General Category > Unofficial F/A-18 Acceleration Pack board

No navigation...no communication...no visibility

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vandy12:
If you are in a jet and everything goes down, navigation, communication, and you are in zero or near zero visibility conditions, how
do you get the plane down?

Tony360:
In real life, you'd probably punch out, especially if you were a long way from an airfield.

I'm sure you wouldn't punch out straight away as soon as the failures occur, but if you became totally disoriented and had no idea where you were, and restarting the systems failed, it'd be the only option available.

Having said that, I might be wrong - what if you accidentally punched out over a residential area? Normally if you're lost you can simply contact the local radar, but if all comms are down...

neutrino:
I would fly the aircraft at the most economical speed until I am out of fuel. That can keep me in the air for some time and increase the probability of getting into an area of better visibility, where I can attempt to land. This is assuming that I can at least maintain a level flight, i.e. my attitude indicator is still working.

Paco:
   1. Aviate, navigate, communicate.


   Aviate: find VMC weather, get on someone's wing, get on the standbye gyro.

   Navigate: You're hosed if you can't get VMC or get on someone's wing.

   Communicate: the PRC-90 and subsequent models found in a pilots survival vest can be hooked up to a pilot's helmet.  This will give him the ability to talk/recieve on Guard and 282.20.  This will enable a talk down PAR.  Before you laugh.....I've done this.  When I was an IP in T-34C's I had a radio failure.  I was able to hook up my PRC-90 radio and talk to the tower, get pattern entry and landing clearance to recover at NAS Corpus Christi.  Although I was VMC at the time, no big deal.  IMC would have been interesting.

Paco

jimi08:
As part of my military training, we always had to have a secondary and even a tertiary airfield with favorable conditions should the weather not be favorable at the primary field.  Even if you lose your comms and nav equipment, you will always have your standby instruments such as your airspeed, altitude, and at least your whiskey compass.  Also a watch or clock.  Using your known heading & distance of your alternate air fields along with dead reckoning training using the airspeed, clock and whiskey compass, you should be able to get yourself out of this predicament, once you find a suitable landing field via VMC, proceed with lost comms procedures and get your butt on the deck.  If you run out of fuel in this case, then yeah, you are SOL and you should punch out when necessary.

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