Photo: Russian Navy Blog on Twitter
When you have several million dollars worth jet fighters taking off and landing every day you might as well want to make sure there are no Foreign Object Debris (or FOD) getting in the way. And don’t think of big things, apparently a metallic button is enough to destroy an engine or even endanger the lives of an aircrew. Each country’s air force has its own ways, but Russia’s solution for the problem once again makes for a grand delight.
The image above was taken by a fellow Twitter user who goes by the name Russian Navy Blog. Apparently we’re looking at a huge vacuum cleaner the crew of the Kuznetsov Amiral uses to clean the flight deck. According to Foxtrot Alpha, it appears they took an old MiG-15’s jet engine, mounted it on a planar diffuser and strapped it to a tractor.
We are looking at a motor with a maximum thrust of 5,955 lb-ft (26.5 kN) which is quite impressive for a vacuum cleaner. Sure, this beast is far from being such a device. In fact, back in the day they were used at heavy snow blowers in Canada and Russia.
The jet engines help with the melting of the snow on the track and clear the roads faster than other methods, as they offer considerably greater power in a relatively lightweight machine. In order to lower the expenses, it seems like Russians are using the retired Klimov VK-1 for cleaning purposes today.
Wait they have vacuum version of a Zamboni for the Kuznetsov flight deck? How many FOD walk downs did I do on Midway? pic.twitter.com/mr8em3A7TA
— RussianNavyBlog(ret) (@russiannavyblog) April 15, 2015 The moment we saw it we thought of the old-school aircraft engines rarely still in use today. According to the source, we're looking at a Klimov VK-1. It’s a replica of the Rolls Royce Nene engine, only that it was license-built by Pratt & Whitney and labeled J42. It was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production and can still be found on some personal airplanes and in some MIG-15 in North Korea.We are looking at a motor with a maximum thrust of 5,955 lb-ft (26.5 kN) which is quite impressive for a vacuum cleaner. Sure, this beast is far from being such a device. In fact, back in the day they were used at heavy snow blowers in Canada and Russia.
The jet engines help with the melting of the snow on the track and clear the roads faster than other methods, as they offer considerably greater power in a relatively lightweight machine. In order to lower the expenses, it seems like Russians are using the retired Klimov VK-1 for cleaning purposes today.
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