F-22 Problems | FerrariChat

F-22 Problems

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by Bob Parks, May 6, 2012.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
    Consultant

    Nov 29, 2003
    7,911
    Shoreline,Washington
    Full Name:
    Robert Parks
    I watched 60 Minutes tonight while they discussed the breathing oxygen problems with that airplane and the pilots who have suffered from it. There were two pilots who stood down from flying it and in my opinion have slit their career throats . I applaud them for having the guts to face down the brass to illuminate this problem that has already killed one pilot and endangered several others including the men who were interviewed on the program. I was appalled to learn that breathing oxygen was bled off the engines before being compressed, fed through a filter, and then into the mask. Fifty five years ago when we were working on the 707 the FAA dictated that air for the passenger cabin would originate from a source OUTSIDE of the engines, hence the turbo compressors mounted on top of the engines that took clean air from the atmosphere. The military brass claims that they don't know what the problem is because the air is passed through a filter. Black mucous in the nasal cavities of the pilots indicated that carbon from the filters was being ingested and THAT couldn't be a problem. Is this supposed to be progress? Air that is bled from the compressor section of a gas turbine is not clean and the military engines are running a lot different than civilian engines. I wonder if they will catch on.
     
  2. future328driver

    future328driver Formula 3

    Dec 10, 2001
    1,831
    Dallas, Texas
    Full Name:
    Ken Thomas
    In my prior career I designed ECS and pressurization systems for the Citation Bravo, Ultra and Excel. On the Citation series, the cabin air is taken from the bypass section of the engine and then "processed" through heat exchangers,air cycle machines and mass flow control valves to condition it for the cabin.
     
  3. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
    Consultant

    Nov 29, 2003
    7,911
    Shoreline,Washington
    Full Name:
    Robert Parks
    I, too, have done considerable ECS work on the 767 and 777 and I know that the cabin air was bleed air and that it was thoroughly processed through a series of condensers,etc. I think there must be a difference in the way the military engines are run and that the beed air is not being properly filtered. What else could it be?
     
  4. 1_can_dream

    1_can_dream F1 Veteran

    Jan 7, 2006
    8,051
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Kyle
    Isn't the system that generates oxygen in these airplanes something that hasn't been done before in any other aircraft? I remember reading somewhere that it was designed to generate oxygen for the life of the aircraft and therefore making oxygen tanks a thing of the past. Wouldn't oxygen tanks seem like an appropriate fix to the problem?
     
  5. SpecialK43

    SpecialK43 Karting

    Oct 12, 2007
    198
    Kzoo, MI
    Full Name:
    K Russell
    My aviation buddy also said that they were committing career suicide. I replied, To them, getting back into one of those planes would be committing actual suicide. The pilot who was killed was one of the best to come out of WMU aviation program. I didn't attend the memorial service they had for him last year here, but I was out on lake michigan when the I noticed four fighter jets coming in to do a flyover. They were F-15s.
     
  6. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
    Consultant

    Nov 29, 2003
    7,911
    Shoreline,Washington
    Full Name:
    Robert Parks
    There are tanks and oxygen generators but they take up space and add weight... but they wouldn't kill the pilot. High pressure oxygen tanks are dangerous and wouldn't be too nice to be hit in a dogfight. Space is at a premium in these airplanes and I imagine weight is critical too so it makes sense to use engine intake air but I think it has to be scrubbed and filtered better.
     
  7. RWatters

    RWatters Formula 3

    Feb 21, 2006
    1,075
    Kansas
    #7 RWatters, May 7, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    It's amazing that this same exact story has been going for so long as there's still no resolution for it. It's also amazing how quickly the government and Lockheed are to say the plane has no problems. What else does it take when someone has already died because of it?

    It's a really crappy situation because I just watched the plane do a demo Saturday and it's absolutely amazing what that thing is capable of. It's such an awesome plane to watch, yet at the same time you know what dark side it is hiding and it really makes you think twice about it.

    Included a snapshot I took of it peforming in St. Joe MO on Saturday.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  8. 1_can_dream

    1_can_dream F1 Veteran

    Jan 7, 2006
    8,051
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Kyle
    I figured space would be the biggest limiting factor since things are pretty tightly packed and a redesign isn't cheap or even feasible. I'm just a little surprised that after this long they haven't identified and fixed the root cause of the problem. You would think LMC would have enough competent engineers to at the very least identify what's causing the problems and be on their way to fixing it at this point.
     
  9. James_Woods

    James_Woods F1 World Champ

    May 17, 2006
    12,755
    Dallas, Tx.
    Full Name:
    James K. Woods
    I just saw the 60 minutes lady reporter state on public TV this morning that possibly "this might just be a human issue (i.e. - not the plane systems) because (get this) 'perhaps man is just not able physically to fly this fast and this high'".

    Yes, really. I could not believe my own ears.
     
  10. Tspringer

    Tspringer F1 Veteran

    Apr 11, 2002
    6,155
    The F22 could solve this issue and it's nearing obsolescence in one swoop... Remove the pilot and convert them to remote pilots.

    The maneuvering limits of the airframe far exceed those of the pilot. The pilot is the limiting factor in almost all areas.


    Terry
     
  11. 1_can_dream

    1_can_dream F1 Veteran

    Jan 7, 2006
    8,051
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Kyle
    The most recent article on CNN says that there are now maintenance personnel that have experienced the same hypoxia symptoms while being in the cockpit on the ground. They weren't on the mask, simply in the cockpit for engine run ups.
     
  12. RWatters

    RWatters Formula 3

    Feb 21, 2006
    1,075
    Kansas
    Just read that as well. W.T.F.
     
  13. James_Woods

    James_Woods F1 World Champ

    May 17, 2006
    12,755
    Dallas, Tx.
    Full Name:
    James K. Woods
    The only thing that could come to mind to cause breathing issues at ground level (without the oxygen system) is if engine exhaust or other fumes are getting into the cockpit.

    I also heard that they had put a modification of a carbon filter into the oxygen system, but then decided that it was causing more harm than good - and have now taken this out.

    I have a question: Is this really an oxygen system (as in oxygen from a bottle), or is it just a compressed air system? It seems to me to be unlikely that they could make a system to actually separate oxygen from the air small enough to carry on board a fighter jet.
     
  14. 1_can_dream

    1_can_dream F1 Veteran

    Jan 7, 2006
    8,051
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Kyle
    From what I've read the carbon filter was for the mask and not for the cabin. I believe the "oxygen system" in the plane isn't from a bottle, they are generating it from air coming into the turbines. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please!
     
  15. James_Woods

    James_Woods F1 World Champ

    May 17, 2006
    12,755
    Dallas, Tx.
    Full Name:
    James K. Woods
    That is what I am assuming as well - but I cannot see how they could actually separate out pure oxygen from the air stream in a system small and light enough to go in a fighter. Isn't commercial oxygen made by liquification of air, and then stratified separation? That sounds big and heavy to me - which made me wonder if this is not just a compression system like a face-mask sized pressurized cabin system.
     
  16. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
    Consultant

    Nov 29, 2003
    7,911
    Shoreline,Washington
    Full Name:
    Robert Parks
    From what I have read and seen, the oxygen is taken out of the engine intakes (compressor air) , run through some kind of condenser/filter/purifier and then into the cockpit system. The compressor air can be full of all kinds of contaminates including oil mist from the shaft labyrinth seals. By the 14th or 15th stage it is around 450 degrees so from there on it needs a lot of processing. I'm basing this from what I know about the engines on the big tin birds and helping to design the ECS on them so if I'm off base , let me have it.
     
  17. James_Woods

    James_Woods F1 World Champ

    May 17, 2006
    12,755
    Dallas, Tx.
    Full Name:
    James K. Woods
    That sounds right to me, but what I cannot figure out is how they separate pure oxygen out of just compressed atmospheric air.
     
  18. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 27, 2004
    15,924
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Jim Pernikoff
    The system is known as OBOGS (OnBoard Oxygen Generating System) and has been used on jet fighters for years; I know for a fact that the F-14 had it. Why the F-22's OBOGS is not working properly is a mystery.
     
  19. 1_can_dream

    1_can_dream F1 Veteran

    Jan 7, 2006
    8,051
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Kyle
    Are you sure that's correct? I thought the system on the F-22 was something that hadn't been used on a fighter before.
     
  20. GTHill

    GTHill F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 1, 2006
    14,053
    Double Wide
    Full Name:
    GT Hill
    Now it's being reported that maintenance crews are suffering from the same symptoms while working on the plane on the ground.

    "Then five mechanics -- who were on the ground, without the need for oxygen masks -- reported the same symptoms after working on the F-22. Now the Air Force either doesn't know what's causing the illnesses or it's not saying. "I can't answer that at this time," General Daniel Wyman said curtly. "

    http://now.msn.com/now/0510-air-force-mystery-illness.aspx


    GT
     
  21. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    I'm 99% sure the Raptors are becoming self-aware and are about to put an end to it for all of us. ;)

    Seriously though, I hope they get this figured out quick as having our best air-to-air combat jet out like this is not good...
     
  22. 1_can_dream

    1_can_dream F1 Veteran

    Jan 7, 2006
    8,051
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Kyle
    #23 1_can_dream, May 11, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Uh oh...
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  23. FarmerDave

    FarmerDave F1 World Champ
    Consultant

    Jul 26, 2004
    15,774
    Full Name:
    IgnoranteWest
    I, for one, welcome our new mechanized aerial overlords.
     
  24. Zack

    Zack Formula 3

    Dec 18, 2003
    2,001
    Nicosia, Cyprus/Cali
    Full Name:
    Zacharias
    Drones are the future. Pointless to have a human up there.

    Next conflict, send in waves of tomahawks and other cruise missiles, followed by two thousand drones streaking in hugging the terrain, carpet bomb moving targets and targets of opportunity, then a few thousand hovering/loitering drones to monitor activity while mechanized armoured units, all remotely controlled, roll in. Next come the android soldiers, who disarm the populace and control movement so suicide bombers, etc. can't be effective. Finally, boots on the ground, heavily augmented by robotic aides.

    As long as we don't get hacked, we are good to go. I suggest we start with Colombia. It's a good practice country, and once we get all the cocaine production under our control, we could pay for it all too.
     

Share This Page