High Altitude operations (Turbo charge???)

Big John wrote in message . ..
Water injection in WWII aircraft engines was basically to prevent
detonation with high MP. Believe the Jug had it on their R-2800 P & W
engines. Could pull 90 inches with water as I recall???

Some early jets had water injection. Ferried a F-94A/B that had water.
Used on T/O and you used all to prevent any residual from freezing in
tamk and lines at altiude (-50 F).

Big John
Point of the sword.

Pac sez:

Caution: Tall Flight Engineer story follows:

Believe it or not they also did it with heavy 747's! Climbed aboard
this 200 series 747 in Anchorage, the wind chill was -7 dgrs Far.
Almost got lost during the preflight in the blowing snow! Put my
Union-negotiated extreme wx parka back into the Union-negotiated lock
box (thought it was silly up till this morning!)

Thought to myself well, the hard part of this trip is over.. Then
after putzing around with the PA system for ten minutes (Dammit Jim!
I'm just a cargo doctor, not a passenger Engineer!) I was given the
expected passenger count: 535 including crew! More bad news: Auto
pressurization inop! In fact only Manual Available for six plus
hours...God, should've studied that procedure better in grd schoooool.
Stop everything.... get manual out for man pressurization... yikes
...seven pages to read!

Fourteen flight attendants later: "Ding Ding Ding": the
soon-to-be-familiar song: "It's too hot, It's too cold.. You're too
young, I'm too old!" Damn... most of those girls are over 50 and none
of them (not even the "ball-bearing" stew knows how to fix anything
down there. "Two movie projectors won't power up, and several
beverage cart locks won't release!" Holy ****, Captain.... forget the
safety of flight items... the sky nags have summoned me downstairs for
the really important stuff! What the hell... push is not for
another... damn... fifteen minutes!... Down the stairs I go, into...
a sea of un-amused faces... least I remembered my damn hat... looks
impressive... maybe they will not ask me any revealing questions...

"Hey kid, is this you're first flight!" a GI asks. I tell him that as
a matter of fact, it is (without a babysitter) "How old are you?"he
asks.

"Old enough to drive this thing" (I lie; cuz I'm only the oiler) "Been
nice chatting.. gotta go."

Meanwhile back upstairs: I corkscrew back up into the cockpit, and
discover bodies everywhe mechanics, flight attendants, gate
agents....squirm into my seat...still got five minutes to preflight...
lets go....

UH, OH... lots of switches are not in the right places... and there's
a bunch I was never trained on.... damn..... well better just focus on
fuel... ****... even its like nothing in the book. Focus.. focus...
"Ding Ding Ding"

"Before start checklist" calls Cpt Prescott, and I start doing the
disco, since it is my unfortunate job to turn all four of these five
million dollar fans and try not to roast any of them.

Picture sweat pouring out of my forehead; like in the movie "airplane"

We start to take the runway and I'm almost caught up... I struggle to
turn my unlubed S/O seat forward for t/o and them I see them down low
on the s/o's accessory panel... Four huge switches labeled "WATER
PUMPS..eng 1, eng 2 eng 3 eng 4.. MUST BE ON FOR T/O"

"Uhhhhh... Capin Sir.... uuuhh does this thing have water injection?"
I stammer as he spools up the big pratts for t/o.

Luckily, the snickering co-pilot that knew this might happen, lets me
in on the secret: "Dave, they're deactivated..."

Later, he also tells the new boy about the "deact" stickers that have
been falling off for years (won't stick to that surface I guess) the
INS bump that will occur when the computers switch hemispheres and the
fact that Asian females have.... well you get the idea.


At least they didn't make me get a tattoo or an ear ring...


pacplyer