Single-seat Fighter Training

[GrauGeist]

In the second photo, at the top of the engine (to the left of the photo) is seen a large silver cylindrical device at the top of the engine.
That is the generator.

 

[nuuumannn]

In the second photo, at the top of the engine (to the left of the photo) is seen a large silver cylindrical device at the top of the engine.
That is the generator.

Yup, sure is, AC or DC geny (not sure of whether the Germans used AC or DC or both) is attached to the big metal casing that is the auxiliary gearbox, driving auxiliary systems. There is a driveshaft from the compressor spool to the gearbox and the reason behind the gearbox is because the things being driven by the compressor don't need to be doing the same RPM as the engine. In the case of the geny this is important because during a normal flight regime the engine will change RPM, which means in a generator this will impact voltage and current production, so the geny is geared to provide a constant output regardless of the engine speed. In modern terminology, the combined generator and gearing unit is a single unit known as the IDG: Integrated Drive Generator.

These days ground power units provide start power so there's no need for a Riedel, although most modern jets have an APU and can start independently of ground power. The DC geny is coupled to the ignition system and drives the compressor on startup through the auxiliary gearbox driveshaft and provides power to low voltage systems like lighting, radios etc, but high voltage systems, like driving actuators for flaps and undercarriage, are done with AC genys because they provide more electrical grunt. AC genys kick in once engine RPM reaches a certain threshold, whereas DC power is available pretty much straight away.

On the front of the auxiliary gearbox are a couple of important features: the unit with the yellow rigid pipes is the primary engine-driven fuel pump, and the unit with the brown flexi-lines is the engine-driven oil pump. All the brown lines are oil distribution lines for cooling the engine. In modern gas turbine engines, there are labyrinths throughout the engine casing that supply oil to fan blades, which are nominally hollow to allow oil to pass through them, spool seals etc for cooling purposes.

Note the colour coding of the different lines, ergonomics for engineers and pilots. When lines are colour coded like this, the instruments in the cockpit also have the same colours associated with them. This practise continues today with Russian aircraft, whose instruments usually have big round stickers on them of the relevant colour code to the system they represent. Western aircraft instrumentation doesn't do this to the same degree but fuel, oil and hydraulic lines have labels attached to them with a colour code and unique symbol, rather than painting the lines.

 

[Admiral Beez]

When I read about the USN Wildcats pulled out of Lake Michigan, I'm surprised that the USN, RN or IJN didn't have a dual control, side-by-side trainer for their naval fighters, like the postwar Boulton Sea Balliol.