- October 1979: MTU F-16 assignment.
- Presentations.
- Introduction to the F-16 and its F100 engine.
October 1979, we're assigned to the MTU F-16 (*) to follow a conversion course on Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-200 engine.
The class is constituted by 9 technicians, we should become the first francophone engine class to be converted on F-16 in Belgium and even in Europe.
(*) MTU: Maintenance Training Unit.
The technicians selected to follow the course are: (alphabetically)
- Sgt BAUDE Daniel
- Sgt BONFOND Serge
- Sgt BORMANN Helmut
- Sgt DAUCHOT Maurice
- Sgt GHYSSENS Henry
- Sgt LALLEMAND Philippe
- Sgt LAMOCK Guy
- Sgt ROSE Philippe
- Sgt WATRELOT Jean-Yves
The classrooms are located outside of the base within a non-operational zone called “The Camp”. The “Camp” is situated at the north-east of the airfield and includes the NCO Club, the NCO Mess, but also general accommodation and administrative buildings.
One of those buildings has been specially converted to host the MTU F-16, several classrooms being equipped with top didactical equipment are ready to welcome the various aircraft specialists (Airframe, Engine, Avionics, Weapon etc.)
On this first day, we are welcomed by Lieutenant-colonel GOEMINNE, chief of the MTU, but also by the various instructors which will teach us over the next three months. One of them is particularly concerned: Adjudant Jean KNAEPEN (*) being our engine instructor.
(*) Adj Knaepen specialized until then on J-79 engine has been recently certified on Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-100 in the U.S.
Having left Beauvechain with a first group of technicians at the end of march 1978, he’ll spend the next two months at Langley AFB (Virginia) receiving a theoretical training course, followed by three months of practical training on the legendary base of Edwards AFB in California.
At the end of August 1978, he comes back to Beauvechain and spends the following months writing the syllabuses which will be used to train the 1Wing engine technicians, which we are a part of by this late 1979.
Other instructors are in charge of training us on some specific subjects such as the study of the F-16 technical documentation, and the study of some auxiliary systems installed on the aircraft such as the Jet Fuel Starter, the ejection seat, etc.
The presentations being done, we’re informed about the schedule of the course that should be running until the end of the year and which is divided in a dozen of chapters.The various syllabuses dealing with each of them are distributed.
The theoretical as well as practical exams are already scheduled for early January 1980.
We start the course with the “Safety Precautions”.
This chapter defines all the danger zones of the F-16 that we must know before to approach and access the aircraft. They’re numerous and of various type.
- Hot gases exhaust: EPU (1), JFS (2), ECS (3), etc.
- Electromagnetic radiations : Radar, Radio, etc.
- Engine: Air intake & Engine Exhaust
- Ejection seat
- Hydrazine. (4)
(1): Emergency Power Unit
(2): Jet Fuel Starter
(3): Environmental Control System
(4): Propellant used by the EPU.
Some zones such as the “hot gases” or “radiation” zones must be avoided, while others must be secured with “safety pins” before to be accessed: Ejection seat, landing gear, EPU, arrestor hook, gun, missile, etc.
The next chapter is called MIDAS for Maintenance Integrated Data Access System and is presented by Adj DUBUISSON Prudent.
The F-16 maintenance is based from now on modern procedures which has required a complete revision of the technical documentation system used so far. The T.O.’s (Technical Orders) numbering is from now on based on the system to which it relates, (Electrical Power Supply, Landing Gear, Fuel, Engine etc.) this is the introduction of the ATA numbering. (Air Transport Association)
Also, the F-16 technical documentation incorporates now new types of T.O.’s which weren’t existing until then.
Adj Dubuisson shows us in detail the layout of each type of T.O. The technical documentation learned during this course will be at the base of each action performed later on an aircraft by the technician.
Below a picture showing Adj Dubuisson during a training session with Adj Bonlaron Gaby (left) and Adj Many Roland (right).
https://sergebonfond.be/index.php/en/mtu-f-16/mtu-f-16-introduction?showall=1#sigProId7a9f249784
MTU F-16 - F-100 - Overview
A few days have passed since we joined the MTU.
The next chapters, presented by Adj Knaepen are enabling us to get to the heart of the matter, the study of the Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-200 engine.
The development of the Pratt & Whitney F100 starts in 1967 when the United States Navy and United States Air Force join together into an engine program called the IEDP (Initial Engine Development Program) aiming to develop an engine for the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle.
The IEDP was created to be a competitive engine design/demonstration phase followed by a development program of the winning engine.
General Electric and Pratt & Whitney were placed on contract for an approximately 18-month program with goals to improve thrust and reduce weight to achieve a thrust-to-weight ratio of 8.
In 1970, the Air Force award Pratt & Whitney to develop and produce F-100-PW-100 (USAF) and F401-PW-400 (USN) engines. The Navy will cut back and later cancel its order, choosing to continue to use the Pratt & Whitney TF30 engine from the F-111 in its F-14.
The F100-PW-100 first flew in an F-15 Eagle in 1972 with a thrust of 23.930 lbs.
A F100-PW-200 version is developed for the F-16 and includes modifications some of which being associated with the fact that contrary to the F-15, the F-16 is a single engine aircraft. A back-up fuel control called (BUC) is joined to the main fuel control system and is to be used in case of emergency.
The engine is initially certified with a thrust of 23.770 Lbs.
The two prototypes ( #721567 et #721568) fly in 1974 equipped with a F100-PW-100 engine.
The first production F-16A and F-16B aircraft (Block 1) will be fitted with the F100-PW-200.
We begin with the engine general information’s which, at that time, includes the latest technological improvements.
The F100 is an axial flow two-spool turbofan engine having a bypass ratio of 0.36 and an overall pressure ratio of 32:1. It is fitted with a variable exhaust nozzle system containing an afterburner.
- In a turbofan engine, the compressor is divided in two successive parts, a low-pressure part (called Fan) and a high-pressure part (called Core). The two compressors are driven by a dedicated turbine, a low-pressure turbine for the Fan and a high-pressure turbine for the Core.
- The bypass ratio is the ratio between the mass flow produced by the Fan and the mass flow entering the Core. In this case 26% of the mass flow generated by the Fan is ducted outside the core engine to the afterburner system when 74% enters the core engine.
- The overall pressure ratio is the ratio of the static pressure between the front and the rear of the two compressors. The Fan includes three compression stages while the Core contains ten of them for a total of thirteen stages.
The fan’s three stage compress the air at a rate of 4:1 while the core compress it at 8:1, so a overall pressure rate of 32:1. - The afterburning system or afterburner consist to inject additional fuel into the jet pipe downstream of the last turbine. The fuel/air mixture ignited by a dedicated sparking plug cause a significant raise of the exhaust gas pressure and subsequent exhaust gas velocity.
The additional thrust generated by the afterburner on the F100 is around 7000 lbs. (+ 40%)
The Fan compressor and turbine assembly called N1, is supported by three dedicated roller/ball bearings (Nr.1 – Nr.2 – Nr.5) while the high-pressure compressor and turbine assembly is called N2, and is supported by two dedicated roller/ball bearing. (Nr.3 & Nr.4)
A HD view is available via this link : F100-PW-200 Hires
The F100 includes the following characteristics:
- The engine is built in a modular concept enabling the quick replacement of big sub-assemblies. This concept increases the reliability rate of the aircraft as an unserviceable engine can be released back to service more quickly by replacing the affected module rather than fixing the module itself.
The engine comprises 5 distinct modules: Inlet Fan Module – Core Engine Module - Fan Drive Turbine Module – Augmentor & Nozzle Module – Gearbox Module.
The main Fuel Control System is composed of a hydromechanical fuel control unit called UFC (Unified Fuel Control) supervised by an engine electronic controller called EEC (Engine Electronic Control)
The EEC supervises and adjust the basic UFC settings in order to optimize the engine operation while keeping the higher thrust available.
The F100-PW-200 provides an alternate fuel regulation system called Back-up Control or BUC.
- Engine length: 4.85 m
- Engine diameter: 1.20 m
- Engine weight: +/- 1400 kg.
