WhiteOvies
Originally Posted by WhiteOvies
The bigger issue is getting everyone else to be ready for a large, busy flight deck. At least there is a team of people looking into this issue and both deckcrew, aircrew and engineers are being appropriately positioned to give them some exposure to this dangerous environment prior to QEC.
A cause of much angst I think. At least the senior Officer (sic)
quoted by the Telegraph had concerns:
Another officer has told The Telegraph that the loss of carrier deck handling skills could prove "disastrous" with fatal accidents caused by inexperienced ratings.
Are (as I wondered loudly
here) we doing enough? Whilst we can only send a limited number of personnel on exchange, if we were to embark some STOVL jets (yes, that means Harriers) it would give that experience to a greater number (and wider range) of personnel.
RN Recruits are given training booklets which include a large section on aviation safety, emphasising the whole ship nature of naval aviation, and describing the hazards from and to aircraft including jet blast and downwash, FOD, tool control, and so on. That was considered as basic safety awareness, not specialist skills. I wonder to what extent the actual skills needed for fixed wing operations are implicit, and difficult to be learnt except by experience?
Operating an aircraft from a ship is different to operating it from land, and operating fixed wing aircraft is different to operating helicopters (greater speeds, more potential for FOD issues, the need for wind over the deck for launching, narrower windows for recovery times before the fuel runs out, and others).
In late 2009, I was at a presentation by the FAA Command Warrant Officer, who stated that in order to prepare for CVF/F35B, we would need to build up expertise by embarking more aircraft (about the two CVS) for longer periods. How has that changed post SDSR?
Originally Posted by orca
All we need to see is a signed document from CAS saying that he will embark his jets as soon as the CO indicates his ship is ready in all respects to conduct aviation.
What comes first? The carrier capable of embarking fixed wing aircraft, or the carrier capable fixed wing aircraft?
Originally Posted by orca
The second sentence will indicate that he will disembark them only when the Air Management Organisation is fully up to speed, the Air Group is fulfilling ATO tasking, the Air Weapon supply team have produced weapons to surge capacity and these have been loaded on jets and dropped, the Yellow Coats can marshal, chain and chock a fourship in all weathers, whilst another fourship is taxying for take off. The jets will remain embarked until every Fighter Controller in the fleet has worked a fourship through Red Crown procedures and the JFACCHQ have established resilient comms for a week or two and Flyco have exercised being b#ggered about from dawn to dusk. Repeat all for night ops. When all this is crimped the TG in its entirety will take part in a COMAO based exercise of Neptune Warrior type scope and we'll call it good.
A system of systems.... Not much systems thinking by current politicians (not just in respect to defence).
SpazSinbad/PhillipC
Pilots (and perhaps a few others) can be trained by simulator with respect to landing or launching the aircraft at sea, but what about the deck crews, Flyco, OOW/Bridge, Ops Room, Ship Control Centre, and others?
Bill
If nothing else, Sharkey Ward stimulates and provokes debate.