gambit
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Hot pit in hot weather sucks. It is more like hot hot hot hot hot hot hot pit. Sunburn -- if you are bald, either by choice or by genetics, by the end of the duty week, which is the standard duration for a hot pit duty, your head will be peeling. Now do it in chem gear. 
During hot pit, the lead hold a 'dead man' or cut off switch. If anything happens, like a fuel leak, all he has to do is relax his grip and fuel flow will be cut off. Another man stands by the fire extinguisher, not to put out any fire, should any occur, but more to (hopefully) delay the fire so everyone can clear the area. Depending on design, the hot pit area usually can handle three jets at a time.
The hot pit procedure is not confined to exercises, as some believe. If it is possible to hot pit for fuel, do so, then by the time you taxied to your parking spot, your jet will be quite near full of fuel readied for the next day's sortie. If the jet have external tanks, they will be refueled as well, unless the pilot have instructions otherwise before he land, but most of the time, before a pilot land, he will know if the squadron want him to hot pit or not, so usually there is a queue at the hot pit area.
Have there ever been a time when a jet is so empty that he died before hot pit ? Absolutely. But they are very rare. Embarrassing, since they have to run a tow truck out to the hot pit area and tow your jet back to the parking ramp. Since you are the pilot, you are automatically drafted to be the brake rider for the tow. Very embarrassing and you will be late for any after sortie festivities. And if it is hot weather, you will suffer since you are already in full gear. The crew chief and his men will turn sadists and take their time towing you and your jet back to the ramp. Then during debrief, you have to explain how did you run empty before hot pit. If it was the result of poor fuel management during sortie, you will have a meeting with your CO the next day.
The video does not show much when it comes to the procedures themselves. When the jet is full, the ground crew lead and the pilot will communicate -- via hand signals -- to verify how much fuel was taken.
- An upright closed fist is numerical 'zero'.
- One upright finger, usually index, is numerical 'one'. Two upright fingers, like a 'V', are 'two'. And so on.
- All five fingers are numerical 'five'.
So how do you convey the number 'six' ? Turn the index finger sideways.
How do you convey the number 'seven' ? Turn the 'V' fingers sideways.
How do you convey the number 'eight' or 'nine' ? Turn the three or four fingers sideways.
How do you convey the number 'ten' ? One upright index finger and a closed fist. You do not turn the open palm sideways to represent the number 'ten'.
Basically, except the open palm, turn the fingers sideways means: plus five to the amount of fingers.
How do you convey the number '75' ? Flash a sideways 'V' fingers, then an upright open palm.
Aerospaceweb.org | Aircraft Museum -
F-16 Fighting Falcon
- One sideways index finger.
- One sideways four fingers.
- One sideways 'V' fingers.
- An upright closed fist.
Or to convey the number '3160'...
- Three upright fingers.
- One upright index finger.
- One sideways index finger.
- One upright closed fist.
When the jet is full, the ground crew lead will flash to the pilot the amount of fuel supposedly uploaded, as explained above, the pilot will look at his gauge and signals back that they agree. Just a nod or a thumb up will suffice. It does not have to be exact because by the time he taxied back to his spot on the ramp, he will have used up some fuel anyway. We just want to confirm the general quantity to make sure everything worked as expected. Some pilots do volunteer to pull hot pit duty, even if just for an hour, to see what it is like. But only some, most do not. It is up to the maintenance flight chief to make the arrangement anyway and if he does not feel like it -- too bad.
So now you guys know our USAF 'secret' hot pit code, you can use it to communicate numbers among yourselves when you fill up your cars.
During hot pit, the lead hold a 'dead man' or cut off switch. If anything happens, like a fuel leak, all he has to do is relax his grip and fuel flow will be cut off. Another man stands by the fire extinguisher, not to put out any fire, should any occur, but more to (hopefully) delay the fire so everyone can clear the area. Depending on design, the hot pit area usually can handle three jets at a time.
The hot pit procedure is not confined to exercises, as some believe. If it is possible to hot pit for fuel, do so, then by the time you taxied to your parking spot, your jet will be quite near full of fuel readied for the next day's sortie. If the jet have external tanks, they will be refueled as well, unless the pilot have instructions otherwise before he land, but most of the time, before a pilot land, he will know if the squadron want him to hot pit or not, so usually there is a queue at the hot pit area.
Have there ever been a time when a jet is so empty that he died before hot pit ? Absolutely. But they are very rare. Embarrassing, since they have to run a tow truck out to the hot pit area and tow your jet back to the parking ramp. Since you are the pilot, you are automatically drafted to be the brake rider for the tow. Very embarrassing and you will be late for any after sortie festivities. And if it is hot weather, you will suffer since you are already in full gear. The crew chief and his men will turn sadists and take their time towing you and your jet back to the ramp. Then during debrief, you have to explain how did you run empty before hot pit. If it was the result of poor fuel management during sortie, you will have a meeting with your CO the next day.
The video does not show much when it comes to the procedures themselves. When the jet is full, the ground crew lead and the pilot will communicate -- via hand signals -- to verify how much fuel was taken.
- An upright closed fist is numerical 'zero'.
- One upright finger, usually index, is numerical 'one'. Two upright fingers, like a 'V', are 'two'. And so on.
- All five fingers are numerical 'five'.
So how do you convey the number 'six' ? Turn the index finger sideways.
How do you convey the number 'seven' ? Turn the 'V' fingers sideways.
How do you convey the number 'eight' or 'nine' ? Turn the three or four fingers sideways.
How do you convey the number 'ten' ? One upright index finger and a closed fist. You do not turn the open palm sideways to represent the number 'ten'.
Basically, except the open palm, turn the fingers sideways means: plus five to the amount of fingers.
How do you convey the number '75' ? Flash a sideways 'V' fingers, then an upright open palm.
Aerospaceweb.org | Aircraft Museum -
F-16 Fighting Falcon
So to convey the number '6970'...
- One sideways index finger.
- One sideways four fingers.
- One sideways 'V' fingers.
- An upright closed fist.
Or to convey the number '3160'...
- Three upright fingers.
- One upright index finger.
- One sideways index finger.
- One upright closed fist.
When the jet is full, the ground crew lead will flash to the pilot the amount of fuel supposedly uploaded, as explained above, the pilot will look at his gauge and signals back that they agree. Just a nod or a thumb up will suffice. It does not have to be exact because by the time he taxied back to his spot on the ramp, he will have used up some fuel anyway. We just want to confirm the general quantity to make sure everything worked as expected. Some pilots do volunteer to pull hot pit duty, even if just for an hour, to see what it is like. But only some, most do not. It is up to the maintenance flight chief to make the arrangement anyway and if he does not feel like it -- too bad.
So now you guys know our USAF 'secret' hot pit code, you can use it to communicate numbers among yourselves when you fill up your cars.
