"Call the Ball"

[Captain Airclues]

In the opening scenes of 'Top Gun', the controller on the carrier says "Maverick...Call the ball" to which the reply is "Maverick has the ball". Could any navy types please explain what this means?

Airclues

[PaulDeGearup]

Not a fish head, fully paid up crab, but it refers to the deck landing guidance system on the carrier. Kinda like PAPIs for fish heads.

[CrashDive]

CA I've found the following ( at Naval Terminology, Jargon and Slang FAQ (http://www.hazegray.org/faq/slang.htm) ) , but as I'm not actually a 'Fly Navy' type of chap I can't personally vouch for the accuracy of the info.

Ball (the) - The glowing image projected by the FRESNEL LENS. Gives glideslope reference. Short for ‘meatball,’ the term for the red ball of light seen in the old mirror landing system which predated the fresnel lens system.

"Call the Ball" - A radio transmission from a pilot that he has sighted the BALL during approach to the carrier. Typically consists of SIDE NUMBER, aircraft type (to ensure proper ARRESTING GEAR settings), and amount of fuel onboard in thousands of pound s, e.g. '205 Tomcat ball, 3.5'.

[Captain Airclues]

Thanks Paul and Crashdive. When I watch it for the 238th time (sad I know), at least I'll know what they're talking about.

Airclues

[InFinRetirement]

I am always gobsmacked at the knowledge contained in these halls, but I thought I would call a Lt.Cmdr friend of mine who is in the US Navy based in San Diego.

His e-mail says "The "ball" refers to the fresnel light on the left side of the deck that shows the pilot if he is at the correct altitude on the glide slope".

There ya go AC, they all got there before me! But such knowledge! I sure as hell didn't know.

[CrashDive]

....... and here's another little known fact (apparently).

Each and every carrier landing is assessed (not sure what the criteria are, e.g. did you land, arrive, crash, go over the side, off the end, hit the bridge, land short / long (surely neither is possible on a carrier), or whatever, etc....

I’m just glad that they don't have a bloke out at the end of the runway assessing my controlled crashes !

That said, I'd like to know more though - thus any 'Fly Navy' types like to clue us in ?

[Dan Winterland]

You know the bit when Mav and Goose are being chewed out for being ripsh!ts by their slaphead boss and he says "Screw up once more and I'll have you flying cargo planes full of rubber dogsh!t out of Hong Kong". Does anyone else think that sounds like quite a good job?

[CrashDive]

DW - ROFLOL !

Yes, I too thought (and sometimes still do) that it would be a great job !

[Airbrake]

It has got to be better than flying Shell Suits out of Manchester!

[jtr]

For those of you interested in flying the brown stuff outta HK, the company you are seeking is called ASL, the freighter arm (sort of) of Cathay, Mins 1000 heavy jet. menojoking!

[RATBOY]

Many moons ago in a previous incarnation I worked for the gull gray and white organization and actually built a couple flight simulators that incorporated carrier landing simulation. The information you have on the ball is correct. The frenel lens optical landing system (FLOLS) has been USN standard equipment for a long time, though I believe some new laser guided, atomic powered Buck Rogers stuff is in the offing.

The landing is controlled by the Landing Signal Officer , a pilot of the air wing, who has radio contact with the aircraft and gives a kind of running commentary that is somewhat like a PAR or GCA approach. If you look at the F-14s in the movie you may be able to see the angle of attack lights in the nose gear door. This gives the LSO the aircraft's attitude. There is also an angle of attack indexer in the cockpit in the pilot's line of sight, which makes it much easier to fly the power approach Navy aviators use. The LSO grades each pass at the deck, whether the aircraft traps ("lands"), bolters (hits the deck but doesn't catch one of the cross-deck pendants) or takes a wave- off (aborts the approach). Each pass is graded as to how the pilot controls the aircraft, which wire he caught (if any), and several other factors. The best grade is "Okay 3 wire" for good control all the way down the approach, trap on the third of the cross deck pendants, a good safe smooth pass. The worst grade is "low in close, hit the spud locker", which means you ran into the back of the ship and that's all folks. The LSOs in the air wing standardize with each other, the functional wing and air force (Atlantic Fleet or Pacific Fleet) standardize and there is a Naval Aviation Training and Operational Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) manual that standardizes the whole Navy. The LSO school is, I believe, at NAS Pensacola, Florida

[Lurk R]

Is this also how the phrase "on the ball" arose? Sounds possible but I had never made the connection.

[Tonkenna]

Dan,

Anyone would think you where on some sort of wind-down? ;)

[SNIFF R404a]

Dan Winterland

I agree, very appealing indeed!

Im glad somebody else spotted this as well as me. I would happily fly an aircraft loaded with rubber or even real dog**** out of Hong Kong !

Where do we apply ? this is my "turd" time trying to get an application form for this job.

[Rollingthunder]

In addition to landing evaluations, I believe that each and every landing is videotaped.

[PA-28]

An excellent book which explains pretty much all that has been mentioned in this thread is :-

Ironclaw by Sherman Baldwin ISBN 0-688-14303-2 Published by William Morrow and Co. Inc. New York

Baldwin was a Prowler pilot on the U.S.S. Midway during the Gulf War, loads of technical detail and a well written and interesting account.

PA-28

[RATBOY]

Video was used, and I don't doubt still is. Hopefully they have new equipment because when I delt with it it was called Pilot Landing Aid Television (PLAT) and it was a Sony 3/4" black and white system with a couple cameras (I think one at the angle and another by the LSO platform or across from the platform) The pictures were pretty poor, there was only one system for each boat and occasionally somebody would destroy it with a few tons of a/c.

Sometines on television up next to the humidity channel you will see some obscure history video etc with really poor looking black and white footage in it on a U.S.N. carrier...that was probably from the PLAT. There is footage of the flight deck explosion on Forrestal from the PLAT in the public domain, very scareifying.

[Warped Factor]

There's another book IIRC called "No Easy Days, The Incredible Drama of Naval Aviation", sorry don't have the ISBN number to hand.

But it shows, with some amazing photographs, just why anyone who operates off an aircraft carier has my utmost respect.

WF.

[Dan Dare]

Crashdive, sorry, but there is a bloke by the runway assessing your every landing! But ATCO Annie's scale of Oh My God! to OK isn't recorded anywhere, so you are probably safe!

I like the idea of "... unofficial observation from the tower, that was the worst landing so far taday...", but that would open Annie up to abuse I suppose.

Any pilot in the Booker area would of course know where to call the ball. It would be golden too!

[Slasher]

Into Top Gun huh Clues? The only ball I call is the one I accidently sit on after returning from the aircraft lav! :)

What gets me in T.G. is when Maverick gets a written dinner invite from that cute instructor, then walks past Slider and casualy says "Slider?..[sniff]..you stink!" But after that he has an hours game of volleyball in 100F heat, then imediateley after he puts on a thick bloodey jacket and screams off hot and stinkin sweatey to his new girlfriends house! I think that bombshell instructor shouldve invited the kettle and not the pot! http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

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Slasher. Well its the bottom of the Ninth, the scores are tied, its time for the big one.

[Snatch Force]

2 excellent reads are "Flight of the Intruder" and a follow up called "The Intruders" written by Stephen Coonts - both available at Amazon etc. The author was an Intruder pilot in the USN and although these are works of fiction they contain passages about naval aviation which reflect his experience there. He does a good job of weaving technical explanations into cracking storys. (It was my first introduction to "Call the Ball")

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GRAVITY - not just a good idea, it's the law!

[Anthony2107]

Snatchforce

I watched that movie " Flight of the Intruder " and it was nowhere good as the book itself ( different story line in some parts and scenes not in the book - as always is on some ) but would you know if the Intruder really stalls at 180kts ?

[Horsepower]

Jane’s ‘At The Controls – F/A18 Hornet’ (sorry, don’t have an ISBN handy) is an excellent quick-reference book for those interested in carrier ops.

HP

[simfly]

Does anyone remember that series with Jeremy Clarkson, mean machines I think? He spent some time on a US carrier, the programme was brilliant and will no doubt be repeated, they usually are.

Sim

[zippyz]

And seeing as you are all 'puter wizards as well as gun pilots, you might like to have a 'simulated' try at 'trapping' yourself.
There are quite a few PC flight sims that provide quite realistic carrier ops including teh 'meatball', AOA indexers etc... not to mention all that other blood-curdling, adrenalin pumping fighter jock stuff like trying to shake some other 'puter nerd on teh other side of teh world off your 'virtual' tail in a gunzo dogfight :)
Sims to look for:
Janes F/A18
Flanker 2
Hornet Korea
Just don't forget the hook.