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RBF flag placement on weapons


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Hi everyone,

Coming to the end of my A7 build. Having trouble finding photos of some weapons with RBF flags. Can anyone help me with photos of a shrike, harm and cbu with RBF flags?

 

On the AIM9 I see sometimes the flag is on the seeker cover and other times it is on the arming key. What was the usual? 

 

Thanks everyone!

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4 minutes ago, tomthegrom said:

Hi everyone,

Coming to the end of my A7 build. Having trouble finding photos of some weapons with RBF flags. Can anyone help me with photos of a shrike, harm and cbu with RBF flags?

 

On the AIM9 I see sometimes the flag is on the seeker cover and other times it is on the arming key. What was the usual? 

 

Thanks everyone!

The streamer should be on ANYTHING that has to be removed, so if its only on the seeker it's probably not a live missile. All your -21 equipment (red gear for navy) should have streamers also. At least as far as USAF rules go.

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3 hours ago, tomthegrom said:

Hi everyone,

Coming to the end of my A7 build. Having trouble finding photos of some weapons with RBF flags. Can anyone help me with photos of a shrike, harm and cbu with RBF flags?

 

On the AIM9 I see sometimes the flag is on the seeker cover and other times it is on the arming key. What was the usual? 

 

Thanks everyone!

For the A-7;

 

For the HARM, there will be a small (about 6 inches long, 2 inch wide) RBF on the right side equal with the trailing edge of the wings (see pic for details)

 

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For the AGM-45 Shrike, there is a small flag (same size as the HARM's) on the bottom of the missile between the wings (see pic for details, it's that thing flag hanging down in the shadows, note the A/F used longer flags than we did in A-7's). For an aircraft that was just loaded, the flag would still be installed, for an aircraft that is about to be flown, the flag would be removed. We removed the flag as the aircrew were walking to the jet but won't arm the missile until on the CAT (there was a lever on the bottom of the missile you had to "switch" (ie move) that was recessed, remove the flag saved time on the CAT since were were supposed to be able to arm an entire jet (no matter what kind) in under 15 seconds.

 

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For the Rockeye/APAM (A-7's did carry GATOR or PDU-5's)

 

It depends on what you want to depict, if you want to represent an aircraft that has just been loaded than the fuze cover will be installed and there will be a small RBF on top between the fins (fin release band safety pin). For an aircraft that is about to be flown, the fuze cover will be removed (there will be two RBF's for the fuze, 180 degrees apart) and all pins (fuze and fin) will be removed. We would pull all pins on the Rockeye (and APAM) as the aircrew were walking to the jet.

 

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With that said, while on the flight deck we would remove the pins (on the bomb) right after we loaded it due to the wind on deck would blow (rip) the pins out of the bomb and FOD the deck so if you are doing a jet that is parked on the flight deck, only the rack pins would be installed.

 

For Sidewinders, I've never - NEVER seen an RBF on a nose cone my entire Naval career! They were considered FOD and removed for all nose cones used, whether it was a live or training missile. The Navy followed different rules than the A/F due to the potential FOD hazard while operating on the flight deck and different arming procedures we did (i.e. arming on the CAT and/or in the chocks). Keep in mind that all squadrons in the CAG and on the flight line used the same missiles so my experience wasn't just confined to the squadrons I was in at the time, it was the whole community, ship, air station. I think the only time there was a flag on a nose cone is when the put the "pretty" ones on for airshows/static displays. Normally, the cones were a dirty yellow and for the training missile, pretty beat-up most of the time.

 

For old AIM-9M (before 1990~ish and some AIM-9L after 1990~ish) there would be a small RBF where the safe/arm handle is on the rocket, this was the Mk 15 Mod 1 rocket motor, later mods had the "T-Handle" that you just turned and it would stay with the missile. Starting in the mid 90's, the "T-handle" was removed (but the arming socket and the sticker remained) due to it coming off in flight (the Navy got tired of all the TFOA (Things Falling Off Aircraft) messages flooding the message traffic.

 

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hth

GW

Edited by GW8345
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Thanks you for the superb answers. They are always a fascinating read. 15 seconds to arm any aircraft is impressive!

 

I will depict my A7 with the CBU fuse protectors removed but with the rack pins still in. Would you happen to have a photo of the pins in a TER?

 

Does this mean that for the shrike I should have the missile RBF attached but also have a pin in the pylon/rail still like in the harm photo you posted which has two flags? 

 

Thank you again for sharing your indepth knowledge. I feel it really helps my models get that much better.

Edited by tomthegrom
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1 hour ago, tomthegrom said:

Thanks you for the superb answers. They are always a fascinating read. 15 seconds to arm any aircraft is impressive!

 

I will depict my A7 with the CBU fuse protectors removed but with the rack pins still in. Would you happen to have a photo of the pins in a TER?

 

Does this mean that for the shrike I should have the missile RBF attached but also have a pin in the pylon/rail still like in the harm photo you posted which has two flags? 

 

Thank you again for sharing your indepth knowledge. I feel it really helps my models get that much better.

For a TER, there would be one RBF on the back end (even though the first pick is of MER's, the backend of a MER is identical to the TER);

 

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For the Shrike, no flag at the bottom, just a pin in the rack, all RBF should be on the outboard side of the rack.

 

If you are doing a Vietnam era A-7 than you would have the RBF installed on the Shrike, otherwise, it was removed right after loading.

 

 

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Here's all the RBF's you will need;

 

Pylon's loaded with Shrike - one RBF for the pylon, placed on the outboard side

Pylon's loaded with TER mounted CBU's - one RBF for the Pylon (outboard side), one RBF on the backend of the TER, small RBF on the fuze cover of the CBU (if installed)

Pylon's loaded with CBU's - one RBF for the Pylon (outboard side), small RBF on the fuze cover of the CBU (if installed)

Sidewinder - one RBF for the launcher, see pic (link) below for where to place RBF

 

All loaded stations (drop tanks, empty MER/TER, FLIR Pod, etc) will have a RBF on the outboard side of the pylon. All weapon safety pins were installed priopr to engine shut down and removed after engine start up (and after all pre-flight checks are performed).

 

aHR0cHM6Ly9leHRlcm5hbC1jb250ZW50LmR1Y2tkdWNrZ28uY29tL2l1Lz91PWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGdHNlNC5tbS5iaW5nLm5ldCUyRnRoJTNGaWQlM0RPSVAuVEN2WUJxQk5qRnFPN25fWk1JWl9DZ0hhRmolMjZwaWQlM0RBcGkmZj0xJmlwdD1mNTZlYTk0ZGMzYmQ4MTI5YjI4NmQzNDZmNDE3NWJjMGFkNGNhZTBkN2FhNjQwMmJhOWRjMmI1Y2RmOGRhNWM1Jmlwbz1pbWFnZXM~ (474×355) (menlosecurity.com)

 

Let me know if you wan to do RBF's for the landing gear down locks also (they are removed after engine start up).

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