r/machinesinaction • u/Bodzio1981 • 12d ago

C-17 Globemaster takeoff in the desert

4.1k Upvotes

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216

u/deep-fucking-legend 12d ago

Maintenance crew is wincing.

13

u/FLink557 12d ago

As an AF F16 crew chief searching for every piece of possible FOD daily, how the fck can you launch a jet, with 4 massive engines, in GD sandbox!?!?!?

3

u/GlockAF 11d ago

Start by placing the engine inlet more than six inches from the runway surface?

2

u/FLink557 11d ago

I thought that the height off the ground of the base of the engines would matter, I understand that, but a grain of sand can destroy an engine. Just seems crazy to me that an engine 4X the size of a PW or GE F16 engine would NOT be susceptible to sand FOD during launch. However seeing is believing! That’s why I’m a crew chief, not an engineer haha

3

u/Independent_Dig_3583 10d ago

A grain of sand in the wrong spot can destroy an engine by causing extra wear, but that doesnt mean the engines are fragile.

A grain of sand can wreck your car engine too, but that doesn't mean it cant survive running in a dusty environment without a filter for a while. Its just reducing the life of the engine which is increasing operating costs of that platform.

And thats not factoring in how different the turbo-jets on an f16 are when compared to the turbo-fans on the globemaster.