Why Is the S-3 Viking Called a Hoover?

[Will Deatrick]

Because the unique sound made by the engines resembles a Hoover vacuum
cleaner to some. My wife and I were walking the beach near the Hotel
Del in 1998 when a Viking flew overhead on approach to NAS North
Island, San Diego. You can hear the strange sound in this video. Enjoy!

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRJfBW_GQI>

[Gordon[_1_]]

Will Deatrick wrote:
> Because the unique sound made by the engines resembles a Hoover vacuum
> cleaner to some. My wife and I were walking the beach near the Hotel
> Del in 1998 when a Viking flew overhead on approach to NAS North
> Island, San Diego. You can hear the strange sound in this video. Enjoy!
>
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRJfBW_GQI>

"Because the dirtbags are on the inside."

v/r Gordon
Formerly VS-31 Topcat

[Charlie Wolf]

There's a secondary reason why it's lovingly referred to as a Hoover.

The ducted fan TF-34's are located very close to the deck. At full
power, they will suck just about any FOD into the duct. Just like a
vacuum cleaner.

However, the nickname came from the sound of the TF-34's on startup.
Regards,

On Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:57:19 -0800, Will Deatrick
> wrote:

>Because the unique sound made by the engines resembles a Hoover vacuum
>cleaner to some. My wife and I were walking the beach near the Hotel
>Del in 1998 when a Viking flew overhead on approach to NAS North
>Island, San Diego. You can hear the strange sound in this video. Enjoy!
>
><http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRJfBW_GQI>

[Will Deatrick]

I've never heard the TF-34 starting up. Does it make that same
thrumming sound in the video, or is it a different sound altogether?

And thanks for the info on the engines being so close to the deck :-)

Will

In article >, Charlie Wolf
> wrote:

> There's a secondary reason why it's lovingly referred to as a Hoover.
>
> The ducted fan TF-34's are located very close to the deck. At full
> power, they will suck just about any FOD into the duct. Just like a
> vacuum cleaner.
>
> However, the nickname came from the sound of the TF-34's on startup.
> Regards,
>
> On Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:57:19 -0800, Will Deatrick
> > wrote:
>
> >Because the unique sound made by the engines resembles a Hoover vacuum
> >cleaner to some. My wife and I were walking the beach near the Hotel
> >Del in 1998 when a Viking flew overhead on approach to NAS North
> >Island, San Diego. You can hear the strange sound in this video. Enjoy!
> >
> ><http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRJfBW_GQI>
>

[Gordon[_1_]]

WoooooooOOOOOOOOOP.........<steady background thrum>, repeat as
necessary

[Gordon[_1_]]

BTW, in two years in VS-31, we never FOD'd an engine due to debris
being sucked up into the intake. In fact, the S-3 had very few such
incidents over the years and far fewer than other a/c such as the A-7.
As a high bypass turbofan, the S-3 had far less suction than
turbojet-powered aircraft. I spent quite a bit of time between the
cats on the Eisenhower and some on the Midway and the supposition that
Vikings were more prone to FOD than other carrier aircraft is, no
offense, just plain wrong. The only reason the Vikings were called
Hoovers was that distinctive noise.

v/r
Gordon

[Charlie Wolf]

Well, I hate to disagree with you, but I remember many incidents of
FOD'd engines on S-3's (I have 1600 hours in them). On one occasion,
we flew into Warminster PA and the engine got FOD on touch down on the
runway. By the time we taxied up to the hangar area, #1 was nearly
fully engulfed in flames. We came very near to a strike A/C on that
one. Riding in the back seats, I recall many instances of seeing
things sucked up at high power on the deck (including birds in
flight). I also saw many instances of damaged fan blades form FOD.

That being said, you are correct about one thing. Because the TF-34
is a high-bypass turbofan configuration, just because an object is
sucked into the fan duct, doesn't necessarily mean it will ingest in
the engine intake. That's the big difference between an S-3 and and
an A-7 sucking something up.
Regards,


On 8 Dec 2006 17:30:39 -0800, "Gordon" > wrote:

>
>BTW, in two years in VS-31, we never FOD'd an engine due to debris
>being sucked up into the intake. In fact, the S-3 had very few such
>incidents over the years and far fewer than other a/c such as the A-7.
>As a high bypass turbofan, the S-3 had far less suction than
>turbojet-powered aircraft. I spent quite a bit of time between the
>cats on the Eisenhower and some on the Midway and the supposition that
>Vikings were more prone to FOD than other carrier aircraft is, no
>offense, just plain wrong. The only reason the Vikings were called
>Hoovers was that distinctive noise.
>
>v/r
>Gordon

[Gordon[_1_]]

Charlie Wolf wrote:
> Well, I hate to disagree with you, but I remember many incidents of
> FOD'd engines on S-3's (I have 1600 hours in them). On one occasion,
> we flew into Warminster PA and the engine got FOD on touch down on the
> runway. By the time we taxied up to the hangar area, #1 was nearly
> fully engulfed in flames. We came very near to a strike A/C on that
> one. Riding in the back seats, I recall many instances of seeing
> things sucked up at high power on the deck (including birds in
> flight). I also saw many instances of damaged fan blades form FOD.

Last thing I want to do is get in an argument with you, Charlie - and
you're right, we had fan damage on occasion that I should have
recalled. I never heard of that Warminster incident, sounds like you
had a wild ride! Glad you made it to share the story.

> That being said, you are correct about one thing. Because the TF-34
> is a high-bypass turbofan configuration, just because an object is
> sucked into the fan duct, doesn't necessarily mean it will ingest in
> the engine intake. That's the big difference between an S-3 and and
> an A-7 sucking something up.

That's what I meant, without saying it well - sorry about that. The
actual intake on the TF 34 is pretty dang small in relation to the size
of that giant fan in front of it - there were certainly incidents of
the bypass fan getting dinged. I should have said it this way: in my
squadron, there were far less FOD incidents than the other squadrons on
Ike. Damage to the blades was never a good thing, but the TF 34 seemed
a lot more resistant to ingestion than the other types in service at
the time.

v/r Gordon

[Charlie Wolf]

Agreed. Thanks Gordon.
Regards,

On 11 Dec 2006 09:18:45 -0800, "Gordon" > wrote:

>
>Charlie Wolf wrote:
>> Well, I hate to disagree with you, but I remember many incidents of
>> FOD'd engines on S-3's (I have 1600 hours in them). On one occasion,
>> we flew into Warminster PA and the engine got FOD on touch down on the
>> runway. By the time we taxied up to the hangar area, #1 was nearly
>> fully engulfed in flames. We came very near to a strike A/C on that
>> one. Riding in the back seats, I recall many instances of seeing
>> things sucked up at high power on the deck (including birds in
>> flight). I also saw many instances of damaged fan blades form FOD.
>
>Last thing I want to do is get in an argument with you, Charlie - and
>you're right, we had fan damage on occasion that I should have
>recalled. I never heard of that Warminster incident, sounds like you
>had a wild ride! Glad you made it to share the story.
>
>> That being said, you are correct about one thing. Because the TF-34
>> is a high-bypass turbofan configuration, just because an object is
>> sucked into the fan duct, doesn't necessarily mean it will ingest in
>> the engine intake. That's the big difference between an S-3 and and
>> an A-7 sucking something up.
>
>That's what I meant, without saying it well - sorry about that. The
>actual intake on the TF 34 is pretty dang small in relation to the size
>of that giant fan in front of it - there were certainly incidents of
>the bypass fan getting dinged. I should have said it this way: in my
>squadron, there were far less FOD incidents than the other squadrons on
>Ike. Damage to the blades was never a good thing, but the TF 34 seemed
>a lot more resistant to ingestion than the other types in service at
>the time.
>
>v/r Gordon