I've just found the Naval General Training booklet I got as a Reservist at HMS
Raleigh, a cut down version of the one given to regular trainees. It has a section on aviation safety.
Flight Safety relies on everyone in the Royal Navy, from the First Sea Lord downwards, working as a team. As an important member of this team it is vital that you understand the role you play in maintaining the highest possible standards. Your attitude towards Flight Safety can make the difference between whether people live or die!
Naval aviation is an inherently dangerous business, but the whole ship's company working together can minimise the degree of danger.....
How will Royal Navy sailors train for this when the last carrier we had was retired some thirty plus years ago?
Surely it was December? Sea Harriers/Harriers had similar issues with jetwash, FOD, noise, night flying etc as the old Phantoms and Buccaneers. Saying "30 years" plays down the skills loss post SDSR, unless we embark Harriers aboard
Illustrious/
Queen Elizabeth.
This is discussed on the
Decision to axe Harrier is "bonkers" thread:
Bismark (on page 1):
As I am sure has been said elsewhere, the aircraft and pilots just represent the front end of the carrier strike capability. The idiocy of the SDSR decision, which the PM is about to compound in the FR/UK Defence deal (FT Today), is that we risk losing the capability to operate jets off carriers. All of the expertise on the current CVSs will have gone (we are getting rid of the CVSs), the aircrew will have gone (either PVRd, redundant or moved to other aircraft types, the command experience will have gone (as will the met, ATC, FC, deck handlers, planners etc, etc).
In my many years in the Service and beyond it has been the most astonishing Defence decision made - I just hope the CAS (I understand the current CAS made a promise to the PM) at the time can deliver because the RN will have lost the ability. I presume the RAF will provide all of the manpower, including ship's company?
Not_a_boffin (on page 4):
ICBM - unfortunately, while your point re CV ops might be true, I'd put a fair bit of money that the guys who've done exchange tours have not done time in CATCC, Wings / Little F (Air & mini-boss in USN), handlers office or the squadron engineering and logs posts.
While they may be adept at doing the mission plan, launch, mission, recovery thing, they are unlikely to have a great understanding of how to spot a deck, arrange aircraft for servicing vice maintenance, weapons prep and bombing up and how all the various departments both in the squadrons and on the ship work to deliver the sortie rate. People thinking just about aircrew and (to some degree) chockheads are missing the point - it's the corporate experience of how to put it all together that is about to be lost. Nor can that be maintained at HMS Siskin - that just gives the basics of handling, not the fine art of pulling it all together.
As SDSR says "we need a plan to regenerate the necessary skills"- all I can say is it had better be a f8cking good one, cunning eneough to do more than brush your teeth with!
My bold.
Going from STOVL to CTOL would be a challenge, however SDSR implies going from NOTHING (no embarked fixed wing) to CTOL - which will be much more difficult for the reasons described in the above quotes.
Unfortunately I didn't put this last comment in before the reply from glojo (below).