Author Topic: Bombs not arming when low - not always...  (Read 614 times)

Offline ccvi

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« on: March 20, 2003, 07:54:23 AM »
Yesterday I decided to ditch my bombs when flyinging low - 100 feet over water.

I was expecting that they just dropped into the water without exploding.

But I was wrong. They were dropping far longer than expected, way through the surface of the water. Deep enough to explode, not deep enough to not kill me.

Offline pugg666

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2003, 09:11:48 AM »
how fast where you flying?

Offline ccvi

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2003, 10:23:32 AM »
Time to hit the ground does not depend on the speed of the aircraft (if it's flying level).

Anyway, I tried at the same speed over shallow water (very close to the the shore) and further out. Only further out it gets me killed.

Offline BenDover

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2003, 10:31:00 AM »
WRONG!

The bomb doesn't just stop & fall down, it keeps some of the energy from the aircraft's speed (its forward momentom), when the momentom wears off the bombs kinetic energy direction shifts downwards


The faster the plane is going, the more momentom the bomb will have, and therefore the slower the rate of shift on the direction on the kinetic energy.

Offline john9001

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2003, 10:57:43 AM »
in AH the bombs must travel 1000 ft to arm, that does NOT mean 1000 ft AGL, that means 1000 ft before impact, like they said if you drop at 300 mph the bomb is also moving forward at 300 mph

Offline Shiva

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2003, 11:32:15 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by ccvi
Time to hit the ground does not depend on the speed of the aircraft (if it's flying level).

Anyway, I tried at the same speed over shallow water (very close to the the shore) and further out. Only further out it gets me killed.



Bombs arm after 1000' of travel, not after 1000' of fall. Ignoring drag, and the fact that the path is actually parabolic, not linear, a plane would have to be flying level at less than about 270 TAS at 100' not to have the bombs arm before impact. At 300 TAS, there is more than enough forward throw on the bomb for it to arm before impact.

Offline ccvi

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2003, 01:46:25 PM »
Thank you.

I just wonder why it takes so many words to state a simple fact like arming depends on distance, not on time.

Offline BenDover

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2003, 02:41:57 PM »
'cos i'm good at science, i wanna show off:)

Offline hazed-

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2003, 05:02:20 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by BenDover
'cos i'm good at science, i wanna show off:)



ok wierd science boy built me a 'carrie-anne-moss' android love slave......

AND I want it yesterday! :D

Offline BenDover

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« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2003, 05:17:16 PM »
sorry, my experimental time machine only goes forward.......by the amount of time i waste on it........

Offline Furious

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2003, 05:25:57 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by BenDover
WRONG!

The bomb doesn't just stop & fall down, it keeps some of the energy from the aircraft's speed (its forward momentom), when the momentom wears off the bombs kinetic energy direction shifts downwards


The faster the plane is going, the more momentom the bomb will have, and therefore the slower the rate of shift on the direction on the kinetic energy.


I do hope you are not trying to say that the bomb does not immediately begin to accellerate towards the center of the earth at 9.8 m/s/s.

Offline BenDover

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2003, 05:51:49 PM »
no, i was trying too say a bomb doesn't just fall straight down

Offline LLv34_Camouflage

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2003, 06:17:03 PM »
A few of the finnish pilots have become experts in "bomb fishing" as well. :D

Camo
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"How about the power to kill a Yak from 200 yards away - with mind bullets!"

Offline Major_Hans

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2003, 07:36:13 PM »
Quote
The faster the plane is going, the more momentom the bomb will have, and therefore the slower the rate of shift on the direction on the kinetic energy.


Say what?!?

The speed of the plane in the X-axis has no affect on the bomb's acceleration in the Y-axis, which is 9.8 meters per second squared (gravity).  For an altitude of only 30 meters (100 feet), that means the bomb will land on the ground (or water) in about 2.5 seconds.  I used this equation.

T = Square root [ 2 * (D/A)]

T = time in seconds
D= Distance in meters
A= Acceleration in meters per second per second

T= Square root  [2 * (30/9.8)]

Whether the plane is moving or not makes no difference.  Two and a half seconds is all the time needed for the bomb to hit the ground.

Quote
'cos i'm good at science, i wanna show off


Well, the rest of the guys actually answered the question correctly.  The distance the bomb traveled is different if you are sitting still or flying along at 300 mph.  If you drop  a bomb from a stationary location at an altitude of 100 feet, that is the distance the bomb travels to arm itself.  100 feet.

If you are cooking along at 300 mph (480 kph = 133 mps), the bomb will travel horizontally a distance of about 332 meters, which is about 1100 feet.


So, the real question is this.

Do bombs arm themselves after a certain amount of time with timer or some sorts, or is it based on distance traveled?  In Aces High it seems to be distance.

So don't drop your bombs while flying low AND fast.

Offline ccvi

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Bombs not arming when low - not always...
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2003, 04:51:57 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by BenDover
'cos i'm good at science, i wanna show off:)


You don't even know how to spell momentum :p