What is F.O.D?

ponch

Member since
February 2003

What is F.O.D?

Posted by ponch on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:03 PM

Hi all,

I was looking at aftermarket parts for Academy's Mig-29 kit, and came upon this description in Squadron's web page:

MiG-29 F.O.D. Detail Set. Photo-etched detail set for Academy kit.

Can anybody tell me what F.O.D. stands for?

Thanks in advance

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:22 PM

FOD is Foreign Objects and Debris (or Foreign Object Damage). A FOD detail set would include the FOD screen(s) for the aircraft. FOD screens are a wire mesh screen put over the intake of a gas turbine (jet) engine to keep them from sucking things in.

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upnorth

Member since
December 2002
From: Canada / Czech Republic

Posted by upnorth on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:24 PM

F.O.D stands for Foreign Object Damage.

If you see a photo from the front of a MiG-29 (I think this is also true for Su-27s) as it lines up un the runway for take off, you'll notice that the intakes appear to be blocked off. Those blockages are F.O.D. screens to keep the engines from sucking up any debris on the ground and getting damaged by it.

Once the aircraft is up of the ground, those screens retract flush against the roof of the intake duct, they return to the down position at landing.

When the F.O.D screens are down, theres a series of auxiliary air inlets on the top side of the wing leading edge extensions, just aft of the cockpit, that open up to compensate for the reduced airflow directly into the intakes at take offs and landings due to the screens being in place.

Hope that clears it up for you.

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ponch

Member since
February 2003

Posted by ponch on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:26 PM

Sweet! Thanks a lot for the explanation.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:29 PM

Foreign Object Damage
The first production MiG 29's had louvered doors above the engines and ramps that blocked the engine air intakes that prevented FOD ingestion .
Air was sucked in through the upper doors while taxying and when the MiG was on the runway the engine ramps were raised and the upper doors closed for take off.

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John P

Member since
February 2003
From: Joisey

Posted by John P on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 9:20 PM

In the continual evolution of the English language, "FOD" has become a verb as well. Anything sucked into an intake is said to have been "fodded." Our company training guy (I'm at ITT Avionics ) gets to spend time at air bases and carriers, and occasionally says things like "I heard an engine spool up behind me and I thought I was gonna get fodded!"

-------------------------------

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mostlyjets

Member since
March 2003
From: Poway, Ca.

Posted by mostlyjets on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 9:46 PM

Ponch, anything not air that goes in an intake is FOD...rocks, paper, screaming FOD, etc. More specifically John P, you become the FOD. Also, said items on the ground, whether or not an aircraft is around is FOD. Plenty of injuries are caused by objects blown by jet exhaust or prop wash. Summary, FOD bad!

All out of Snakes and Nape, switching to guns...

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 26, 2003 1:17 AM

This is FOD:

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 26, 2003 8:25 AM

Lol

Wow!!!...that is the biggest piece of FOD I have ever seen!!!

I wonder why the groud crew didn't notice it laying around??...he..he!

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 26, 2003 9:41 AM

FOD is not limited to ingested debris for aircraft. I was lucky enough to tour the then McDonnel Douglas F-15 production line in St. Louis when I was in DEP for the Navy. At the end of the line they have a cradle that clamps the aircraft, lifts it up and gently shakes the bird. Basically shaking the crap out of it. They had a display of the FOD that had been recovered from various airframes. Tools, lunch boxes, shoes, glasses, hard hats and a plethora of other nasty stuff. We were told that the debris came from all conceivable locations on the airplane. They even found a pair of pants in a Phantom. The pants were on display, no word on the Phantom though. More useless trivia.

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berny13

Member since
February 2003
From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley

Posted by berny13 on Thursday, June 26, 2003 10:16 AM

FOD is not just related to engines. You can also have FOD all over an aircraft. Pilots do not like FO in cockpits as it tends to fly up and hit them at the worst possible moment. I knew an FCF (test) pilot that would fly inverted and pick FO off of the canopy. He would then give it to the crew chief and tell him his cockpit FOD check wasn't too thorough. I once recovered a flash light from a wing fuel cell in a F-102A. The flash light had the Convair logo on it. How long had that one been in the fuel cell?

Berny

Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale. F-4 Phantom Group Build.

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M1abramsRules

Member since
June 2003

Posted by M1abramsRules on Thursday, June 26, 2003 2:26 PM

makes you wonder what happened to the guy who had the flashlight.....?!!! Big Smile [:D]

LOL

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John P

Member since
February 2003
From: Joisey

Posted by John P on Thursday, June 26, 2003 3:28 PM

I showed that Delta Airlines pic to our training guy. It reminded him that he was present when they first tested the re-engined KC-135 with the big, low-hanging turbofans. When they fired it up for the first time, one engine sucked up a 10-foot square patch of asphalt from the ground and Fodded it.

Must remember not to stand in front of airplanes.

-------------------------------

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wayne baker

Member since
February 2003
From: Medina, Ohio

Posted by wayne baker on Thursday, June 26, 2003 3:33 PM

We had an engine change in Da Nang. Had to fly the engine down from Okinawa, borrow a wrecker from motor t and work out in the sun. Prop mechs rehung the prop and left a scribe in the intake. Take 2. Glad I wasn't an engine mech!

I may get so drunk, I have to crawl home. But dammit, I'll crawl like a Marine.

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mostlyjets

Member since
March 2003
From: Poway, Ca.

Posted by mostlyjets on Thursday, June 26, 2003 8:27 PM

The most graphic FOD I've seen was a seagull who hit the lip of the starboard intake of our F-18 and left a bloody spiral down the intake wall.

All out of Snakes and Nape, switching to guns...

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berny13

Member since
February 2003
From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley

Posted by berny13 on Thursday, June 26, 2003 8:44 PM

At Zaragosa Spain in 1972, an F-4E was flying low level, making a bomb run when a rabbit came through the left windshield. It dislocated the pilots left sholder and shattered the parachute fiberglass housing. It tore out the left side of the rear instrument panel and hit the WSO in his helmet, cracking it. It came to rest jammed into the banana link, used for the canopy ejection. The pilot flew the jet back to Zaragosa with help from the WSO. A part of a hawk was also found embedded into the vertical stablizer.

Berny

Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale. F-4 Phantom Group Build.

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cmtaylor

Member since
February 2003
From: United Kingdom

Posted by cmtaylor on Friday, June 27, 2003 2:38 PM

As was pointed out earlier, FOD is not confined to engines; the Concorde Crash at Charles DeGaulle was due to debris from the runway.

Gentlemen! You can't fight in here; this is the WAR ROOM!

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mostlyjets

Member since
March 2003
From: Poway, Ca.

Posted by mostlyjets on Friday, June 27, 2003 3:11 PM

berny13, don't you just hate it when rabbits fly?!? What do they call that? A "Bunny Strike"? While flying F-4S's, we once fodded an engine by an over anxious RIO. He was in such a hurry to exit the jet and set his navbag on top of the intake before engine shut down and had a map sucked in. Frankly, he would have been a better choice!

All out of Snakes and Nape, switching to guns...

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renarts

Member since
April 2003
From: Sunny Florida

Posted by renarts on Friday, June 27, 2003 3:17 PM

I know you guys have seen the carrier video of the guy getting sucked into an intake. Spit his vest and helmet out the other side. Only thing that saved him was his belt hooked on something as he went in, his head was inches from the turbo fan. The pilot saw the fluctutation in the guages and the fire alert and shut it down immediately.

That would have left a nasty looking spiral stain down the side.

Mike

Mike "Imagination is the dye that colors our lives" Marcus Aurellius A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"

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mostlyjets

Member since
March 2003
From: Poway, Ca.

Posted by mostlyjets on Friday, June 27, 2003 3:37 PM

Having had to "dive" intakes pre and post flight, I used to hate those sensors (Total Temp, if I'm not mistaken) in the intake, as they would snag you both going down and coming out. That was one lucky sailor. Bet his ears were ringing! Fun fact for any "Scooter" fans...the only way to get the generator out was to dive the right intake to remove the access panel. Not alot of room and that sucker is heavy! Naturally, the job falls to the little guys!

All out of Snakes and Nape, switching to guns...

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 27, 2003 3:48 PM

Had a turkey buzzard takeout the left windscreen on an A-10........ohhh...about 1996......then went down the intake and destroyed the engine......pilot climed out looking like road kil....lol

And boy do those motors stink when they've sucked a bird....:)

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mostlyjets

Member since
March 2003
From: Poway, Ca.

Posted by mostlyjets on Friday, June 27, 2003 3:56 PM

That's why I was glad to be an electrician and not a powerplants guy!

All out of Snakes and Nape, switching to guns...

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upnorth

Member since
December 2002
From: Canada / Czech Republic

Posted by upnorth on Friday, June 27, 2003 5:16 PM

I once saw a picture of a C-17 at an airshow sucking up water from a puddle on the tarmac. Having seen how high that thing's engines are from the ground, thats a lot of pulling power.

I wonder if it was trying to dislodge other FOD. To quote just about every dentist when the drill makes that horrid grinding and skipping noise on a tooth:

"Okay, rinse." ;-)

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 27, 2003 5:52 PM

There was a man who was F.O.D. He was sucked though an engine, and an hour later he was sitting at a meeting about job safety, in a full body cast.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 27, 2003 11:03 PM

Where the heck did you hear that?

Trust me...nothing makes it through the LP Compressor (Fan) of a jet engine while running.

You sure?

fyi----I work for Pratt rebuilding jet engines

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 27, 2003 11:54 PM

Evidently he was feeling better? Wink [;)]

I have seen someone go through a jet engine.....trust me when I say I wished I had'nt seen it.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 28, 2003 10:50 AM

I worked with GE LM2500s (same engine as the DC-10) in a marine application and nothing larger than a finger would or could come out the other end.

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mostlyjets

Member since
March 2003
From: Poway, Ca.

Posted by mostlyjets on Saturday, June 28, 2003 5:14 PM

I, too find that hard to believe unless there were some sort of screen forward of the LP Compressor blades. I would think he would still be in the hospital...er, sorry for the Brits..."in hospital" an hour after the incident. He wouldn't be able to hear squat of what was said in the meeting due to the ringing in his ears!

All out of Snakes and Nape, switching to guns...

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berny13

Member since
February 2003
From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley

Posted by berny13 on Sunday, June 29, 2003 3:12 PM

A human going down an intake, with an engine running, only has a very slim chance of survival. The pressure in the intake would collapse his lungs. It would just suck the air out of him. I have seen the results of two people that have been removed from intakes. All were dead and each did not have a mark on them that you could see. Both of them died of suffocation.

Berny

Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale. F-4 Phantom Group Build.

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Butz

Member since
February 2003
From: Niagara Falls NY

Posted by Butz on Monday, June 30, 2003 6:09 PM

To Really understand FOD,
The next time that you are at your local airport, toss somin in the path of a spooling engine. NOW thats FOD!! Tongue [:P]

Flaps up, Mike

ATTENTION TO ALL WHO HAVE NO SENSE OF HUMOR,THIS IS ONLY A JOKE!! No engines were harmed in the writing of this post.Now we return to your regularly schedule browsing of FSM forum

If you would listen to everybody about the inaccuracies, most of the kits on your shelf would not have been built Too Close For Guns, Switching To Finger

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