Of islands and moles 5 July 2013 | By David Downs
"...the huge aft island was lifted into place. Now the only significant structural units remaining to be installed are the extreme aft corners of the flight deck Sponsons SP11 and SP12.
Since it was shipped in March this year a lot of work has been done on the forward island to structurally consolidate it to the sponson structure below, to connect the gas turbine and diesel uptake and downtake trunking and to progress the system installation across the boundary. The island is at an advanced stage of outfit with the majority of the Mission System and other equipment already installed. The protective coverings on three of the windows in the observation bridge, one deck below the main bridge, have been replaced with perspex sheets so that the view forward and across the flight deck to port can be seen.
The design of the forward island and the open bridge wings and platforms provide a surprisingly good all round view considering the constraints of an aircraft carrier geometry. The view forward and to starboard is excellent with the bow of the ship being incongruously apparently a long way away to port.
There cannot be many ships where it is possible to see the bulbous bow from the bridge even when in dry dock. The view aft to the aircraft lifts is also excellent and across the wide expanse of flight deck.
Whereas the forward island is predominantly about navigating the ship, the aft island is all about flying control. The aft island has been built at BAE Systems yard at Scotstoun on the Clyde and in June was loaded out onto a barge and transported to Rosyth arriving under the iconic Forth Bridge on 21st June and shortly afterwards brought ashore. It was lifted into place on July 1, with a brief ceremony marking the occasion. Like the forward island, which was built at Portsmouth, the aft island is at a very high state of completion and on structural consolidation the Flyco compartment, which has been built as a module by TEX ATC ltd will be installed onto the seats on the port side of the island. This Flyco structure is arranged over two deck levels and includes huge windows giving unrivalled views across the flight deck and up the glide path where incoming aircraft will be approaching. It contains banks of consoles from which the Flying Control Officer and Landing Safety Officer will operate. The ergonomics of this compartment are vital to the efficient flying operations of the aircraft carrier and during the design phase a wooden full scale mock-up of the Flyco was manufactured at Portsmouth and used to carry out simulated operations to prove the design...."
Of islands and moles | Opinion | The Engineer