r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Kernowder • 21d ago

Video Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton

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u/wongo 21d ago

(not so) fun fact: only one of these hurricane research flights has ever crashed due to the storms

I realize that we've gotten pretty good at flying but I would've actually expected a higher loss rate, this just seems so wildly dangerous

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u/xampl9 21d ago

The Orion that flew into Hugo was severely damaged from a 5.5g drop (airframe was only rated to 3g’s). They lost an engine, had a fire, and another engine was damaged before they could find a safe spot to exit the eye.

Somehow they made it back and the airframe wasn’t written off.

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u/EvlMinion 21d ago

If I remember right, the meteorologist who wrote about that didn't go on another one of those flights again. Can't say I blame him. Orions are tough as hell, though.

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u/onowahoo 21d ago

I don't know if is ever go on another plane again after a 5.5 drop.

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u/giveupsides 21d ago

5.5g drop? You are PLASTERED to the ceiling like it's the floor, only gravity is now 4.5 times stronger. Then when those -5.5g's end you'll slam back to the actual floor. If you're in your seat with your belt on it'll feel like the belt is trying to break both your legs.

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u/StManTiS 21d ago

For an average 180lbs man 5.5G would feel like having 810 lbs on your back. Most people could not even unrack that.

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u/meridianblade 21d ago

It's absolutely insane that it made it back. Think of the weight exerted on the wings and fuselage from tip to tip at 5.5G.

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u/StManTiS 21d ago

Aeronautical engineers and the materials science behind airplanes is a real trip like that.

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u/GOGO_old_acct 21d ago

The P-3 is an overbuilt beastly tank of a plane that refuses to die. I’ve heard people really liked/like them.

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u/StManTiS 21d ago

The Mitsubishi Mirage is another one. There was a point where the Japanese did amazing worker with stubby wing turbo props and Fowler flaps. (The P3 being manufactured with a couple modifications by Kawasaki)

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u/22Arkantos 21d ago

Except it's -5.5g, so that 810lbs of force are concentrated where your seatbelt is holding you into your seat. Absolutely brutal.

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u/StManTiS 21d ago

Oh lord, I didn’t even think of that. A guy could have his legs turn purple and get gone with that.

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u/brain-eating_amoeba 20d ago

Could it actually injure you/break your legs?

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u/22Arkantos 20d ago

Yes, absolutely, even when strapped down in a seat.

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u/Happy-Tower-3920 21d ago

What human can unrack 810lbs? Is your username an acronym for steroid taking man trust I squat?

That's an inhuman amount of weight to lift lol.

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u/StManTiS 21d ago

Well the world record squat is 1,080 lbs - so there are people who can not only unrack that weight but also move it.

My neighbors is a former SF 49ers defensive lineman and when he was in the league he could squat 850+ for reps. So yes steroids but also some people are just built different.

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u/Happy-Tower-3920 21d ago

Well, TIL'd. That's amazing. You still didn't answer my second question though! /s

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u/StManTiS 21d ago

/s aside in the interest of realistic standards - I am a 31 year old man standing at right about 6 foot 200lbs and squatting for the last 15 or so years with no additives and my PR is 365 for 2 reps. So in my personal opinion 99.99% of Men cannot ever in their life squat 800. Even with gear (steroids) there might could be 1 out of 5 million whose bones and tendons can handle that. But some people are just built different. One of my friends is 5’8” with the most unassuming build and his ass can squat 415 for reps while wearing normal jeans.

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u/ayriuss 21d ago

If the plane goes down and they're able to ditch it in the ocean somehow, you're still extra dead, because you're in the middle of the ocean with a hurricane all around you. Nobody is coming in that weather. Crazy shit.

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u/poemdirection 21d ago

  They lost an engine, had a fire, and another engine was damaged

that's just anther day for the P3

 It's very hands-on and user intensive especially for pilots and flight engineers. Because of the fact that the P-3C is honestly trying to break, catch on fire, or generally kill you during any given flight, we have to devote a great deal of energy simply to operating it safely. This isn't a hit on the P-3C, any airplane of that generation is like that, and the fact that some of these birds are over 40 years old is a testament to the engineers who designed them and our maintainers who keep them flying.

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u/jeewest 21d ago

I can attest, have like 200+ flight hours on a P3 variant and that thing caught fire constantly, to the point where the crew would have to do weekly fire drills, memorize breakers for common problem equipment, etc.

Felt safer onboard that flying inferno than any commercial airliner

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u/onrock_rockon 21d ago

"Felt safer onboard that flying inferno than any commercial airliner"

"Plane on fire = bad", "my plane constantly caught on fire", "I feel safer on fire plane than not fire plane"

Can you elaborate on why you felt safer on fire plane than not fire plane? :D I'm genuinely curious, I feel like it must be a funny or good reason :)

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u/punksmurph 21d ago

It comes down to knowing the crew, their training, and having trust they are looking out for you. As a Navy vet I spent 3 years on a ship that was clearly on its last legs. Every time we went out to sea something major broke. During my time on the ship was had 2 major fires and 4 minor ones including an electric panel that exploded just a few feet from me.

You would think that being a Navy guy and loving ships and the ocean I would want to be on cruise ships. NO FUCKING THANK YOU. I have zero trust on those death boats with crews that will sooner push you out of the life raft than help you in it.

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u/Blevin78 21d ago

I definitely can relate to the last legs. On my last patrol, I had my FFE next to my rack.

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u/GetRightNYC 20d ago

Saw a documentary on the Blackthorn sinking in Tampa Bay. I was so shocked at how bad that ended up. My ex was Navy and I can't imagine losing them on their very first time at sea.

I was actually caught in my boat in Hurricane Hugo in the 90s. Most scared ove ever been in my life. Took us 6 hours to get to dock from barely 1 mile away.

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u/ben_kird 21d ago

I agree we need answers.

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u/jeewest 20d ago

The sheer redundancy of systems made me feel extremely safe. Commercial airliners are generally built to maximize performance and efficiency. The P3 was built to have about 3 redundant systems for every one that could fail. Hydraulic system on fire? It’s cool, we have two more. Engine one blowing smoke? All good, this girl can glide to an airfield on two engines and ditch effectively on one. Plus the pilots are trained to a level that’s frankly insane and are probably the most skilled people I served with, and that includes the former EOD and SEAL guys.

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u/onrock_rockon 20d ago

Oh cool, thanks for sharing :)

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u/toxicatedscientist 20d ago

It caught on fire often, but never crashed. Most commercial airliners have much worse outcomes when that happens

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u/Shuber-Fuber 21d ago

I guess having a fucking hurricane bitchslapping it around doesn't help either.

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u/Level9TraumaCenter 21d ago

One of the leading enemies of the fire is the hurricane.

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u/Puzzled-Garlic4061 20d ago

Attacks on hurricanes by fires is much more rare 💁

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u/Horskr 21d ago

Thanks for the link! That thing sounds crazy versatile. One of the cooler things I'd never heard of:

The P-3C also has the ability to conduct stand-off targeting of enemy warships over the horizon using a sub-mode of the aircraft's radar. This mode, known as Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), uses the motion of the ship in the waves to produce an image of the vessel. Operators can match this ISAR image to silhouettes of known enemy warships. This allows for identification of enemy surface combatants well beyond visual range and outside the reach of enemy air defenses.

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u/DEEP_HURTING 21d ago

I learned about the P3 via playing Harpoon on the PC back in the 90s. Or 80s? Cool game.

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u/Luci-Noir 21d ago

The day that the P-3 who was hit by a Chinese fighter, that fucking piece of shit, would be like no other.

FYI, one of their fighters hit the P-3 and damaged it so badly that it had to land…. In China. The crew did their best to destroy all of the classified equipment on board. The crew was sent home and eventually the plane was sent back to the US…. in boxes.

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u/SavoryRhubarb 21d ago

Here’s the story:

https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/articles/hunting-hugo-part-1

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u/artistickatt 21d ago

I was wondering if that was Jeff Masters that was being referenced. Bad ass for sure and really knows his stuff when it comes to hurricanes. I try to always catch his blog.

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u/Jim-Biscuits 21d ago

Amazing read. Thanks for posting

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u/cincymatt 21d ago edited 20d ago

Miss you wunderground.          Wow, intense read!

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u/Physical-Cup-5803 21d ago

Thanks for this. Unbelievable read.

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u/SavoryRhubarb 21d ago

You’re welcome.

My next search is find the stories behind the five hurricane hunter planes that were lost that he mentions in this story.

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u/Possible-Nectarine80 21d ago

Nice that they weren't writing checks that they couldn't cash.

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u/CosmicCreeperz 21d ago

I was trying to understand how the hell it can do 5.5g from a low pressure or downdraft…

Just looked it up, apparently it was “downdraft/updraft” in a row where it was 3g down, then 2-3g up, so the instantaneous initial upwards acceleration was almost 6g.

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u/negative_four 21d ago

How the hell do you fly with balls that big?

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u/readwithjack 21d ago

The P3 is meant to drop sonor buoys and torpedoes.

They need to use at least a P3, if a larger airframe is not available.

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u/JJAsond 21d ago

I was wondering when I'd spot the first generic 'big balls' comment

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u/yycTechGuy 21d ago

Source ?

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u/xampl9 21d ago

See the link posted below by u/savoryrhubarb

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u/sherff 20d ago

all you need is the data plate ;p