5 ms·

The vortex that is formed sometimes at the front of jet engines will not mix well with a dirt field me thinks. https://i.stack.imgur.com/u9AZW.jpg https://i.sta

by esaym 3y ago

The vortex that is formed sometimes at the front of jet engines will not mix well with a dirt field me thinks. https://i.stack.imgur.com/u9AZW.jpg https://i.stack.imgur.com/u9AZW.jpg

gojomo 3y ago
TThough unmentioned in the article, their thoroughness (& the value involved) implies they'll have a fix in place before attempting take-off – perhaps some form of quick/temporary pavement, perhaps assisted by seasonal freezing. (Might a glassy-ice surface, created with pumped water, under durable winter freeze conditions be ideal? Does a jet need – or even necessarily want – any ground traction to take off?)
- ledauphin 3y ago
  it does not need ground friction and what you're proposing could absolutely work if water could be sourced in sufficient quantities. in that region, maybe they get enough snow that they don't need to truck in water....
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  An aircraft needs no ground traction to take off. Ground traction is, however, quite useful in aborting a take-off.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  My dad worked at Galena AFB in Alaska during the Cold War. They had big problems with the runway icing up, and it was pretty much a 24 hour operation keeping the runway free of ice. One person proposed coating the runway with linseed oil to keep the ice from forming. Desperate, the AF tried it. It did keep the ice off. However, the first jet that rolled onto the runway and came to a stop, slowly but surely slid off the runway. Then they had an even more expensive operation to remove the oil. Some traction is needed until the airplane is moving fast enough so the control surfaces work. Otherwise, off the side of the runway you go.
  - WalterBright 3y ago
    Of course, with a twin engine jet you could vary the engine thrust to keep the airplane straight, but there are big problems with that: 1. pilots aren't trained to do that 2. the engine response to changing throttle positions is pretty slow. Imagine trying drive a car when you turn the wheel, and ten seconds later the car starts to turn 3. the pilot is already very busy during takeoff
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    Hrm ... bow thrusters, like boats use ;-) (I kid, I kid...)
- culebron21 3y ago
  Winter ice roads are routinely made in climate in that place. Except glassy ice is actually very hard to produce. Instead you get a spongy surface, plus it snows there frequently, and snow isn't slippery. Traction is needed to fight crosswind.
jojobas 3y ago
Nothing a couple of jet-engined airport blowers couldn't fix once the field is steamrolled and frozen.

by esaym 3y ago

The vortex that is formed sometimes at the front of jet engines will not mix well with a dirt field me thinks. https://i.stack.imgur.com/u9AZW.jpg https://i.stack.imgur.com/u9AZW.jpg

gojomo 3y ago

TThough unmentioned in the article, their thoroughness (& the value involved) implies they'll have a fix in place before attempting take-off – perhaps some form of quick/temporary pavement, perhaps assisted by seasonal freezing. (Might a glassy-ice surface, created with pumped water, under durable winter freeze conditions be ideal? Does a jet need – or even necessarily want – any ground traction to take off?)

ledauphin 3y ago
it does not need ground friction and what you're proposing could absolutely work if water could be sourced in sufficient quantities. in that region, maybe they get enough snow that they don't need to truck in water....
dredmorbius 3y ago
An aircraft needs no ground traction to take off. Ground traction is, however, quite useful in aborting a take-off.
WalterBright 3y ago
My dad worked at Galena AFB in Alaska during the Cold War. They had big problems with the runway icing up, and it was pretty much a 24 hour operation keeping the runway free of ice. One person proposed coating the runway with linseed oil to keep the ice from forming. Desperate, the AF tried it. It did keep the ice off. However, the first jet that rolled onto the runway and came to a stop, slowly but surely slid off the runway. Then they had an even more expensive operation to remove the oil. Some traction is needed until the airplane is moving fast enough so the control surfaces work. Otherwise, off the side of the runway you go.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  Of course, with a twin engine jet you could vary the engine thrust to keep the airplane straight, but there are big problems with that: 1. pilots aren't trained to do that 2. the engine response to changing throttle positions is pretty slow. Imagine trying drive a car when you turn the wheel, and ten seconds later the car starts to turn 3. the pilot is already very busy during takeoff
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  Hrm ... bow thrusters, like boats use ;-) (I kid, I kid...)
culebron21 3y ago
Winter ice roads are routinely made in climate in that place. Except glassy ice is actually very hard to produce. Instead you get a spongy surface, plus it snows there frequently, and snow isn't slippery. Traction is needed to fight crosswind.

jojobas 3y ago

Nothing a couple of jet-engined airport blowers couldn't fix once the field is steamrolled and frozen.