No one going to comment about the shelter-in-place order?
- Thread starter Clem72
- Start date
Especially if you have a little C-4 to prod it to fall where you want.
LightRoasted
If I may ...
If I may ...
Here is another picture, with an additional red arrow, to show the thinness of the det cord. It's sole purpose, in design, is to be just strong enough to safely, without any danger of injury to the pilots, pop the canopies away, without leaving jagged edges around the frame, for quick egress.
Now here's a question for @glhs837. Were the four armament racks, (for the TOW missile launchers and/or the 2.75 Mk 4 (FFAR) launchers, or whatever mission fitment called for), pyrotechnic emergency jettison cartridges and its associated jettison switches, removed and deactivated on those fuselage wing stores?
A jettison switch that looked like this, in both the pilot's and gunner's cockpit.
The det cord for the Cobra's canopy ejection system is not powerful enough, (lacks the energy and explosive force necessary), to cut down a tree, well, maybe three foot sapling. If it were strong enough to cut down a regular sized tree, the denotation would most likely injure or kill the pilots, which of course, is the opposite of the intended purpose of the system.
Here is another picture, with an additional red arrow, to show the thinness of the det cord. It's sole purpose, in design, is to be just strong enough to safely, without any danger of injury to the pilots, pop the canopies away, without leaving jagged edges around the frame, for quick egress.
Now here's a question for @glhs837. Were the four armament racks, (for the TOW missile launchers and/or the 2.75 Mk 4 (FFAR) launchers, or whatever mission fitment called for), pyrotechnic emergency jettison cartridges and its associated jettison switches, removed and deactivated on those fuselage wing stores?
A jettison switch that looked like this, in both the pilot's and gunner's cockpit.
Probably very close to, if not the same, as the det cord used in the explosive "nets" developed for the man-portable mine breaching system we developed in great haste for use in a certain 'stan, back in the 80s. I was working on the tractor rocket side of the problem, not the explosive net side. I still have some of the stainless cable tow harness prototypes hanging on the wall in my shop; tried a ton of different lengths and wire gauges in very short order, because we had such a limited time frame to deliver in......had lots left over. LOL.
glhs837
Power with Control
@LightRoasted , no racks were installed. No "wings" even. Just the bare fuselage. We were told that while the canopy cutters were designed to neatly shear the plexi, it wasnt a sure thing that they would. Hence each station, pilot and gunner, had a specialized survival knife with a short blade, its purpose was to cut any fabric that cut or snagged, and the butt end was to smash remnants of the canopy out of the way. In the front, it was by the right knee.
LightRoasted
If I may ...
If I may ...
I know which tool you refer. But it was carried by all Cobra pilot's and co-pilot's and gunners, in their leg zipper pocket of their flight suit. It had a slot across one side, wide enough to slip over any remaining, jagged or otherwise, plexi to snap it off. It also had a dzus-fastener tool, that could be flipped out as a knife blade would be, the pilot/s could use to access panels. But it was not part of, or stored inside, the cockpits. Could almost be described as looking like brass knuckles in form, but thin. Like 3/8" thin x 4" x 4", or so.
glhs837
Power with Control
Not this one, but keep in mind, these were Ws, so maybe it was added later. This wasnt a tool, more like the crash axe in the P-3 Orions. A piece of aircraft equipment kept stowed in a bracket all the time. Was a stubby variant of the same knife I carried in my survival vest for over 4,000 hours, but did have a knurled metal handle instead of the standard leather.
LightRoasted
If I may ...
If I may ...
Unfortunately, the official last US Army flights of Cobras was on 15 March 1999. After which they were either given to National Guard Units or given to other "friendly" Nations, or stored, and or dismantled, or put on static displays, or crashed by Red Bull. Such a shame.
As you can see, it could be used as a puncher upon the plexi. Gripped in the hand, even better in a gloved hand, felt rather nicely and comfortable. As a fighting tool, I would wager, as an everyday carry "tool", it would not run afoul of brass knuckle laws. Push the button and the dzus-fastener key is accessible.
Fixed wing vs rotary wing. We had nothing like what you had in the P-3's, save the standard survival knife in the flight vest worn over the flight suit. Plus, you guys had a much larger cockpit area. Cobra pilots, co-pilot, gunners, were dealing with a three foot wide fuselage, space was at a premium. Our survival kit and first aide kit was stowed up and behind the pilot seat on the bulkhead next to the Stability and Control Augmentation System (SCAS) box. This is what we carried ...
Unfortunately, the official last US Army flights of Cobras was on 15 March 1999. After which they were either given to National Guard Units or given to other "friendly" Nations, or stored, and or dismantled, or put on static displays, or crashed by Red Bull. Such a shame.
As you can see, it could be used as a puncher upon the plexi. Gripped in the hand, even better in a gloved hand, felt rather nicely and comfortable. As a fighting tool, I would wager, as an everyday carry "tool", it would not run afoul of brass knuckle laws. Push the button and the dzus-fastener key is accessible.
glhs837
Power with Control
@LightRoasted these were Marine AH-1Ws, not Army. I was working on them from 1997-2000 at RWATS here. And then did more testing occasionally between 2000 and 2008. And I know how tight they were, I spent a lot of hours in those seats, running R&C checks, purging the sighting system with nitrogen, cleaning the rails for the HSS, testing the gun. And while the crew may have carried those (A lot of P-3 flight engineers did also), I know these knife tools I'm talking about were in the cockpits of the Marine Cobras at RWATS. Marines didnt retire the W until just last year.