BZ LOTHAR

[flynavysomerset]

From today's Times

Matthew Collins is Royal Navy’s man on board US aircraft carrier John C. Stennis

Among the American Hornet fighter pilots in 14 Squadron’s briefing room, an English accent betrays the presence of Royal Navy exchange pilot Lieutenant Matthew Collins, 27, from Bury St Edmunds, call sign “Lothar”.
The cachet of being the first British pilot to fly aboard a US aircraft carrier comes with a price in the form of a little light ribbing. “Lothar”, it transpires, is an acronym for Loser of The American Revolution. “Making fun of each other is pretty much all we’ve got,” said Mr Collins with a smile. “Don’t worry, I give it all back.”
He has been flying with the squadron for two years, in a programme that will be crucial to Britain’s own future aircraft carriers. When the first of two British Queen Elizabeth class carriers is launched in 2016, the Royal Navy will relearn skills that have atrophied since the last of the Harrier jump jets flew from the scrapped carrier HMS Ark Royal in 2010. Dozens more pilots and crew will follow Lieutenant Collins to provide the seed corn for the new capability.
“You have to do it flawlessly, day in, day out and the American Navy are the most experienced in the world at this,” he said. “They say the lessons learnt for doing carrier operations, are written in blood. On TV you don’t get a sense of how controlled, how on their game, everyone has to be.”
There have been incidents. An aircraft exploded on the deck of USS John C. Stennis last year, although no one was injured. In the USS Forrestal fire during the Vietnam War, 130 sailors died when an aircraft on deck launched a missile by accident.
Landing aircraft is the greatest challenge. In rough conditions, pilots must judge their approach perfectly — aiming for a two foot by two foot vertical window, which translates into 20 feet of deck where the principal arrester wire is stretched.
Miss the four wires, as happens regularly, and the pilot must perform a “bolter”, throwing open his afterburner to take off again as the deck disappears from under him. Misjudge that move and a watery grave awaits.

[parabellum]

The cachet of being the first British pilot to fly aboard a US aircraft
carrier


Really? I thought some F4 men had done so some years ago?

[Just This Once...]

I doubt that the long line of carrier qualified exchange officers has been broken. It has been going on for decades and this is not the first article regarding 'Lothar' either.

[Old-Duffer]

May I suggest that Lt Collins - or LOTHAR - to give him his USN monica - endows a name such as; LIBOWS to one of his American friends. However, I am sure there will be better suggestions.

LIBOWS ???? Oh Yes: Late In BOth WarS

Old Duffer

[blaireau]

But commendably early in many others....

[Bob Viking]

Britain didn't lose the American Revolution. It was Brits fighting Brits. It's just that those American based Brits one.
Also, when did Steve Collins change his name to Matt?!
BV

[Rossian]

.....I do believe that there is a GR4 mate who flew the EA18 Growler until fairly recently (and flew off the carrier, but I don't know which one)

The Ancient Mariner

[Two's in]

But commendably early in many others....

Subtle and understated, good one blaireau :ok:

[Justanopinion]

While exchange pilots have been CQing for a while, they have generally been IPs on the RAG s and only in the day. LOTHAR is the first UK guy in a long while to be flying operationally from a cat and trap carrier.

So yes, BZ

[seadrills]

Maybe so ....

But he is not "the first British pilot to fly from a US carrier"

[Feck]

I get that we've only recently switched back to Dave-B and no longer have any USMC AV8B exchanges - but this article is portraying cats and traps experience as pivotal to future UK carrier ops. I would tend to disagree.

[LateArmLive]

this article is portraying cats and traps experience as pivotal to future UK carrier ops. I would tend to disagree.

Yup! The FAA sent loads of pilots out there to get "essential cat and trap trg" before we get F35. But as soon as we went back to the STOVL jet, the reason for the pilots changed to "getting essential deck experience on a big carrier."

Anyone care to bet just how many of the RN pilots that are out there in the States just now will still be serving when (if) we get F35?

[Justanopinion]

Yup! The FAA sent loads of pilots out there to get "essential cat and trap trg" before we get F35. But as soon as we went back to the STOVL jet, the reason for the pilots changed to "getting essential deck experience on a big carrier."

The F18 route was set up approximately a year prior to the demise of the Harrier. This was as an extra source for the FAA to generate pilots for F35 as the Harrier pipeline was producing, at best, 4 a year = not enough.

Naturally cats and traps was an added benefit while the C was the choice but above all that, the experience flying a fourth gen multirole platform in the maritime environment was and is the most important benefit to lead into F35.

Typhoon or SuperHornet, mmmmmm let me think.....

[Finnpog]

LateArmLive said:

Anyone care to bet just how many of the RN pilots that are out there in the States just now will still be serving when (if) we get F35?

Could the same statement apply to the LRMPA seedcorn?:cool:

CR operational experience is not a bad thing, surely?

[LateArmLive]

CR operational experience is not a bad thing, surely?

Indeed, but CR experience now? On an aircraft that (probably) won't be anything like the one the RN will operate in 2020?

If the cat/trap or big deck experience is so important, why not start building it up in 2015/6? At least that way you won't be wasting money on guys who will never fly F35.

But wait - if we send the guys home now the evil RAF will finally be able to shut down the FAA.

Out of interest, how many FJ pilots does the RN have on its books right now?

[Justanopinion]

Quote:
CR operational experience is not a bad thing, surely?
Indeed, but CR experience now? On an aircraft that (probably) won't be anything like the one the RN will operate in 2020?

If the cat/trap or big deck experience is so important, why not start building it up in 2015/6? At least that way you won't be wasting money on guys who will never fly F35.

But wait - if we send the guys home now the evil RAF will finally be able to shut down the FAA.

Out of interest, how many FJ pilots does the RN have on its books right now?

Why is this such an issue? To reiterate, this process was set up prior to the end of the Harrier.

The Super Hornet provides probably one of the best lead ins to F35 out of any platform out there.

To take Lothar as an example, his timing (and he is the first of the group) is perfect to be a flight commander position in 2018-20 (finish fleet tour-ad qual tour-staff tour-flight commander), what is the issue with having this experience?

Obviously a GR4 first tourist today is much better placed...

[orca]

Surely given that we have been mandated to provide a Joint capability, for which we are procuring a very expensive weapon system to fly on and off a moderately expensive platform, and have been further mandated to man said capability as near as makes no odds to half and half...if we brought the chaps home now they would all have to be found cockpits in UK fast jets?

More importantly, despite Lothar's good work we all know that Maritime Strike is only in very small part dependant on the stick monkeys. It's actually dependant on the correct supervision, C2, force integration, ship/air interface and deck teams...the hands and feet skills of pilots is almost irrelevant.

But unless you fly off/ from boats and in and out of fleets, you don't get the grounding to provide any of the above. Not in an actually assured, actually competent, actually post-Haddon-Cave sort of way.

In my, as ever, humble opinion.

[seadrills]

Quote:
CR operational experience is not a bad thing, surely?
Indeed, but CR experience now? On an aircraft that (probably) won't be anything like the one the RN will operate in 2020?

If the cat/trap or big deck experience is so important, why not start building it up in 2015/6? At least that way you won't be wasting money on guys who will never fly F35.

But wait - if we send the guys home now the evil RAF will finally be able to shut down the FAA.

Out of interest, how many FJ pilots does the RN have on its books right now?

Why is this such an issue? To reiterate, this process was set up prior to the end of the Harrier.

The Super Hornet provides probably one of the best lead ins to F35 out of any platform out there.

To take Lothar as an example, his timing (and he is the first of the group) is perfect to be a flight commander position in 2018-20 (finish fleet tour-ad qual tour-staff tour-flight commander), what is the issue with having this experience?

Obviously a GR4 first tourist today is much better placed...



It won't be the RAF that closes the Fleet Air Arm down ....JHC will do that.... In 10 years time the FAA. Will only exist as the maritime wing of JHC

[LateArmLive]

Orca,

Agreed, but why start now? Why not for a few years then send the boys out to the States?

[lj101]

LAL

From the MOD, as JAO etc said:

House of Commons - Defence Committee - Written Evidence (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmdfence/761/761we08.htm)

[orca]

LAL,

I see your point mate, however:

I think we have to send them now if we are going to have a (normal-ish) cross section of experience (and therefore utility) when we stand up the new force.

I think it's sensible that we have some Lts, some senior Lts, junior Lt Cdrs etc etc when the time comes.

I'm not sure many would stay in the RN FW world if the next flying opportunity was 5 years after SDSR.

I would also imagine that there would be budgetary concerns if everyone went all at once. I'm not sure that the appointer would be able to work the cadre properly if they went as a job lot. Afterall who would carry the Admiral's bag etc?