from a rules perspective.
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Spooky, distinguishing between the “concept” and the “idea” is not meaningful in English - perhaps this is something that has been lost in translation?
It does !
A concept is a structured idea.
Cheers,
Radium
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fuel gained by keeping the tanks tends to outweigh the potential fuel savings by ditching the tanks.
The fuel tanks are empty. What is gained?
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The fuel tanks are empty. What is gained?
No idea if this is true, but my logic says that empty fuel tank can be reused. Either at AAR during flight (can you refuel your fuel tanks midair???) or back at home base. It’s a piece of equipment that you don’t need to replace with new one.
As I said, I have no idea if this is the way I look at it, just my two cents.
