"A drop tank is quite pricy (think high end BMW prices). They are every bit as complex as the wing they attach to. Most have multiple cells to maintain CG and all the plumbing, pumps, valves, pressurization, feed and gaging as the remainder of the fuel system.

Drop tank; Most I could find was an F-86 manual on Google Books. And it mentions the jet engine providing compressed air into the tank to draw fuel (the mechanism isn't yet clear to me, but I'll pursue that later). For now, WW2 aircraft. For example: Where electric motor compressors used instead of bleed air? Were there internal tank structures ...

2018年12月27日 · $\begingroup$ Given the location in western NC I think it's safe to assume they are USAF drop tanks. Narrow it down to the a/c in use at the time at nearby bases and they are likely from F-15's or F-4's. Could be Marine as well, maybe A-4's out of Cherry Point.

To answer your original question, yes the plumbing all detached with the tank, leaving just the bomb rack and sway braces as drag producers. If you are an aircorpslibrary.com member you can go to drawing 109-48181 which is one of the two breakaway fittings installed in each wing and you can see where it is installed on drawing 106-14037 sheet 5.

2017年8月5日 · The F-16C/D for example limited maneuvering to +6.5/-3 Gs with stores on the inboard two pylons and/or centerline drop tank installed. If the aircraft was attacked by an offensive flight of enemy fighters, one of the first items prior to commencing ACM with the threat was to jettison stores on these stations.

2020年4月22日 · I was wondering if anyone can help me identify either of these drop tanks? The one in front in the top photo measures about 11' long. (Source of second photo-- this related ASE question)

2021年5月22日 · This is how American pilots used drop tanks as bombs during WWII. Fun fact, cellulose drop tanks were developed to save metal during the war! The article references P-47s, but I would not be surprised if P-51s did the same.

2021年8月18日 · If you need a ferry tank to the combat area, drop it before entering combat. That's been SOP since the invention of such tanks. In fact if you zoom in on one of the photos in the PDF linked to from the URL you posted you can see smaller tanks on the inboard stations, plus a 600 gallon tank on the centerline.

2020年4月16日 · The aircraft is equipped with seven (7) integral fuel tanks: five (5) Center body fuel tanks and two (2) wing tanks. Center body fuel tank #2 serves an an engine feeder tank with all other tanks transferring fuel to it via a network of fuel pumps for consistent weight and balance.

2016年6月14日 · On my last rendezvous the buddy store failed to finish transferring all the fuel in my drop tank on pylon 4 and so I said goodbye to the aircraft on my wing and called maintenance to discuss the problem. The maintenance officer got on the radio and we went over the NATOPS procedures for jettisoning the fuel tank.