Off Topic: Aircraft decompression due to bullet hole damage?

[pilot06]

There is a show on the Discovery Channel called "Mythbusters". They try to dispell or prove various myths and urban legends. Anyway, they tested the myth that if you fire a bullet through a pressurized fuselage/window that it will suck you out through the small hole. Very ineteresting results. Makes me feel a lot safer flying on the heavies.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythb ... sters.html

Patrick

Episode 10: Explosive Decompression.
Jamie and Adam get trigger-happy trying to shoot down myths regarding firearms. First, they fire a bullet into the shell of an aircraft to find out if a single shot can cause explosive decompression — and total aircraft destruction.

[bdk]

Anyway, they tested the myth that if you fire a bullet through a pressurized fuselage/window that it will suck you out through the small hole. Very ineteresting results. Makes me feel a lot safer flying on the heavies.

Hollywood really shapes the fears of much of our society unfortunately. When you look at it though, a bullet is very small. There are probably plenty of pressurized aircraft flying around with door seal leaks bigger than that, and you're only talking what, 8 PSI?

[Brad]

Even though it's caused by the vacume rather than the pressurization of the airplane In the center of the cargo door of a C-130 is a hole, just a little bit smaller than a dime. It's a drain of some sort and is usually covered up by a small rubber flap. Sometimes, the flap is missing or moved out of the way.

In flight, it will suck a super-sized roll of Charmin toilet paper out in 28.2 seconds.......................

A large plastic trash bag will disappear in about four seconds..........

2100 feet of parachute cord will disappear in a little over 90 seconds........

The entire contents of a two-liter coke bottle will disappear and the bottle will collapse on itself instantly.............

Frozen coke and toilet paper will stick all over the bottom of the cargo door.................it's not easy to clean up....................

[TimAPNY]

It must get boring riding back there, doesn't it.

[AIRIC]

Now those are the kinds of aircraft stats I like

Hey Brad,

Nice Stats, are we talking from experiance

I found the patch of c-17 stuff when you guys came up here during the Ice Storm when i got time I'll scan some for you.

Cheers the Col

[JDK]

I hope you had a certified FAI guy speaking French on the stopwatch for those great stats Brad; it'd be a pity to have to do it all again!

[Randy Haskin]

Remember that pressurized aircraft work on "pressure differential" -- meaning that there's a constant escape of air out while there is a constant injection of bleed air to maintain that differential.

It's no secret to the flying community that a small hole like that would not likely cause a rapid decompression.