Andre Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Dont forget the reclining position of the pilot to tolerate high G forces Wasn't the seat reclined simply because it would not fit otherwise? Cheers, Andre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Wasn't the seat reclined simply because it would not fit otherwise? Absolutely not. Where did you ever hear such a ridiculous notion? Aircraft designers are pretty good at making things fit. It was reclined in order to help with high-G tolerance, and for no other reason. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andre Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Absolutely not. Where did you ever hear such a ridiculous notion? http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3690 Cheers, Andre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Exhausted Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Wow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3690 Absolute rubbish. Not remotely true. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
streetstream Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Absolute rubbish. Not remotely true. To 100% really know the reason, just look at other jets designed since then. Are their seats also reclined? If so, i doubt the reason is a space issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3690 Cheers, Andre Yeah, that was just an urban myth, albeit one that has been around for ages. Minimal gain for the pilot. However, reclined seat in a small airframe like the F-16 = less frontal area = less drag. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Love the F-16, a good dose of new technology with just very clever design. PS Hard to believe it's been +25 years since the 1st flight of the YF-22! PPS On the intake discussion, all inlets of supersonic aircraft decelerate the incoming airflow to subsonic speed before it reaches the compressor. The basic challenge of a supersonic inlet is to decelerate the airflow as efficiently as possible, which means the difference in kinetic energy (from reducing the velocity of the incoming air mass) should be converted to an increase in pressure and not an increase in temperature (the basic thermodynamic i.e. Carnot efficiency is dictated by the difference between compressor inlet temperature and turbine inlet temperature, so the compressor intake temperature should be as low as possible and the combustor temperature should be as high as possible). The simple F-16 style intake decelerates the air through one large shockwave, which becomes relatively inefficient at speeds over Mach 2. The variable ramp intakes decelerate the air through multiple, lower-gradient shockwaves and are therefore more efficient at very high speeds. Nowadays, aircraft top speeds are no longer restricted by engine performance (because the engines are so powerful), plus there is somewhat less emphasis on very high speed, so designers have chosen to go with reduced-weight, less complex fixed designs (that can also be made more stealthy). Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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