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Talk:Ram air turbine/Archive 1

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Archive 1

A380 - More info?

Anyone got any info on where the RAT is on an A380? Something that size can't be hidden easily!

It is hidden under a lid that opens in a case of emergency, more on http://www.designnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA469769 RGDS Alexmcfire

I have found basically no references to show the credibility of this information. That is a problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.96.131.219 (talk) 02:41, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

RAT

The humble RAT. I remember that they were a pain in the ****, usually due to gas leaks in the accumulator or internal leaks in the retraction jacks. Happy days!!--Petebutt (talk) 16:00, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

No explanation offered for why "ram"

Why is it called a "ram" air turbine? Is it named after the inventor? Is ram another acronym? etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.115.119.138 (talk) 03:48, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

Ram is used in the sense of forced air: "ram air refers to the principle of using the airflow created by a moving object for power". Ram air also plays a role in the pitot-static system, if you're familiar with its operation. --auburnpilot talk 04:57, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
A ram air turbine is given that name because it is driven by the difference in pressure on either side of each turbine blade. The pressure on the back side of each blade is atmospheric pressure or less, but the pressure on the front side is ram pressure. Dolphin (t) 06:37, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
Link to 'Ram pressure' now in opening para. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 18:56, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
..I suppose this is related to the "ramming air" meaning (??) 37.176.248.236 (talk) 12:09, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
..so "rammed air"/"ramming air"; then R.A.T. = Rammed Air Turbine (?) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.176.12.205 (talk) 19:27, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

Pioneers

Interesting mention of the "Komet", but please note that Zeppelins also had small outside generating stations using propellers. (Especially for powering the wireless communications equipment, but also for general purposes.) A quick websearch confirms this at the latest for LZ-127: http://www.seefunknetz.de/lzzep.htm See the last picture on the page: "Luftstromgenerator" of course means air stream generator. I suspect these were already present on the military zeppelins used in World War I --BjKa (talk) 11:28, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

They were also very common on inter-war aircraft, as it was simpler than providing an engine-driven generator. The Komet's propeller is prominent, but it's not novel. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:34, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
The Felixstowe F.2A flying boat of WWI used wind-driven propellers to power the fuel pumps from the main tank to a gravity tank, see: [1]; the whole fuel system was apparently less than reliable, see [2].
Also note that the Zeppelin mentioned here [3] is a passenger liner of 1928, it sported 2 wind-driven propeller generators (the second one's normal job was providing energy for lighting) and a rechargeable battery, the latter could be recharged by a petrol driven generator ... On the other hand rigid WWI war airships used radio --- and at least for the Zeppelin Height Climber classes, IIRC, electrically heated clothing --- and I seem to remember that both of these were supplied by a generator powered by the main gondola engine (and likely a rechargeable battery), not with wind driven generators. Unfortunately, I cannot find a reliable quote for the WWI war airships at the moment. 81.101.133.150 (talk) 21:43, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%201773.html
  2. ^ https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1956/1956%20-%200088.html
  3. ^ http://www.seefunknetz.de/lzzep.htm

Relevant mishaps

US Airways 1549 shouldn't be included here, since the RAT didn't play a role in that accident--the crew took the step of starting the APU early enough in the sequence of events that they had far more electrical and hydraulic power available than the RAT would have provided, thus retaining a more complete complement of equipment and instruments and, crucially, keeping the flight control system in Normal mode with its associated stall protection enabled--i.e. the automatic deployment of the RAT was moot. Jelliott4 (talk) 18:05, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

The RAT automatically deployed as one of the measures to restore power to the aircraft. The fact that the APU also provided emergency power does not matter. Comfr (talk) 05:45, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

Image of a Ram air turbine

A wing-mount AN/ALQ-99 jamming system powered by a ram air turbine was chosen as a backdrop for an interview with Defense Secretary Mark Esper by Christiane Amanpour. The turbine has four blades, which spin continuously to power the jamming system when the aircraft is in flight.

This photo clearly shows what a wing-mount ram air turbine looks like, perhaps better than any of the other photos. The context shows how big it is. The propeller blades are quite obvious. I propose including this image in the article, because it would improve the article. Notice how the black stage was placed to highlight the ram air turbine and jamming system.

Despite the "distractions", the photo provides an excellent close-up, not available elsewhere in the article.

I considered cropping the image to focus on the machine, instead of the extraneous interview, but I think the photo is very attractive. After all, the photographer deliberately centered the photo on the ram air turbine. The photo will appear at the bottom of the article, and will not distract until the rest of the article has been read.

In comparison, photos of the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger ram air turbine and the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter fighter-bomber are difficult to see. I circled the one on the Convair. The external fuel tank on the Convair distracts from tiny turbine hidden in darkness. Where is the turbine in the Lockheed photo? How do I know where to look? Comfr (talk) 04:09, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

I made a crop of the image, focusing only on the ram air turbine, but the crop fails to inform the reader of the context of the image. By selecting this spot for the Defense Secretary's interview, the Navy is showing the value of the jamming system and ram air turbine to the Navy's operation. Comfr (talk) 23:05, 29 July 2023 (UTC)

Closeup of a ram air turbine.
View of the entire interview space
Convair F-102 Delta Dagger ram air turbine, highlighted by a yellow oval
Can you see the ram air turbine? Where is it?

The photo of the interview is relevant and would add value to the article. Comfr (talk) 03:35, 5 August 2023 (UTC)

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