[Leica] f16 and be glad you weren't there

[rpalmier at depaul.edu (bob palmieri)]

Folks -

Here's something else for future former bird lovers - I'm also  
forwarding the text guide that was sent to me (thanks to Denby Allen  
for this):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Prd0o2MAA


F-16 vs. A Bird (bird drawn, quartered & cooked - aircraft refused to  
continue flying) ......amazing 45 second sequence.


A different meaning of "getting the bird". F-16s go for about $25 to  
$30 million last I heard.
And you thought you were having a bad day...

You may have to re-play the attached video to see the bird that  
entered the engine. Go to large screen if you can. This is footage  
from the cockpit of an F-16. Cool reaction and professionalism of two  
pilots, includes cockpit transmissions with video. F-16 engine  
ingests bird after takeoff @ Tyndall AFB. You might find it  
interesting to see a crash from the cockpit of the aircraft involved.  
It is a pilot-instructor in the rear seat and student in front of an  
F-16.
"Bird Strike," as seen through the Heads Up Display (HUD). You can  
see the bird flash by just prior to impacting the engine. You can  
hear the aircraft voice warning system telling them they have a  
problem referring to the "D-6 NL" which means there is no engine RPM.  
They made 2 attempts to relight the jet engine, but evidently there  
was too much damage from the bird strike and they had to eject. These  
guys were very cool; note the heavy breathing...

They certainly flew longer than one would expect before ejecting.

Airspeed can be observed on the HUD's upper left corner. It goes down  
to the low 120's as they struggle to get the engine going again, but  
as the plane noses over and dives to earth it increases to at least  
175 just before impact.

It just goes to show how quickly your day can go to pieces -45  
seconds, from strike to ejection. All and all, not bad. They ran the  
Emergency Checklist, made two relight attempts, and picked out a  
plowed field for impact before ejecting..

You can follow the audio attached to it and hear the conversation  
between the pilot and instructor pilot and then the tower. Including  
the pilot saying they were punching out. The tower didn't seem to  
completely understand it all, and missed the significance of the last  
transmission.

The towers last radio call, he's talking to an empty aircraft. The  
video continues until impact, even after they both eject. A classic  
"buying the farm" as you can see the plow rows get bigger. A real  
nice job from the aircrew by keeping their cool and turning the  
aircraft away from populated areas. No one hurt and no one killed bu  
t one dirty bird cost the Taxpayers a "few" million $.

Think of all the decisions the pilot is making at this time.  
Observing air speed, altitude, gear up, engine restart procedures,  
communication with his student and the tower, banking the aircraft,  
picking a place to crash the plane, when to eject and I'm sure a few  
dozen more I'm not aware of. Got to admire these young guys. That  
F-16 is not your daddy's P-51.

Bob Palmieri