Ram Air Turbine

"Jcarr" (jcarr) 07/08/2015 at 17:06 • Filed to: Planelopnik

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I changed my wall paper recently to this shot of a UPS 767 and today I caught a little detail I hadn’t noticed before.

See that little blur between the main gear? That’s the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or RAT. It’s a small turbine that is connected to either a hydraulic pump or electrical generator and is used to generate power.

A RAT on a Boeing 757

RATs are generally only used in an emergency situation where power cannot be provided from the aircraft’s main engines or auxiliary power unit (APU).

Probably the most famous incident involving the use of a RAT was Air Canada Flight 143, commonly referred to as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . That aircraft, a 767-200, ran out of fuel due to a mathematical error during a flight from Montreal to Edmonton and had to glide its way down from 41,000 feet to make an emergency landing at a former military base. The flight crew successfully used the RAT to provide power to control the aircraft during its descent.

The Gimli Glider post-retirement at Mojave Airport & Spaceport

JustAnotherG6 > Jcarr 07/08/2015 at 17:29

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At this point, Quintal proposed landing at the former RCAF Station Gimli , a closed air force base where he had once served as a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot. Unknown to him, part of the facility had been converted to a race track complex, now known as Gimli Motorsports Park . [5] It includes a road race course, a go-kart track, and a dragstrip . A Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs -sanctioned sports car race hosted by the Winnipeg Sports Car Club was under way the Saturday of the incident and the area around the decommissioned runway was full of cars and campers. Part of the decommissioned runway was being used to stage the race. [6]

...oh shit.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 07/08/2015 at 17:35

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From what I’ve read (and written about in an upcoming history post), the XF-86 “Thunderscreech” was the first to use a ram air turbine. You can see it deployed in these photos at the base of the tail. They developed it because the engine was so unreliable, and the test pilots actually needed it at times.

The anniversary of the Gimli Glider is coming up, too. Back in April 2013 the 767 (C-GAUN) was offered for sale at auction with an estimated price of $2.75-3 million CDN. However, bidding only reached $425,000 and the aircraft wasn’t sold. I don’t know what’s become of it since then.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 07/08/2015 at 17:39

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Interesting. It seems like it’s a natural fit for a museum somewhere. Sure hope it doesn’t (or hasn’t) fall victim to the shredder.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > ttyymmnn 07/08/2015 at 17:47

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Whenever I walked past the “Thunderscreech” when I volunteered at the NMUSAF, I always shook my head a little. It’s such an obviously terrible idea, how did it ever get funding?

It could be hindsight, but it just doesn’t even look like it would work well.

Alex B > Jcarr 07/08/2015 at 17:49

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Yep, I saw a program on the Gimli glider! Quite amazing that they made it down ok!

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 07/08/2015 at 17:54

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A search of Flight Aware shows that C-GAUN now belongs to a Van’s RV-4 aerobatic plane. This photo on Airliners.net from January of this year looks like the Glider is being parted out. Kinda sad.

ttyymmnn > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 07/08/2015 at 17:57

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The original intent was to create a plane that could operate from carriers without a catapult. In that regard, it was a success. In all other regards, it was not. Keep your eyes open for a write up on the XF-84 in a couple of weeks on my Aviation History post.

boxrocket > Jcarr 07/08/2015 at 18:09

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I believe RATs may be what attracted the snakes to that one particular plane.