Gregory's ServerWhile researching the use of the attitude indicator in the F-4, I came across the "nuclear store consent switch". If the plane has a nuclear bomb attached, you flip this switch from the SAFE position to the upper position (REL/ARM) to arm the bomb for release. Somehow, I was expecting something more elaborate.
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 @kenshirriff I had trouble wrapping my head around the mechanism. There's a diagram about halfway down the Wikipedia page that helps: @kenshirriff I could have used this years ago. I was in responsible for testing the standby flight instruments for the B-2, and the "turnball" (not sure anyone else calls it that) would work once, then fail when QA came to witness. I eventually found out why from the spec (which the USAF made hard to find), and rewrote that test. As usual, a great view of interesting tech.  @kenshirriff @tubetime @yourfutureex @tubetime That's the reason that the attitude indicator is vitally important: in an aircraft, gravity can feel like a completely different direction from down. For example, see the famous video of pouring iced tea in a plane while doing a barrel roll.   @kenshirriff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permissive_action_link sound like a fine idea until you find out they were all set to 00000000 for a time. @kenshirriff @0tracas |
For more on the F-4's attitude indicator (including reverse-engineered schematic), see my blog post at https://www.righto.com/2024/09/f4-attitude-indicator.html
Credits: I worked on this with @tubetime and CuriousMarc. Thanks to the collectors who provided attitude indicators and amplifiers. Aircraft photos from National Museum of the USAF: https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196051/mcdonnell-douglas-f-4c-phantom-ii/
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