USAF Bagage pods

[Bozothenutter]

On 1/13/2009 at 3:32 PM, Flyboyf18 said:

Just to add a bit to this, for the Canucks, I asked about the pods we (CAF) used and was told the same thing - former naplam cannisters with the door added to put in the luggage. Also advised by a pilot that the rear end was removable for long items like skis and golf clubs!! See story below.

A little story about the pods, they have a forward end!! A 410 Sqn crew borrowed one of our (AETE) pods once and mounted it on the jet (F-18) backwards, i.e. nose to the rear. As I was told by our maintenance crew after the incident, the nose is sealed so air cannot leak in. When one is travelling at 300 - 400 Kts the slightest air leak can be a big problem. What happened to our 410 pilot was that the pod pressurized and blew the door open somewhere over Northern Ontario and 'bombed' somewhere with some (most) of his luggage!?!? He discovered the probelm on landing, ooops.

That would explain the slight difference in length of the cones. To make one removable,  you have to cut it off, and stretch it,  so it'll slide over the body.