On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 03:36:14 -0600, "boomer"
wrote:

why does it seem that most modern jet aircraft unstick at around 160kts?
Fighters, bombers, transports all of them frequently seem to takeoff at
160kts, is it a tire speed limit kind of thing?


Tires for aircraft can certainly be produced for higher speeds than
160 Kts. Probably not classified anymore as a "modern" jet aircraft,
but we have had mention of the F-4 and F-104 in the thread, so I'll
add that the F-105 at max gross take-off weight still had a ways to go
with all three wheels firmly on the ground accelerating through 160.
Common combat rolls out of Korat in '66 exceeded 6000 feet on the roll
and had nose-wheel-lift-off at 196 and takeoff speed of 204 KIAS.

The tires were good to 230 kts.

An interesting limit was at the other end of the flight. Heavyweight
landing or an emergency necessitating a no-flap landing could result
in roll-ons at speeds in excess of 200 kts. The limiter was the drag
chute max deployment speed of 200. When you needed the braking the
most, you had to slow a bit before you could use it!


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8