The Airplane Thread

[zx10guy]

Well, it depends on how bad the leak is. If the leak is bad enough and you're running the system with low refrigerant, you can cause issues with the compressor or other components such as the accumulator (which functions to remove moisture out of the system).

I did run my previous system for a year before having to recharge it due to a leak in the evaporator coils. The system wasn't totally empty though but the coils did freeze over.

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Well, it depends on how bad the leak is. If the leak is bad enough and you're running the system with low refrigerant, you can cause issues with the compressor or other components such as the accumulator (which functions to remove moisture out of the system).

I did run my previous system for a year before having to recharge it due to a leak in the evaporator coils. The system wasn't totally empty though but the coils did freeze over.

Thanks...he is replacing refrigerant on Thursday also.

It seems like this AC units are really designed poorly.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Thanks...he is replacing refrigerant on Thursday also.

It seems like this AC units are really designed poorly.

Replacing it is one thing. But that won't give any indication on how bad the leak will be. What should be done is to put the system under vacuum and then have a gauge on the system. Remove the vacuum pump and watch to see how fast the system loses vacuum. If the leak is bad where vacuum is lost pretty quickly, then there's no point in charging the system back up again.

My buddy did this on my new system to ensure there wasn't any leaks that needed to be tracked down. I forget how long he left the system under vacuum before charging it up with refrigerant.

[Lady Jane]

Westland Lysander

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Lysander

[RickFLM4]

I had a Trane fail 2 days after the warranty ended. Literally 2 days. No relief from Trane or vendor. Replaced with Lennox and replaced vendor. Fuck Trane.

[zx10guy]

All this warranty talk got me curious about my unit. So Bryant spells out that the original owner has 10 years and any subsequent owner has 5 years. The warranty does say Bryant won't cover diagnostic fees or labor to replace the defective part.

[jsf721]

I just paid just under 10k for a new compressor (relocated) and new air handler and replaced ducting inside the house with high /low vents for better cooling and heating performance. My units were from 1984

[Llarry]

The Phabulous Phantom (The F-4 Phantom II) first flew in May of 1958. It was meant to be a fleet air defense fighter, but grew info far, far more than that. 5,195 F-4s of all types, services and countries were built and the Phantom continues in service today in Iran, Korea and Turkey.

The original U.S. Navy designation was the F4H-1 and the Phantom II entered squadron service in 1961. In 1962, Navy and Marine Phantoms were redesignated F-4B (the early production F-4As were few in number and used in testing and training.)

The F-4 was the winner of a fighter competition in 1958 between it and the Vought F8U-3 Crusader III. The latter was described as the "best fighter the Navy never bought" and in pure performance was superior to the F-4, but the F-4 had better radar and a two-man crew to handle complex electronics.

In 1962, under pressure from the Secretary of Defense, the Air Force held a competition between borrowed Navy F-4s and the Convair F-106A interceptor fighter. The F-4 won and the Air Force ordered the airplane as the F-110A Spectre -- changed before delivery to the F-4C Phantom II.

By 1962 the F-4B was being fielded in Navy fighter squadrons and Marine Corps fighter-attack squadrons. While the original design stressed air-to-air capabilities, the F-4 showed significant ground attack talents as well.

The Air Force not only purchased F-4C fighters, but also ordered a photo-recon version designated the RF-4C. (A little-known secondary mission was nuclear bomb delivery.) Taking advantage of the USAF's development, the Marines ordered 46 RF-4B recon aircraft as well.

Air Force orders exceeded Navy orders considerably and soon a new USAF version, the F-4D came along. Vietnam was also heating up and F-4s of all the services were soon in the thick of it.

The mid- to late-60s saw the development of improved F-4s: The Navy and Marines bought the F-4J and the Air Force bought the F-4E. The F-4E was notable in that it had an internal cannon (the rapid-firing rotary M61 20mm cannon); Navy/Marine F-4s never were equipped with internal guns, although they could (rarely) use external cannon pods.

U.S. production of the F-4 ended in 1979. By that time, the Navy and Marines had F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornets in the squadrons and the Air Force had F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcons in large numbers. The swan song for the F-4 was in the Gulf War of 1991 when limited numbers of U.S. F-4s participated.

There were plenty of modifications of F-4s after they had left the production line. Navy/Marine F-4Bs were updated to F-4N standard and F-4Js were updated to F-4S standard. The Air Force modified a number of F-4E variants for the dangerous but vital mission of air defense suppression, deleting the cannon and replacing it with electronics; the resulting F-4G was called the Wild Weasel and featured radar-jamming electronics and radar-homing missiles.

The final task for the F-4 (after retirement from front-line service) was as an aerial target. Both the Navy and the Air Force repurposed retired planes for use as target drones. (While these were drones, they could also be flown with crews.) The F-4 has now totally disappeared from the active inventory and can be seen only in museums.

Next: The F-4 in foreign service.

[Llarry]

F-4 Phantom users other than the U.S.A.

Australia -- The RAAF ordered F-111s, but delivery was greatly delayed due to primarily engine development problems; as an interim measure, the RAAF leased 24 F-4Es from 1970-73.

Egypt -- Egypt received 35 F-4Es in 1979 and operated them until 2020.

Germany -- The Luftwaffe took delivery of 88 RF-4E recon aircraft and then 175 F-4F variants of the F-4E from 1973. Their F-4s were retired by 2013.

Greece -- Greece received F-4Es in 1974 and retired them in 2017.

Iran -- The Shah's air force was an early recipient of the F-4, getting some F-4Ds in te late 1960s, then a number of F-4Es and RF-4Cs. The F-4 is still operational in the Iranian air force.

Israel -- Israel received over 212 F-4Es and RF-4Es and retired their Phantoms in 2004.

Japan -- Japan received a small number of U.S.-built F-4Es and RF-4Es starting in 1968, but then produced the F-4 in Japan until 1981. The Japanese F-4s numbered 154 and they were retired in 2021.

Korea -- The ROKAF was also an early recipient of F-4s, getting a couple of squadrons of ex-USAF F-4Ds in 1968 and subsequently a larger number of F-4Es. A number of F-4Es are still operational.

Spain -- The Spanish air force operated the F-4C and RF-4C from 1971 to 2002.

Turkey -- By my count Turkey received 152 F-4Es and 8 RF-4Es from the US. Israeli Aircraft Industries undertook an extensive update of a number of Turkish F-4s and 54 remain in service.

United Kingdom -- The UK was unique in that their F-4s did not use the American GE J-79 engine but substituted the Rolls-Royce Spey (with considerable re-engineering required.) They also substituted UK electronics. RAF versions were designated F-4M and Royal Navy variants were the F-4K. The RAF also used one squadron of ex-USN F-4J fighters as an interim measure. The last UK F-4s were retired in 1992.

[Llarry]

One more Phantom photo -- this is an ex-USAF F-4D owned by the Collings Foundation. The only civil-owned Phantom that I am aware of. I can scarcely imagine what this beast costs to keep running: Jet fuel, maintenance, etc.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

One more Phantom photo -- this is an ex-USAF F-4D owned by the Collings Foundation. The only civil-owned Phantom that I am aware of. I can scarcely imagine what this beast costs to keep running: Jet fuel, maintenance, etc.

I'm surprise that it doesn't have a civilian registration number. ( Disregard, I've answered my own question: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collings_Foundation)

The plane has the markings of the Steve Ritchie / Chuck DeBellevue fighter from the Vietnam War.

[Lady Jane]

Cornelius XFG-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_XFG-1

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

My buddy did this on my new system to ensure there wasn't any leaks that needed to be tracked down. I forget how long he left the system under vacuum before charging it up with refrigerant.

When I had my new one/first ever installed last fall, they put it under pressure for 24 hours before charging it. Might have something to do simply that my installer had other/better things to do, and our heat wave was over by then, so I didn't rush him.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

We have a 2019 Trane AC Unit which is still under warranty.

The issue is the coils are leaking. We don't know why. I've already had 2 opinions and both of the repair companies said the same thing (they confirmed the exact same leak)

My concern is that if I fix the leak the unit is possibly defective and the AC companies only guarantee their work for 1 year.

So here are my options and I don't know which to do:

Option 1: Fix the leak and fill with refrigerant for $1,750 (1 year warranty)

Option 2: Replace the entire Air Handler for $8,500 (5 year warranty on labor and new parts)

Do you all think it's likely for a Trane to be defective? One AC company said it's possible and the other who came this morning said it's close to 0% so I don't know who to believe.

Do you use natural gas? If not it may be an opportunity to buy a heat pump.

[Llarry]

The first U.S. supersonic fighters, the F-100, F-101 and F-102, were powered by afterburning versions of Pratt & Whitney's excellent J57 engine, which was also used in non-AB form on the Boeing 707, KC-135 tanker, B-52 bomber and other aircraft.

Then came the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The -104 was a revolutionary design: It seemed that the tiny wings could not possibly provide enough lift for the aircraft. While the prototype XF-104 first flew in 1954 with a Wright J65 engine, the Starfighter was designed to use the new General Electric J-79 engine -- smaller than the J57 but ultimately capable of just as much power.

The U.S. Air Force bought a limited number of F-104As, along with an even smaller number of dual-seat F-104Bs. There were plenty of teething problems and plenty of pilots lost their lives in -104s in the early years. After years of development, the F-104A entered service in 1958.

In addition to introducing the J-79 engine, the F-104 also incorporated another innovation: The M61 20mm multi-barrel rotary cannon with an extremely high rate of fire. The -104 was small and lightweight and could carry a limited weapons and fuel load; the range was short and the weapons load, in addition to the cannon, was generally a pair of the new AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-homing air-to-air missile.

There was a crisis in the Taiwan Strait in 1958 and the U.S. supplied both F-104s and the Sidewinder to the Republic of China Air Force for use in battles with mainland Chinese fighters. You may be sure that U.S. military advisors were closely watching these engagements for lessons learned.

The F-104A/B were succeeded by more USAF F-104s -- still not bought in the large numbers as larger fighters. The newer F-104C and dual-seat F-104D were deployed to South Vietnam in 1964 to counter an ever-upgraded North Vietnamese fighter capability.

At the same time, Lockheed found a number of export customers for the F-104. Canada built the CF-104 and two-seat CF-104D and exported some to NATO partners. Germany's Luftwaffe bought a number of improved F-104G and TF-104G aircraft; like many countries, including the U.S., the type suffered a high accident rate at first; the F-104 did not suffer poor piloting skills easily. F- and TF-104Gs were also supplied to a number of NATO countries.

On the other side of the world, Japan bought and then locally produced F-104J and F-104DJ Starfighters.

The ultimate F-104 was the Italian Air Force F-104S which had upgraded engine and systems.

Although the Starfighter is long-retired, it still flies as part of a civilian company (Starfighters, Inc) that contracts for government work and flies airshows with CF-104s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockhe...04_Starfighter

The J-79 that powers the F-104 went on to also power the B-58 bomber, the F-4 Phantom II and the A-5 Vigilante. In most versions of the engine, it was very smoky and this was criticized during the Vietnam war as giving the enemy better situational awareness of U.S. aircraft. A reduced-smoke version was developed late in the life of the J-79. The other thing about the J-79 was its unique sound; here is a youtube clip of a Royal Norwegian Air Force CF-104D landing at a Dutch air base. Those howls give me goose-bumps!

[Llarry]

And on the subject of the GE J79 engine, the other aircraft powered by the J79 were the F-4 Phantom, already covered earlier, the Convair B-58 Hustler bomber and the North American A-5 Vigilante. Here are photos of the latter two. I never heard a B-58 taxiing or landing, which is when the J79 howl was evident, but I did hear the F-4 and the A-5 under those circumstances and can attest to the howl being present for both.

[Llarry]

I can't discuss the F-104 without thinking about the Soviet MiG-21, which was in many ways a counterpart to the American fighter. Both were compact, high-performance aircraft with (at first) relatively unsophisticated electronic systems and limited armament. The Mig-21 lagged slightly behind the F-104 in service introduction but was produced for a far longer time and in greater variety. In fact, a Chinese version of the MiG-21 did not cease production until 2013. The MiG-21 and Chinese-built F-7 (sometimes referred to as J-7) are still in widespread use. Note in the last photo below that the Chinese slightly enlarged the wing of their F-7 in later versions.

The U.S. Air Force obtained MiG-21s, as well as other Soviet combat aircraft under a highly-classified program (Constant Peg) and flew them to familiarize American pilots with potential enemy capabilities.

The number of nations that have flown or are flying the MiG-21 is a long one -- rather than list them all, let's see some photos...

[floridaorange]

We just replaced ours about 3-4 months ago. We had a big company come by first, they quoted $14k. I called a friend who introduced me to a locally owned family operated company. The owner and his son installed our new unit, I think we paid a total of $7k. 3.5 ton, so not very big. It's a "goodman" which are American made, but I hear can be hit or miss... so far so good.

At any rate, whatever route you go, be sure to find a locally owned smaller outfit with good reviews, no big companies, all they want to do is make more $ off you.

In fact the first company was trying to sign us up to also come check our fire alarms and some other nonsense, it was absurd.

[Lady Jane]

Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita with experimental V-Tail.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_AT-10_Wichita

[Llarry]

While I agree with those pundits who doubt that China and the U.S. will go to war anytime soon, military commanders have to take adversary capabilities into account, not their intentions.

So what do the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and allied military commanders have to worry about in East Asia? Plenty! The Chinese People's Liberation forces have plenty of capability and are acquiring more rapidly. Were I a U.S. military commander in the Western Pacific, I would worry a lot about the Chinese bomber threat.

The Chinese air force and naval air force have a couple of hundred Xi'an H-6 Badger missile-armed bombers. The H-6 is based on the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 that first flew in 1952 -- ancient in aeronautical terms. The first Chinese example flew in 1959 and the turmoil in China made development and production progress slow for a number of years; the H-6 entered service in 1969.

The aircraft have been considerably upgraded from their Tu-16 ancestors, but it is really the missiles that are the threat. While the threat is missile-armed H-6 variants, there are also tankers and other versions.

I do not know much about the missiles, but the photos tell an alarming story -- there appear to be a variety of subsonic cruise missiles, as well as air-launched ballistic missiles. The one in the last photo appears to be a two-stage missile: An air base- or aircraft carrier-killer if there ever was one.

And I can assure you that the Chinese are working hard on a follow-on bomber that will not have its roots in a 1952 design. I don't believe it has yet flown and don't know what it will look like, but worry about it nonetheless. The rumour mill says it will be designated H-20.

[Lady Jane]

Curtiss A-12 Shrike

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_A-12_Shrike

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Then came the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

My dad left Marville, France where he was flying the Mk5 Sabre to train on the CF-104 and returned to Germany as his Squadron had re-located and transitioned to the new plane.