Embarrasing and Expensive for the USAF
 

The USAF can apparently build a gagillion $ fighter- whose canopy traps the pilot inside!
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/200..._this_man.html
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/photos/u...ed/canopy3.jpg

If at first you dont sucsead use a bigger chain saw.

This type of thing does happen. When I was at SUPT down at Laughlin, one of my friends got trapped in a T-38. The drive mechanism in the back jammed and wouldn't allow the canopy to rise enough to let him slip out. The civilian maintainers had to manually unlock the mechanism, and all of us in Lizards Flight had a good laugh at his expense.

For your info, canopy actuators do fail. So do locking mechanisms. If you think this only happens in the USAF you are mistaken. But what I find most comical about that pogo site, they seem to want the whole program terminated because this F-22 apparently had a faulty actuator or a stuck canopy locking drive assembly. :doh: While I like organizations that scrutinize how taxpayer dollars are spent, I don't think they should be too concerned about the F-22. It's well worth the money. ;)

It happens from time to time. When it happens on a actual combat plane, the canopy cost alone is nearly $1 million.

It may still turn out that the canopy replacement will cost the USAF less than they paid for that chainsaw. :damn:

Is it verified that this was a failure.

It could also be a mockup of the front end of the Raptor and this is an exercise to get the pilot out...

ironic how sometimes a penny cost component disables a million dollar machine.

if it was a mock up test i would have thought that it would have been done inside and they wouldnt have bothered locking someone inside.


anyway as it say on the side 'ejector seat' sounds like a simple way of getting out to me. ;)

Right because there is never an emergency outside so why bother training there… :roll:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

so not let people think that the 100 odd million dollar fighter that have just bought is not so faulty you cant get out of it, like the OP.

You all see fault in this, but fail to realise it's a safety feature.

If the Pilot can't eject and has to crash-land on enemy territory, the enemies won't be able to take the pilot out for interrogation, unless they buy one of those expensive chainsaws, that still gives plenty of time for the pilot to destroy all the on-board computers and systems.

The fighter is so expensive and valuable you cannot allow a chicken Pilot to eject and land behind the enemy lines filled with technical and military info.

When you fly the F-22, you really do commit yourself 110% to it. You're in all the way, it's a whole new way of living, and no quitters are allowed.

If the USAF didn't want people to know about this problem (if it is such) they could have just detained whoever took the picture (assuming they were not DoD personnel, in which case they only could release the pic with authorization) because there are big signs on the fences that say "Photography of base prohibited" or some such.

I vaguely recall an incident several years ago where a pilot ejected during an aborted takeoff (while the aircraft was still on the runway) and was pretty badly injured as a result of the parachute not being able to fully deploy in time. :nope:

It is, assuming the canopy comes off first so you don't get shredded by going through it. ;)