F-16 air intake

• gpa4.0

  26 Jul 07, 23:27

  Hi does anyone know what the protruding tube in the air intake of a F-16 is for?
• tek_koh

  26 Jul 07, 23:31

  Im heard that its to heat up the air entering the Egine..to maximise efficiency
  
  and you signed up to ask this question?
• gpa4.0

  26 Jul 07, 23:43

  oh thats the separation strut that is at the entrance of the air intake. its another short metal tube way back neart the engine blades itself.
• Idle_King

  27 Jul 07, 07:20

  Originally posted by tek_koh:

  Im heard that its to heat up the air entering the Egine..to maximise efficiency
  ........

  Yep i think so too
  welcome aboard Mr. GPA 4.0....*cough cough*
• beavan

  27 Jul 07, 13:39

  pic pls?
• touchstone_2000

  27 Jul 07, 15:01

  Originally posted by gpa4.0:

  oh thats the separation strut that is at the entrance of the air intake. its another short metal tube way back neart the engine blades itself.

  That sounds like the mass airflow sensor. It senses the flowrate of air into the engine. It does this using a heated coil and measure how fast it cools.
  
  It does not heat the air for the engine. Simply not possible or needed since the air may be moving close to the speed of sound.