"Ground Ops"
Gerald GroßShare
The seemingly succinct question is often asked as to whether the EUROFIGHTER actually has an ignition key. But it's not that easy to prepare for the start. Like other comparable LFZs, there is of course no EF key. As is usual with aircraft, take-off takes place via a large number of switches. It can be either fully autonomous (use of the APU as a generator and “starter”), semi-autonomous (use of external power and the APU as “starter”) or fully supported. (Using external power and external compressed air to start). Of course, starting the engine alone is not enough: countless mission data needs to be loaded, checked and, if necessary, supplemented, the complex navigation system needs to be started and running, subsystems need to be checked and navigation aids need to be set correctly. The activities of the ground crew are just as important as the work in the cockpit: the control rooms remove safety pins, sharpen the weapons and blasting mechanisms of the tanks, check the systems using the so-called Maintenance Data Panel (MDP), ensure that all the lighting works and guarantee that it is tight of the tanks. With only one pilot in the cockpit, even an operational EUROFIGHTER can hardly be brought to life. A well-coordinated crew combination can get the EUROFIGHTER out of the box in less than 5 minutes. It's not called "Team Luftwaffe" for nothing!
