It turns out I have the NATOPS manual for the F-8D and F-8E.
A tidbit that turned out to be amazingly hard to find was if the F-8E's post-SHOEHORN chaff dispenser was actually an AN/ALE-29.
It is.
In the cockpit you get a narrow little panel on the right, just under the hook control and a friendly red anodized button on the left wall at the canopy rail, just outboard of the landing checklist placard.
These are what you use to fire off chaff. Theoretically, you could fire flares too, but...
The friendly red button pops a single cartridge from one of the two 30-shot dispensers, using the FWD/AFT/OFF switch on the other panel to choose which dispenser. If you run one dry, it will start using the other automatically.
The narrow panel, in addition to having the FWD/AFT/OFF switch has the counters for how many cartridges are left and an AUTOFIRE button.
This is where it gets fun and complicated.
In the starboard wheel well is a panel where you can select how many bursts will be fired per stab of the AUTOFIRE button, how long between bursts and if each burst is a single or double shot. Notice that you really cannot change these settings in flight, what with the landing gear being retracted and all that wind and all.
You can select 6 to 36 bursts with a delay of 1 to 10 seconds between them.
It starts with the forward dispenser and when that one runs out, uses the aft.
Since you only have 60 total shots, you can run out very fast with autofire.
My manual says you can load them with Mk. 46 or MJU-8/B flares or RR-129 or RR-144 chaff.
Mk. 46 flares are magnesium-teflon and burn real good! Safety hazard good because they use a lanyard to light.
MJU-8/B flares are identical to the Mk. 46 but have a different burn time.
RR-129 covers 2-18 GHz.
RR-144 is a training chaff round that doesn't fuck with the FAA.
Now about using flares... In 1966 when this was added to the plane, IR missiles weren't really a threat. They were much more concerned with radar guided missiles over charming vacations spots like Hanoi.
The thing is, flares were developed for the AN/ALE-29.
The simple way to have both is to fill one with flares and the other with chaff and select the dispenser loaded with the one you want to use.
Again, in theory, you could load the dispenser bucket in any order you want, including alternating the types.
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Wait, What? Did you get a fighter plane? Can I get a Corsair? :-)
ReplyDeleteSadly, I did not get a fighter plane. At least not a real one.
DeleteWhich Corsair were you thinking of? F4U or A-7?
I remember watching the A-7s fly out of Patrick AFB on their way to various training missions. Lovely little plane. Looked deadly, was deadly.
DeleteFun fact: AirNatGuard A-7 pilots consistently beat regular Air Force A-10 pilots on gunnery and bombing ranges for years. Just goes to show that often it's the pilot, not the plane. Now that the A-10 is in service for so long, you'll see the same thing paring up the A-10 against anything else flying.
I've seen it argued that the A-7D was a better choice than the A-10A for the close support role; but the AF was intent of ridding itself of "Navy" planes as Vietnam ran down.
DeleteIn the A-10's defense, it can, when piloted correctly, do things that the A-1, OV-10 and A-7s all couldn't do. Flying at speed and turning in a tight circle, battle damage survival and all other things, hands down the Warthog wins.
DeleteHaving those high-bypass turbofans mounted up and to the rear has made it super-survivable.
But, yeah, the A-7s were just nice little planes capable of a heck of a lot of fun stuff.