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Raptors grounded over OBOGS issue


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Raptors grounded today over potential Onboard Oxygen Generating System issues.

F-22s Grounded ‘Until Further Notice’ for Malfunction Probe

By Tony Capaccio - May 4, 2011 15:31 EDT

May 4 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Air Force has temporarily halted flights of the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-22 jet because of “recent reports of potential oxygen system malfunctions,” according to Air Combat Command.

“The Commander of Air Combat Command directed a stand-down May 3 of the Air Force’s F-22 fleet until further notice,” the command, based at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, said in an e-mailed statement. The Air Force has taken delivery of 160 of the stealth jets.

“The stand-down is a prudent measure following recent reports of potential oxygen system malfunctions” and gives Air Force officials time to investigate the system, which provides oxygen to the pilot, it said. The F-22 Raptor is the U.S. military’s most advanced fighter.

The suspension of flights was spurred by a recent incident involving a pilot assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron in Alaska, according to an e-mail to Senate and House lawmakers.

The pilot “scraped the underside of the aircraft on trees during a landing approach,” said the e-mail. “The pilot does not recall the incident and is being treated for physiological symptoms,” the e-mail to Congress said.

Lockheed Martin spokesman Johnny Whitaker said in an e-mail that the company was aware of the stand-down and has dispatched a five-member engineering team “to provide technical expertise and information.”

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The pilot “scraped the underside of the aircraft on trees during a landing approach,” said the e-mail. “The pilot does not recall the incident and is being treated for physiological symptoms,” the e-mail to Congress said.

That's a good one, might come in handy one day.

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Probably would have saved a million a jet by just installing a old fashioned 5 liter LOX convertor.

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That's a good one, might come in handy one day.

You could also just say "I'm not really sure what happened, I was still kinda hammered from psuhing it up last night."

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I see your speculation and add some more from a defensenews.com article from six weeks ago:

Aircraft Oxygen-Generating Systems Under Investigation

Weber also said that equipment such as the OBOGS is fairly standardized across multiple aircraft types, which means aircraft other than the F-22 likely are also affected, which Air Combat Command acknowledges.

Other than the T-6, what else has OBOGS?

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Block 50/52 Vipers.

And it worked fine.

You could also just say "I'm not really sure what happened, I was still kinda hammered from psuhing it up last night."

I love it when I "Psuhed" it up too hard

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Twenty years ago, the buzz word was "Look down/shoot down". Could these guys just put on a set of Dave Clarks and cruise around below 10k doing Look up/shoot up? New defense against the F-22: initiate a rapid climb up to Class A airspace.

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You could also just say "I'm not really sure what happened, I was still kinda hammered from psuhing it up last night."

C'mon Rainman,... that stuff never happens,... and never will again.

RH: don't you have a good hurricane story??

"If you're too drunk to drive,... don't do a wing takeoff...."

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For those of us that have no experience with OBOGS, can some of y'all chime in on what you don't like about it?

In the F-16, a single generator failure can result in 3 minutes of usable air prior to having to use the emergency oxygen bottle.

Plus, the CRU on your harness is super uncomfortable.

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For those of us that have no experience with OBOGS, can some of y'all chime in on what you don't like about it?

It isn't pure oxygen, it just concentrates oxygen from the ambient air.

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