A life on the ocean waves
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A life on the ocean waves
Certainly not the roughest conditions I have personally witnessed but it does gives folks an idea of conditions when landing on a rolling, pitching lump of 'concrete' 
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As I said in my first post I have personally witnessed pilots landing on the deck of a frigate that is possibly smaller than the one on that video clip in sea conditions far worse than those we have just looked at. Not only was the sea state far worse, not only was the landings done at night, but they were also carried out up in the Artic Circle in conditions that could freeze the condensation from your nostrils before you could sneeze 
Furthermore the aircraft I am talking about was a much lighter Wasp that may have been more challenging to fly, although please do not think I am attempting to belittle the skills of anyone that flies our modern day magnificent flying machines.
However once the Wasp touches terra firma or terra steel the air crew will have to wait until four aircraft handlers run out onto that swaying deck and secure the aircraft with canvas strops and in the example I am talking about...... where the deck was not covered in grease it was covered in ICE! (The grease was used to prevent ice from sticking to the ship's superstructure, but grease on a flight deck is NOT a good idea)
This is an image posted merely to show the strops used to hold the Wasp onto the deck (no harpoon type deck-lock in those days
)
Please note that I am NOT blowing my own trumpet, I am also NOT saying what colour uniform the pilot wore, and I am NOT attempting to belittle ANYONE. My comments and posts are made to highlight\congratulate all those that fly these machines in conditions where some civilians might have nightmares when they just look at them on a TV screen in the comfort of their living room
We often read about how the most frightening part of a military sortie is the time spent over enemy territory, this might well be the case but I would prefer the word 'hostile' as opposed to enemy.
Just found another image that highlights the 'uppy, downy' movement of a South African runway\airfield and for those that have not served on a small ship in rough weather then just think about a runaway lift that also rolls from side to side
Furthermore the aircraft I am talking about was a much lighter Wasp that may have been more challenging to fly, although please do not think I am attempting to belittle the skills of anyone that flies our modern day magnificent flying machines.
However once the Wasp touches terra firma or terra steel the air crew will have to wait until four aircraft handlers run out onto that swaying deck and secure the aircraft with canvas strops and in the example I am talking about...... where the deck was not covered in grease it was covered in ICE! (The grease was used to prevent ice from sticking to the ship's superstructure, but grease on a flight deck is NOT a good idea)
This is an image posted merely to show the strops used to hold the Wasp onto the deck (no harpoon type deck-lock in those days
)Please note that I am NOT blowing my own trumpet, I am also NOT saying what colour uniform the pilot wore, and I am NOT attempting to belittle ANYONE. My comments and posts are made to highlight\congratulate all those that fly these machines in conditions where some civilians might have nightmares when they just look at them on a TV screen in the comfort of their living room
We often read about how the most frightening part of a military sortie is the time spent over enemy territory, this might well be the case but I would prefer the word 'hostile' as opposed to enemy.
Just found another image that highlights the 'uppy, downy' movement of a South African runway\airfield and for those that have not served on a small ship in rough weather then just think about a runaway lift that also rolls from side to side
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I have also personally witnessed pilots landing on the deck of a frigate even smaller than the one you describe you saw and in sea conditions far far worse than those you describe and we have seen in the clip. Not only was the sea state 100 times worse, not only was the landings done at night with the pilots eyes shut as it was so scary, but they were also carried out up beyond the Artic Circle in conditions that could freeze your eyes shut unless you were wearing heated goggles. We are talking temperatures as low as absolute zero here people.
Furthermore the aircraft I am talking about was a much much much lighter ultralight that was definitely more challenging to fly, although please do not think I am attempting to belittle the skills of anyone that flies our modern day magnificent flying machines.
However once the ultralight touches terra firma or terra steel the air crew will have to wait until eight aircraft handlers run out onto that swaying deck and secure the aircraft with old bits of string and in the example I am talking about...... where the deck was not covered in acid it was covered in THICK THICK ICE! (The sulphuric acid was used to prevent ice from sticking to the ship's superstructure, but sulphuric acid on a flight deck is NOT a good idea)
Please note that I am NOT blowing my own orchestra, I am also NOT saying what colour uniform the pilot wore, and I am NOT attempting to belittle ANYONE. My comments and posts are made to highlight\congratulate all those that fly these machines in conditions where some civilians might have nightmares when they just look at them on a 50 " OLED 3D TV screen in the comfort of their cinema room.
Furthermore the aircraft I am talking about was a much much much lighter ultralight that was definitely more challenging to fly, although please do not think I am attempting to belittle the skills of anyone that flies our modern day magnificent flying machines.
However once the ultralight touches terra firma or terra steel the air crew will have to wait until eight aircraft handlers run out onto that swaying deck and secure the aircraft with old bits of string and in the example I am talking about...... where the deck was not covered in acid it was covered in THICK THICK ICE! (The sulphuric acid was used to prevent ice from sticking to the ship's superstructure, but sulphuric acid on a flight deck is NOT a good idea)
Please note that I am NOT blowing my own orchestra, I am also NOT saying what colour uniform the pilot wore, and I am NOT attempting to belittle ANYONE. My comments and posts are made to highlight\congratulate all those that fly these machines in conditions where some civilians might have nightmares when they just look at them on a 50 " OLED 3D TV screen in the comfort of their cinema room.
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WARM gravel, did you say?
Luxury....
Luxury....
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RN deck landings are conducted alongside, better references on short finals and better "fly away" conditions in case of a single engine failure. However, you need to turn your head to have deck references once you are alongside + when you have your quiescent period, you then have to move across, stabilize over the grid and land on... long time, chances are it rocking and rolling again
Other navies do a straight in approach : trickier in case of an engine failure, worse references before the deck (less backdrop) but once you are on the deck, you have the full view in front of your eyes without having to turn your head (which can give you some bad sensations, especially at night in rough weather). When the thing gets calmer, you just have to crash the cab on the grid...
Other navies do a straight in approach : trickier in case of an engine failure, worse references before the deck (less backdrop) but once you are on the deck, you have the full view in front of your eyes without having to turn your head (which can give you some bad sensations, especially at night in rough weather). When the thing gets calmer, you just have to crash the cab on the grid...
Many years ago at Rosyth I was invited on board the Canadian Destroyer Algonquin which carried [I think] a Sea King
They used a landing technique which involved dropping a cable which was secured to the deck and then a winch was used to assist in the landing procedure.
Is this procedure still used ?
They used a landing technique which involved dropping a cable which was secured to the deck and then a winch was used to assist in the landing procedure.
Is this procedure still used ?
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Didn't the Canadians call it the 'bear trap'?
I always found landing the Lynx easy, even in rough sea states, it's very responsive and, due to the semi rigid rotor head, very stable and quick to follow the cyclic inputs.
The Sea Pig on the other hand was far more tricky to land well in a rough sea state and putting it onto the UK Carriers in rough weather between operating spots was always sporty. The problem with the Sea King was that it tended to 'hang' under the rotor disc and pivot after the cyclic input making it essential to judge where it was going to be before it got there!!!
Ahhh, the good old days when the Policemen were older and there were carefree winds in the world!
I always found landing the Lynx easy, even in rough sea states, it's very responsive and, due to the semi rigid rotor head, very stable and quick to follow the cyclic inputs.
The Sea Pig on the other hand was far more tricky to land well in a rough sea state and putting it onto the UK Carriers in rough weather between operating spots was always sporty. The problem with the Sea King was that it tended to 'hang' under the rotor disc and pivot after the cyclic input making it essential to judge where it was going to be before it got there!!!
Ahhh, the good old days when the Policemen were older and there were carefree winds in the world!
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Hi Wirbelsturm
Thank you very much for your post and you make and interesting point. Did you ever get the opportunity to fly the wasp or was it of a different era?
Thank you very much for your post and you make and interesting point. Did you ever get the opportunity to fly the wasp or was it of a different era?
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I flew the Wasp a couple of times as a 'jolly', I was never qualified on it as I started on the Sea King before transferring to the Lynx later in my time.
Being a tall chap and a rugby player the Wasp was never really to my design and the ubiquitous 'Nr' horn would sound quite often as the poor old Nimbus donk attempted to lift my bulk and that of the QHI! Often the sortie length could be extended by removal of the doors! Deck landings were done to some fairly tight decks, the Type 42 destroyers being one of the smallest then Leanders and the T21 Gin palaces. Ironically, in my time, I always found the smaller decks better to land on as your visual references were 'closer in' thus the drift and pitch easier and quicker to pick up. The T23 was a football field designed for the Merlin and therefore didn't allow the same level of 'finess', all IMHO of course.
The Lynx was a massive generation leap forward for ship board power and controllability in comparison to the Wasp which suffered many similar problems of the Sea King with respect to design by also having a fully articulated head. What gave the Wasp its advantage was its relative power to weight advantage until you put a torpedo on it!
Halcyon days!
Being a tall chap and a rugby player the Wasp was never really to my design and the ubiquitous 'Nr' horn would sound quite often as the poor old Nimbus donk attempted to lift my bulk and that of the QHI! Often the sortie length could be extended by removal of the doors! Deck landings were done to some fairly tight decks, the Type 42 destroyers being one of the smallest then Leanders and the T21 Gin palaces. Ironically, in my time, I always found the smaller decks better to land on as your visual references were 'closer in' thus the drift and pitch easier and quicker to pick up. The T23 was a football field designed for the Merlin and therefore didn't allow the same level of 'finess', all IMHO of course.
The Lynx was a massive generation leap forward for ship board power and controllability in comparison to the Wasp which suffered many similar problems of the Sea King with respect to design by also having a fully articulated head. What gave the Wasp its advantage was its relative power to weight advantage until you put a torpedo on it!
Halcyon days!
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Wirbelsturm
I must confess to being mightily impressed with that 'deck-lock' gadget fitted on the Lynx. A brilliant invention and one that was much needed.
Do not talk about height
There is tall and then there is moi!!!
Having served on both the county class destroyer (Wessex) and then the leander class frigate I can see where you are coming from..
I must confess to being mightily impressed with that 'deck-lock' gadget fitted on the Lynx. A brilliant invention and one that was much needed.
Do not talk about height
There is tall and then there is moi!!!
Ironically, in my time, I always found the smaller decks better to land on as your visual references were 'closer in' thus the drift and pitch easier and quicker to pick up.