Hydrazine: F-16 Crash in Hengelo, The Netherlands
Jacek Skowronek
From sk...@cs.utwente.nl (Jacek Skowronek)
On Tuesday 11th an F-16 of the KLu (Nethralands AF) crashed in Hengelo. The crash
took place in a adensely populated suburb of the town. Miraculously, no single
person was killed or wounded. The pilot ejected shortly before.
I saw the scene and I think it was really a miracle that nobody was killed.
The suburb, Hasseler Est consists of rows of houses. The plane landed just in
a small place between the two rows.
There was much fear of the hydrazine container which could explode and was said
to be toxic. It was found intact, though.
There is much public unrest about all this and there are demands to ground the
F-16s in Holland.
Could somebody elaborate on the hydrazine ? What is it and why is it so
dangerous ?
Thanks in advance,
Jacek Skowronek
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacek Skowronek e-mail: <sk...@cs.utwente.nl>
Departament of Computer Science
Twente University
Enschede, The Netherlands
Henry Spencer
From he...@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From sk...@cs.utwente.nl (Jacek Skowronek)
>There was much fear of the hydrazine container which could explode and was said
>to be toxic. It was found intact, though. ...
>Could somebody elaborate on the hydrazine ? What is it and why is it so
>dangerous ?
If memory serves, the hydrazine is for the F-16's auxiliary power unit,
which helps to make it independent of ground facilities for things like
engine starting.
Hydrazine is convenient because you just run it through a catalyst bed
and it decomposes into hot gas. Unfortunately, there are not many
substances that will do that, so you get to accept a few tradeoffs.
Hydrazine is flammable, poisonous, volatile, corrosive, explosive, and
carcinogenic.
--
SVR4: proving that quantity is | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
not a substitute for quality. | he...@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
Andrew Tron
From awt...@strawber.princeton.edu (Andrew Tron)
In article <1992Feb14....@cbnews.cb.att.com> sk...@cs.utwente.nl (Jacek Skowronek) writes:
>
>Could somebody elaborate on the hydrazine ? What is it and why is it so
>dangerous ?
>
The hydrazine in the F-16 acts as a back-up fuel cell to power the F-16's
electrics. Since the F-16 is a fly-by-wire, relaxed static stability
sort of aircraft, it needs a supply of electricity to keep it flying. When
the primary generator fails, the idea is to use the "hydrazine bomb" long
enough to land someplace before the hydrazine runs out (and the aircraft
becomes unflyable).
I suspect that hydrazine is used since it has a relatively high energy
density. However this would make it rather volatile, so handling and
disposing it would be relatively tricky. One of my fellow students here
was once an engineer for the RAF. He told me that one of the more thankless
jobs was servicing an F-16's hydrazine bomb after it had been used.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Never trust a pilot with clean hands.| Andrew Tron at Princeton University
No flight plan has ever survived | awt...@strawber.princeton.edu (Internet)
contact with air traffic control. | uunet!phoenix!strawber!awtron (UUCP)
Chip Salzenberg
From ch...@tct.com (Chip Salzenberg)
According to awt...@strawber.princeton.edu (Andrew Tron):
>The hydrazine in the F-16 acts as a back-up fuel cell to power the F-16's
>electrics.
That reminds me of an F-16 story told by Jim Kunzman <j...@tct.com>.
Seems that a pilot in the Juvat squadron (forget the number, sorry)
was taking part in a large exercise in the Philippines. One day he
got involved in a dogfight -- so involved that he lost track of his
fuel usage. By the time he thought to look, it was too late for a
normal return to base.
He did the smart thing: He pushed it up to mil power and gained as
much potential energy as he could before he ran out of gas.
At flameout, he started to coast toward the airfield. His airspeed
eventually fell below the minimum required to maintain power via
spinning fan, so the hydrazine-fueled APU kicked in, giving him ten
more minutes of flight. Eight minutes later, to everyone's relief, he
made a perfect dead-stick landing.
This story is the source of a little-known Air Force term...
Juvat Bingo Fuel: 10% hydrazine.
--
Chip Salzenberg at Teltronics/TCT <ch...@tct.com>, <7371...@compuserve.com>
"Informix 4GL is not a 4G, and it's barely an L." -- John Tombs
Roderic C. Don
From "Roderic C. Don " <rc...@tbd2.brl.mil>
Hydrazine is used as a backup to a backup: as long as the engine is running,
bleed air from the compressor stage is used to spin the EPU (Emergency Power
Unit) turbine to provide electric power. If the engine quits, then
hydrazine is sent through a catalyst (platinum?) where it is converted into
steam + ?, and that spins the EPU. The EPU also provides hydraulic power
for flight control actuation. The EPU is tested at the EOR (end of runway)
inspection before each flight, with bleed air of course.
Hydrazine is NASTY.
I'm an ex F-4C/D/E/G, F-16A/B crewchief, 1979-1986.
RCD
Suicidal Freshman
From yuq...@bvc.edu (Suicidal Freshman)
> fuel usage. By the time he thought to look, it was too late for a
> normal return to base.
> (deleted)
> Juvat Bingo Fuel: 10% hydrazine.
I thought the computer on the fighter yell out Bingo fuel when your fuel is low
and Bingo is displayed on the HUD.
SF
bvc
Chip Salzenberg
From ch...@tct.com (Chip Salzenberg)
According to ch...@tct.com (Chip Salzenberg):
>Juvat Bingo Fuel: 10% hydrazine.
According to yuq...@bvc.edu (Suicidal Freshman):
>I thought the computer on the fighter yell out Bingo fuel when your fuel
>is low and Bingo is displayed on the HUD.
Exactly. That's the source of the joke. It implies that Juvats don't
worry about fuel status until they're almost out of hydrazine.