Navy instructor pilots refusing to fly

Just when you think you can't be any more dumbfounded by this whole situation, it turns out that the OBOGS system in the T-45 doesn't even have a water separator.

They're declaring the F-18 problems as being with the environmental control system. Meanwhile, beginning this fall they're going to install water separators, while developing a next generation OBOGS.

www.flightglobal.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

SMH

a reply to: cosmania

Seriously. Who builds an oxygen generator without a water separator?

a reply to: Zaphod58

The lowest bidder.

a reply to: JIMC5499

This is pathetic even for the lowest bidder. That should be one of the first things to go in.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I agree. What I want to know is why the Navy accepted it without one?

a reply to: JIMC5499

Now THAT is an interesting question that I'd love to hear the answer to.

a reply to: Zaphod58

And I used that system.

For 3 years.

Yipes.

a reply to: cosmania

That explains everything from why it's gotten so much worse, to why going on backup oxygen didn't cause an improvement in the pilots symptoms.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Still breathing here.

a reply to: cosmania

Don't you love how they said they can't nail down the cause? Which is technically correct. The big cause is the lack of a separator, but this way they can say they don't know exactly what specific contamination caused it, and deflect the blame.

Great pic. Before reading that article I would have loved the chance to fly one. They always look fun.

a reply to: Zaphod58

What I can't understand is how hard is it to strap a victim I mean volunteer into one seat with a pulse OX meter taped to a finger and a pilot with a walk around bottle in the other. Take the plane up and see what the readings are on the meter.

a reply to: JIMC5499

That's just one of many things they should have done as soon as the incident rates started going up instead of dickibg around and taking a couple aircraft apart on the ground.

a reply to: Zaphod58

This is interesting.
news.usni.org...

a reply to: JIMC5499

I wouldn't say the F-35 is really having problems though. It was only five events at one base. That sounds like it may be a maintenance thing more than anything.

But it is interesting that they aren't having problems. Want to bet they have a water separator on theirs?

The T-45s, with instructor pilots only will start flying again. Students will start flying them again towards the end of the month.

Was looking through some Ww2 aircraft drawings and most if not all had water separators..

They're looking at a contaminant in the bleed air. In cases of hypoxic hypoxia symptoms abate once they switch to emergency oxygen. In these cases, the symptoms stay after going on backup systems.

This seems to support it being histotoxic hypoxia. A number of the instructors identified the symptoms as histotoxic hypoxia because of the late recognition and delayed onset. The question now is where is the contaminant entering the system.

m.aviationweek.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Did you read the comments? The guy talking about sump oil leaking into the 10th stage bleed air valve might have something.

a reply to: JIMC5499

I didn't read all of them, but I caught that one. That would make a lot of sense. It would match up with symptoms seen in commercial bleed air leaks where oil leaks into the system.