Theodore Roosevelt flight ops

[Rigger1]

Theodore Roosevelt is in the UK and is anchored in the Solent of Stokes bay as it is too big to fit in Portsmouth, according to the news there are going to be local dignitaries taken on board for visits and there will be flypasts etc.

I was wondering would a carrier conduct flight ops so close to shore (Stokes bay is only 3.5 miles wide, and a very busy shipping area) or would the air wing disembark and operate from a base somewhere?

[TwoStep]

The BBC report is wrong, she will remain anchored until the 8th. The flying demonstration took place on April 2nd and 3rd, VIPs were CODed back to Farnborough on Friday evening.

[Gainesy]

I doubt they'd operate anything but helos from there. At the moment its also very foggy as you can see (or not) from this webcam, the ship is barely visible.
RYDE WEBCAM ISLE OF WIGHT AIS LIVE SOLENT SHIPPING WEBCAM (http://www.ais-live.co.uk/AIS%20Live/aissolentwebcam.html)

[Wycombe]

Always thought a carrier needs to be underway and steaming into wind for fixed wing Ops?

[Union Jack]

No big deal, albeit not with jet aircraft other than SHAR, and a regular occurrence in the Fleet Air Arm in years past.

Jack

PS The bow wave could be a little disconcerting at times!:eek:

[spheroid]

Always thought a carrier needs to be underway and steaming into wind for fixed wing Ops?


Always thought a carrier needs to be underway and steaming into wind for RAF fixed wing Ops?


In truth, there won't be any FW flying happening as there isn't a diversion close enough.

[itwasme]

Spheroid,


In truth, there won't be any FW flying happening as there isn't a diversion close enough.


Aaahhh - so that's why those great big carriers always go round in pairs!

What are you on about? How far are Brize, Boscombe, Yeovilton? I really don't think those guys would be out of their comfort zone in the solent!

[herkman]

When the USS Coral Sea was in Sydney during the 60's, a lot of her aircraft were flown off before she arrived, and parked at RAAF Richmond.

However whilst moored at Garden Island one of her Trackers was launched and brought back on board whilst she was parked, if I recall was at least twice a day.

Presume it would be a Cat A pilot driving, but an impressive task anyway.

Regards

Col

[brickhistory]

For the life of me I can't find it, but I recall reading a naval aviator's memiors.

In it, he recounts a mishap aboard ship (USS Saratoga?, Naples/Athens?, late 1960s/early 1970s?) left it unable to clear port for an extended period.

The Air Wing launched from at anchor with just enough gas to get to the nearest suitable concrete - A-4s, F-4s, etc. Obviously, this wasn't 'flight ops,' as they didn't recover aboard, but they did launch.

Sorry for the "friend of a friend" tale and the lack of details. Still checking.

[Modern Elmo]

USS T.R. not spewing any greenhouse gases from its propulsion system, no neo-imperialistic expropriation of innocent Muslims' oil needed to fuel that ship.

Very good public relations, no? Too bad fission power has never been seriously considered for the proposed British air craft carriers.

[diginagain]

That's a relief - they're not going after Wytch Farm after all.

[KarlADrage]

Here's a few shots from a RIB ride I took out to see her on Sunday afternoon before the clag rolled in.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1838.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1842.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1265.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1281.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1285.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1856.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1861.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1872.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1312.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/KarlADrage/karladrage/cvn71/IMG_1315.jpg

She's certainly a big beast!

[Pure Pursuit]

I was lucky enough to spend a week on the Teddy R back in 96 when she was in the Gulf. It is truly an awesome ship & watching the crew launch and recover a/c was something else.

It was a sad helo trip back to the tug boat Invincible after the exchange was over although, on the positive side, I was looking forward to a beer!

[ProM]

I spent a week on her as well Pure. Amazing to feel the world shake as the jets wound up the power on the catapults.

Strange mix of the high tech and the primitive (that is not a criticism, low tech can be the best solution and in at least 1 case was).

I do however remember one pilot pointing out that the guys who adjusted the tension in the arrestor wires would not have reached the educational standards needed to be a MacDonalds burger turner. Scary

[Evanelpus]

Nice pictures Karl, saw them last night on UKAR and thought they looked good.

[recce_FAC]

I got back from Herrick 9 yesterday,and its pretty good seeing the guys off the TR ashore in pompey. They supported me for over 4 months on Herrick 9.They were pretty swept up.I had the best work from the ''Legacy'' FA-18.Dont know why that was,however if I ever come across ''Comanche'' flight on my FAC/JTAC travels I will certainly get the beers in. The crews off the TR would always go on about us ''widows'' being invited onboard when they were in Pompey.We never got a look in,and how peed off were we when we found out 2 guys that hadn't even controlled them during the tour got to swan away for a few days on the TR. perks of being the S03 Strike I guess. Anyway good work to the 5 F/A-18 SQNs on the TR.

[GreenKnight121]

Squadrons aboard TR for the current deployment:

VFA-31 (F/A-18E)
VFA-213 (F/A-18F)
VFA-15 (F/A-18C)
VFA-87 (F/A-18A+)
VAQ-141 (EA-6B)
VAW-124 (E-2C NP)
HS-3 (SH/HH-60F/H)

Deployments of USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) (http://www.navysite.de/cvn/cvn71deploy.htm)

[WolvoWill]

I got back from Herrick 9 yesterday,and its pretty good seeing the guys off the TR ashore in pompey. They supported me for over 4 months on Herrick 9.They were pretty swept up.I had the best work from the ''Legacy'' FA-18.Dont know why that was,however if I ever come across ''Comanche'' flight on my FAC/JTAC travels I will certainly get the beers in.

If I had to hazard a guess I'd say 'Comanche' would be F/A-18A+s from VFA-87 'Golden Warriors/War Party', as they use a stylised American Indian logo on their jets which befits the Comanche call sign!

Other fast jet units from the TR as already mentioned are...

VFA-31 (F/A-18E) - Tomcatters
VFA-213 (F/A-18F) - Blacklions
VFA-15 (F/A-18C) - Valions
VAQ-141 (EA-6B) - Shadowhawks

[scudpilot]

Absolutely gutted that she is leaving / has left today, going down to the In-laws for the weekend.. never seen a US Carrier in the flesh...:sad:

[effects]

"I got back from Herrick 9 yesterday,and its pretty good seeing the guys off the TR ashore in pompey. They supported me for over 4 months on Herrick 9.They were pretty swept up.I had the best work from the ''Legacy'' FA-18.Dont know why that was,however if I ever come across ''Comanche'' flight on my FAC/JTAC travels I will certainly get the beers in."

The results of your handywork?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/3417778741_06f065db4c_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3418588794_6509432f62_o.jpg

[recce_FAC]

Nice pictures,I have saved them and of course our Tour movie(not for use on you tube I assure you) will have to be edited to get ''ole Comanche'' in.
Cheers