CF104 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hi All, I have a question for all you Hornet fans out there. I was searching for Blue Angels pics on the web and discovered an interesting anomaly. It would appear that the R/H forward MLG door has a cut-out on the lower edge on some of the jets. This can be seen on the following images. Just wondering if anyone knows the reason behind this modification to the gear door? Cheers, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 (edited) Hi All,Just wondering if anyone knows the reason behind this modification to the gear door? Cheers, John Did not notice it till you posted. I know from listening to the radio wile they were here, they had problems with the gear. Maybe cutting that section out is their fast fix for now. Looking at pictures of them wile in air, there does not seam to be anything there, just a hole LOL. Edited October 28, 2009 by Wayne S Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mhoupt Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 No - not recent. This has been in place for years and it is on many aircraft, as seen in this picture. I noticed this a couple of years back and still have never received an explanation as to why. Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sundowner Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I sure don't know the reason as well , but I went thru my pics of the 2009 Fallon Airshow and found several photo's from the Blues Hornets of which the gear doors were modified ....... although not all of them had that Mod ! I hope to go to Pensacola next december , maybe I can do some asking around !! Cheers , Henk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sig Saur & Son Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 One is an A and the other an A+. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Well, in John's above pictures, both the A and A+ seem to both have the notch cut into the door ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sunliner Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 That's where the dispenser is fer the "chem-trails" that you don't see overhead. Now, look into this nice pen fer just a second...<FLASH> -Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve jahn Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 You guys might me interested in this. Back in 1998 I used to manage an FBO (civilian fixed base operation) in Florida. One day we had a Blue Angel F-18 come in for a few hours. While taking pictures I noticed a bid chunk of the main landing door was missing. It actually looked like it had torn off recently and not been repaired yet. When I questioned the pilot he said that pieces break off of the doors all the time and they fly it that way. I had never heard that before but that's what he said and there was the proof. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 You guys might me interested in this. Back in 1998 I used to manage an FBO (civilian fixed base operation) in Florida. One day we had a Blue Angel F-18 come in for a few hours. While taking pictures I noticed a bid chunk of the main landing door was missing. It actually looked like it had torn off recently and not been repaired yet. When I questioned the pilot he said that pieces break off of the doors all the time and they fly it that way. I had never heard that before but that's what he said and there was the proof.Steve He was Bsing you LOL. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve jahn Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 He was Bsing you LOL. Why do you say that? I saw the plane land like that with the broken door and it took off that way too. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ST0RM Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 If you watch some of the videos of the Blues, especially when they've got a camera on the centerline, you'll see the gear doors have missing chunks from them. Never got a decent explanation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 hmmm..i'd think if there were parts flying off of jets on a regular basis there might be some groundings to look into the problem. typically, planes aren't designed to just tear apart. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Just wondering but could it be caused by close formation flying with the doors open at times ? ;) To me, it looks like purposeful cuts made to the ones in John's photos though ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 but why just the one door i wonder? perhaps a visual guide or something? Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve jahn Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 but why just the one door i wonder? perhaps a visual guide or something?Bill The blues pilot said instead of replacing the doors everytime they break, they will do a temporary fix and fly it that way. I've got close up pictures that I will try to find but they are buried some where. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Dude Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I took this pic of #3 about 3 years ago, didn't notice the chunk missing at the time but now that you mentioned it- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twhite80 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I noticed that too! I have lots of photos of the Blues and I looked really close at that part of the door. It looked jagged like it had been torn away. There was a little exposed metal maybe even a little rust? I will look for pics and post them if I can find them in my huge Aperture library. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Does it have to do with the age and use of the Hornets? As far as I know those are old ones, meaning no further combat missions, high Gs, supersonic flights, flying with heavy ordnance, etc ... And quick fix solutions for repairing and service are day-by-day schedule. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve jahn Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I've noticed by looking at a lot of photos that the shape of the cut out area appears to be different on various planes. Looks like repairs to me but I wonder what causes the stress so much on the right door. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
richter111 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Just taking a WAG at it air pressure? I know they do the gear drop flyby, and I wonder if the hole is not intentional to assist in the pressure build up to make the doors open faster or smoother, with the left gear opening first. again just a WAG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I noticed that too! I have lots of photos of the Blues and I looked really close at that part of the door. It looked jagged like it had been torn away. There was a little exposed metal maybe even a little rust? I will look for pics and post them if I can find them in my huge Aperture library. i understand what you guys are saying about it looking rough, but the cut outs in the pictures above look pretty uniform and almost identical like they are purposely cut out modifications. i could definately be wrong though. it's a very interesting mystery. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Why do you say that? I saw the plane land like that with the broken door and it took off that way too.Steve The door is pretty thick in that area. -------- On the vacuum deal. Airflow when closing would be sucked out, It would not act like the closing of a typical house storm door. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
C-130CrewChief Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I would say high speed flying with the doors open do this and maintenance cleans up the edges so it won't tear more where there are cracks. Every part of the plane has a speed limit and I'm sure the Angels are stressing the doors a lot. I have hared of a few instances of doors and air brakes being ripped off fighters after being over sped. (mainly F-15's) Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) I would say high speed flying with the doors open do this and maintenance cleans up the edges so it won't tear more where there are cracks. Every part of the plane has a speed limit and I'm sure the Angels are stressing the doors a lot. I have hared of a few instances of doors and air brakes being ripped off fighters after being over sped. (mainly F-15's)Curt hmm. so does the right door close after the left? i could see the high performance low altitude take off possibly reaking havoc on the doors, but still curious as to why it seems like it's alway the right door. Edited December 2, 2009 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I would say high speed flying with the doors open do this and maintenance cleans up the edges so it won't tear more where there are cracks. Every part of the plane has a speed limit and I'm sure the Angels are stressing the doors a lot. I have hared of a few instances of doors and air brakes being ripped off fighters after being over sped. (mainly F-15's)Curt I have seen the back doors on the main with the F-15 can hung open from fast acceleration. I would be surprised if the F-18 could do it tho. I could see, if they cut the section out and had a thin sheet/skin riveted on the f-18 door being ripped off. Even then, that still would not answer the question why the section was cut out in the first place. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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