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Circuit pattern on an aircraft carrier
Evening all,
I'm writing a presentation on the evolution of the aircraft carrier and would like to ask about S.O.P when an aircraft approaches the carrier to land and if there is a circuit pattern an aircraft would follow. My understanding is that it is always flown on the port side of the ship and would be grateful if any naval aviators could confirm and expand on. many thanks, Chanter |
Chanter, if you PM me I can email you a comprehensive guide. Good luck with your presentation, can I ask who it is for?
Regards FNS |
On an almost similar vein - what was the practical limit to a formation recovering to the ship, given the deck clear time and how far upwind you could risk the airy's going without getting lost :) - a pair?
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USN T-45C Goshawk Carrier Circuit Explanation PDF
A current example of a 'deck landing aircraft' with good explanations and graphics would be here (with an example graphic):
http://www.cnatra.navy.mil/pubs/folder5/T45/P-1211.PDF (1.6Mb) Click thumbnail for big picture: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ierPattern.gif Generic overhead carrier landing pattern view from: https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/ebrief/d...V%20NATOPS.pdf Click thumbnail for big picture: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rnOverhead.gif A good 'brit-centric' overview of NavAv would be here: 'The Particular Mechanics of Carrier Aviation' by Steve George BSc MSc CEng FRAeS Cdr RN 2012 http://www.phoenixthinktank.org/wp-c...fcaropsPTT.pdf (4.6Mb) Alternatively there would be 2GBs of giggles about how to deck land here including history from props up to and including the F-35 flat deck landers: https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=cbcd6...340707E6%21932 |
Many thanks chaps,
FNS, have sent a PM Spaz, great diagram Chanter |
The RN pattern for VSTOL aircraft had you breaking at ten seconds past the bow with subsequent aircraft breaking 20 seconds behind you, but the spacing used to concertina up when you arrived alongside.
This sort of thing could be changed locally if the deck or an individual pilot needed more time between recoveries. USN SOP that you have to have broken by 4 miles in front of Mum or you go around and have another go. Practically speaking this means that if you are bringing a four ball in - dash one needs to be in the break at the bow if dash four is going to be turning in time. The whole aim is to get an aircraft into and out of the Landing Area every minute. |
USN Intervals for Carrier Break Formations
Paddles Monthly June 2011
http://www.hrana.org/documents/Paddl...lyJune2011.pdf COE / Blue Water Certification CDR Marc “Stoner” Preston from Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic (CSFTL) gave an excellent brief on Combat Operational Efficiency and "Blue Water‟ certification and how it fits into C2X. As most of us who have experienced it, we all know that C2X is basically conducting Air Wing Fallon-type missions in the CVN environment in order to test whether the CVW and CVN can cooperatively operate in such a high-tempo operational environment. This includes the standard tactical missions like Strikes, Maritime Strikes and Defenses, Air Defenses, CAS, CSAR, etcetera. However, how does the Combat Operational Efficiency (COE) aspect come into play and what is it for? As per the CSFTL/CSFTPINST 3500.4A, COE is defined as: “The efficiency with which a Carrier Strike Group (CSG) conducts flight opera-tions is directly related to its lethality and survivability…..Carriers and Carrier Air Wings that cannot meet established standards of efficiency incur additional exposure to surface and subsurface threats due to prolonged periods in which maneuvering is effectively precluded. Finally, pilot proficiency is directly relatable to operational safety. Since combat operations are frequently required where no divert field is available, or where divert of aircraft could result in political situations disadvantageous to the United States.” The evaluation phase of COE consists of a two day evolution where the ship and air wing are evaluated on metrics that directly apply to the above-mentioned excerpt. During these two consecutive days, the CVW will fly greater than 90 sorties while maintaining an Event Factor and Combat Boarding Rate at prescribed standards: - Event Factor (EF): 1.2 Case I/II and 1.75 Case III - Combat Boarding Rate (CBR): 90% Case I/II and 85% Case III What are Event Factor (EF) and Combat Boarding Rate (CBR)? Event Factor measures the ability for the flight deck and air wing to work together to maximize lethality and survivability. Here is how it is measured over the course of a launch and recovery: Event Factor = (Total # of Launches + Total # of Recoveries) / (Minutes Elapsed) For example, an event that launches 10 aircraft and recovers 10 aircraft in a 12 minute period would post an EF of 1.667 (20 divided by 12) and if the same recovery takes 15 minutes then the EF would be reduced to 1.333. Since the necessary EF for COE certification is 1.2 for Case I/II and 1.75 Case III then how many minutes could a “10 to launch and 10 to catch” Case I event take and still meet the minimum standards for event factor? Case III? Answer: 16 minutes and 40 seconds and 11 minutes 25 seconds. The keys to success to meet your event factor are to realize that you "make your money‟ on the launches. Having multiple catapults working at quick intervals can hopefully launch several aircraft per minute, leaving plenty of time to complete the recovery within parameters. Squadron LSOs should train their pilots to be ready to launch as you taxi to the catapult. Having to suspend for unnecessary troubleshooting, or because of improperly set trim or some other problem with takeoff checks can be very costly during COE. Walk early and stay ahead of the jet on deck!!! Collapsing the stack and flying a disciplined Case I pattern is also paramount for success during COE. Obviously, obeying the ‟Rules to Live By‟ on the ball and getting aboard first pass are an important requirement but two other things need to be considered: aggressively (and smartly) pressing the deck and setting the proper interval. Section and division leads should be pressing the deck in order to have the first aircraft rolling into the grove just as the flight deck completes wrapping the waist and making a ready deck. Just make sure you are not too aggressive and cause either a clogged spin pattern or widespread confusion due to multiple depart and re-enters. Squadrons responsible for breaking the deck should regularly debrief their performance. CAG Paddles need to also debrief the first pilot down on the time elapsed between the deck going clear and the first arrestment. When considering interval, it is best to be long than short. Even though the textbook Case I/II interval is 45 seconds, during COE it is much better to be closer to 55 or even 60 seconds lest you run into too many fouled deck wave-offs. When you think about the math involved in calculating EF, the extra 10 to 15 seconds added onto each interval during the course of a recovery is very little compared to the extra time added for even a single fouled deck wave-off. All pilots should continually evaluate timing when to break based on their interval pass-to-pass in order to target than 55-60 second Case I interval. Another important thing to not be forgotten is a solid COD recovery plan. Do not let an otherwise stellar launch and recovery evolution have its EF numbers fall below the requirements just because we forgot about the C-2s. As for Combat Boarding Rate (CBR), it is calculated by the number of traps divided by the total number of "attempted‟ traps with 90% being the goal for Case I/II and 85% for Case III. Both metrics are related to each other due to the fact that a bolter obviously hurts both your EF as well as your CBR. Historically speaking, it tends to be a bit harder for Carrier Air Wings to achieve their Combat Boarding Rate numbers than Event Factor. Squadron LSOs need to train your Ready Rooms to consistently shoot for a 55-60 second interval vice 45 seconds, be very disciplined in the pattern, and to safely get aboard on the first pass while not violating the "Rules to Live By.‟ |
In an old 60's nutshell:
Down the starboard side of the carrier at 400ft - echelon starboard if more than one. Break in front of carrier and turn left downwind. Turn base abeam the stern and fly around on finals. Pick up the mirror and go for the deck. |
1958
4greens,
that's more like it I seem to remember a 2 second break and aiming for not more than 15 seconds apart at the round down ? these youngsters don't know they're born ! AA |
Charlie Time was for the first aircraft crossing the roundown, so that at the break the ship was probably still turning into wind. And never start descent (from 400 or 450 ft circuit height) until you've got the mirror (projector sight/fresnel lens) - especially at night. PS if the interval is more than 15 secs it was probably a Gannet. :) LFH
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Semi-Circular base leg
In about 1991 I flew as a passenger on American Airlines Chicago to DFW. The flight was much delayed due to an incorrect warning light and eventually we departed after boarding the passengers for the next flight too - or maybe we changed aircraft I forget. I think that the aircraft was a DC-10 or Lockheed Tristar. The same type did the Glasgow-Chicago leg. (Wiki, she say AA had DC-10 and not Tristar.)
The flight crew announced that they would try to catch up towards the schedule. On arrival near DFW the flight crew announced something about co-operation from ATC allowing a landing without holding. I was surprised when I saw a runway out of the window (left I think) that seemed much closer that I would have expected for an airliner. It turned out that we were on the downwind leg of a circuit to land on that runway. It was not much different from what I had experienced in the Cessna 150 and Chipmunk which I had flown some years previously. The aircraft then executed a semi-circular base leg and rolled level smack on position for short final and landing. It was all very smooth and I felt that the pilot had exhibited astonishing judgement in order to accomplish the final approach and landing in this manner. Many years later I saw a TV program about carrier operations and thought that I recognised the approach. Now this thread has reminded me of it again. We did seem to catch up very nearly to schedule after a delay of perhaps two hours. I was astonished. Just to be clear I at no time felt unsafe. It appeared to be beautifully flown with no abrupt changes of any kind. The pilot clearly knew exactly what he was doing. I guess the pilot might have been ex-navy? Does anyone else use these semi-circular base leg approaches? I wondered what the management might have thought of the approach? What would they think of such an approach today? |
Executable files on skydrive - SpazSinbad
Dear SpazSinbad,
Thanks for the documents, very interesting. I was going to have a look at the skydrive material but when I noticed that the "part1" file was an application (*.exe) I called off. I don't think anyone should be downloading and running executables off of the internet unless from a trusted source due to the risk of running malicious code. Sadly dear SS your credentials do not meet my requirements:-) I am prepared to download and unpack zip or rar files. Hope you find this helpful. I am NOT suggesting that SS is attempting to introduce bad code. I am simply saying that this is an excellent way of propagating viruses that may exist on one computer to another computer. Jim. |
'jimjim1' the .RAR archive is an SFX one. If you have a reputable antivirus program you should feel protected. I would recommend Microsoft Security Essentials because it is free and excellent. But then again I'm only a malware vendor eh. Sad indeed. It is possible to make all the .RAR archive .RAR files but then I'm told people can get confused about what to do - so having an .exe file helps them - obviously not with you. But thanks for bringing your concerns to my attention. Others on this forum having downloaded the files mentioned that they were crap so you have not missed much anyway.
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4greens, that's more like it I seem to remember a 2 second break and aiming for not more than 15 seconds apart at the round down ? these youngsters don't know they're born ! AA Surprised someone called 4greens is not jumping down the ancient one's throat!:) If the 4 greened youngsters didn't have the whole 4 ship on deck within 15 seconds they were likely to get a summons to flyco for a one way chat from Wings!:) |
If you chaps can think of a way to get a 40 plus thousand pound machine out of the wires and clear of the LA in 15 seconds I'm all ears!;)
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Don't have my copy of Wings On My Sleeve handy but the 'no gear - rubber deck- down the chute and into the hangar' idea might work I suppose. Can't remember exactly how they were going to crack it.
Having been part of two 'four green' communities - one with a green for each wheel, the other with a green for three wheels and a hook - I can safely say that the former was definitely the most forgiving of interval variations - if the chap in front was having a drama you could simply hang out over the ogsplosh and wait for him to sort it out. Whilst watching your water and fuel run out and the engine temperature doing its 'rat up a drain pipe' impression! |
Caught the wires once just as 'Mother' was turning out of the wind. Didn't quite go over the side. The Captain called me to the bridge and apologised, which was nice of him. Never a dull moment.
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@jimjim1 FYI semi- circular base legs are quite standard in airliner ops with a constant descent and change of config on the way round. Fun to do but don't get the chance often enough!
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Page 32/33 in Buccaneer S1 from in the cockpit by Michael j Doust has all the info and a diagram for a carrier landing ;)
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Originally Posted by orca
If you chaps can think of a way to get a 40 plus thousand pound machine out of the wires and clear of the LA in 15 seconds I'm all ears!http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/wink2.gif
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For interest, whilst Carrier patterns are generically left hand with the superstructure on the starboard, the Japanese did experiment with right hand pattern Carriers with the superstructure on the port. The idea being to allow 2 Carriers to operate in close formation with the patterns being separated.
Never really worked as proved confusing and they reverted to the norm. Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū http://www.carrierbuilders.net/galle...o-hiryu-01.JPG |
Orca – and BOAC quote ..........
Originally Posted by orca If you chaps can think of a way to get a 40 plus thousand pound machine out of the wires and clear of the LA in 15 seconds I'm all ears The machines didn't cost quite as much as £40k, in the days of the 15 second interval. :) Spaz - That stuff of yours is fascinating – especially the T-45 pattern. I wonder how they guarantee picking up the "sight" - The rule of maintaining circuit height until you were on the "sight" - meant flying level round finals 400/450ft - intercepting the correct approach slope from below - VSI 500 fpm at the ninety – unless you were on the sight ? No thank you. With that RoD you might always be below .... still going on down. The leapfrog - A common leapfrog for RN Carriers for peacetime training ops might have been " six on four" With serviceability as it was, by the end of the day you might be down to a limping three on two. I saw an apparently typical flypro posted on Saratoga's noticeboard during a Med cruise early sixties - their leapfrog was twenty-six on sixteen. Mind you they did have more than us to start with. I think they call that – "The ability to project power." I have no idea what the desired landing interval needed to be, to recover twenty-six in one go, or whether they had some other scheme. The ship was anchored haf a mile off the beach at Canz Frantz that week, so we didn't actually see any flying. But they had A-3s armed up, on permanent deck alert all week while at anchor. LFH |
The T-45 technique is taught using quite stringent downwind spacing to arrive at a visual turning cue (when you can see the white paint on the round down at the back of the ship) backed up by TACAN DME (when it starts going up again). The finals turn is taught as a rigid instrument turn with no 'peeking' to arrive on the ball.
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I think the 40000 lb refers to weight not cost. The fifteen second figure is impossible. You have to pull off the power, raise the hook and taxi forward and the follow the marshaller.
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RAN A4G Carrier Circuit Similar to Sea Venom Initially
'Lordflasheart' some many years ago now when my work on the trashy virus filled PDFs (according to some on this forum) started I recalled that in 1970 initially our A4G / HMAS Melbourne circuits were at 400 feet with a level base turn. It was easy to pick up the mirror just before the 90 degree mark (half way round the turn more or less) and to fly the meatball during the turn for a quick finals. Then as I recall we used the NATOPS carrier circuit height (level initial and level downwind though) of 600 feet. Generic A4G NATOPS day circuit was 800 feet initial descending downwind to 600 feet as per the RF-4B diagram. The 1970 circuit was more like that of the Sea Venom when a tight circuit was SOP, while the change to 'NATOPSlike' circuit was from 1971 or thereabouts. I preferred the low circuit with the level base turn, the higher descending base turn was just sloppy IMHO. There was a transition from the 'old bolds' from the Sea Venom days to the new LSO enabled A4G NATOPS and eventually LSOs and NATOPS ruled. :rolleyes:
Reading the NATOPS (and other source) methods for modern day USN aircraft was a surprise (as mentioned by others) to see that the carrier day circuit is so heavily reliant on instruments (I guess much more accurate today) especially the first half of the descending base turn. The quick visual 400 feet early A4G carrier circuit was quick and efficient and a lot of fun. Click the pics: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...erApproach.gif http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...uitDiagram.gif http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...OPSbwSMALL.gif |
Super Hornet NATOPS Carrier Circuit Method/Diagram
Text from Super Hornet F/A-18E/F NATOPS.
"...Enter the carrier landing pattern at 800 feet AGL (figure 8-2) with the hook down. Make a level break from a course parallel to the Base Recovery Course (BRC), close aboard to the starboard side of the ship. Below 250 KCAS lower the gear and flaps. The speedbrake function automatically retracts when the FLAP switch is moved to HALF or FULL. Descend to 600 feet AGL when established downwind and prior to the 180° position. Complete the landing checklist and crosscheck AOA and airspeed (136 KCAS at 44,000 lb GW minus 1.5 KCAS for each 1,000 lb decrease in GW). NOTE Flaps HALF or FULL may be used for landing provided the minimum wind-over-deck (WOD) requirements of the Aircraft Recovery Bulletin (ARB) are met. As WOD increases above 30 kt, handling qualities in flaps HALF are slightly improved over flaps FULL and are recommended to avoid "settle at the ramp" situations. To assist in achieving the desired abeam distance of 1.1 to 1.3 nm: select the 10 nm scale on the HSI display, select ship’s TCN, and adjust the course line to the BRC. On downwind fly to place the wingtip of the HSI airplane symbol on the course line. Ensure the ground track pointer is on the exact reciprocal of the BRC. Select ILS if desired and available. With 25-30 kt winds over deck begin the 180° turn to the final approach when approximately abeam the LSO platform or when the "white" of the round down becomes visible. Use an instrument scan from the 180 to the 90. Fly the pattern as described in the VFR Pattern and Approach section of Chapter 7. Adjust the 90 altitude up slightly to account for the height of the ship’s deck, usually 500 feet AGL versus 450 feet AGL. Target 360 feet crossing the wake. The rate of descent required to maintain glideslope may be slightly less than on FCLP approaches due to wind over deck. Expect slightly higher throttle settings. When the meatball is acquired, transmit “SIDE NUMBER, RHINO, BALL, (fuel state in thousands of pounds to the nearest 100 pound), AUTO” (if using ATC for approach) e.g. "206, RHINO, BALL, 7.5, Auto"...." Click de pic: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...itNATOPSbw.gif TEXT/Diagram as mentioned above for 'VFR Pattern' below: 7.7.2 VFR Landing Pattern Entry. See figure 7-3. Typically, the VFR landing pattern can be entered through several methods: the break, downwind entry, VFR straight-in, or low approach/touch-and-go from a GCA. Regardless of the entry method, enter the pattern at the altitudes and airspeeds prescribed by local course rules. A normal break is performed by executing a level turn to downwind with the throttles reduced to IDLE and the speedbrake function enabled (if required to reduce airspeed). The desired abeam distance is 1.0 to 1.3 nm. The g-level required to achieve the desired abeam distance will be a fallout of break airspeed. As airspeed decelerates below 250 KCAS, lower the LDG GEAR handle and place the FLAP switch to FULL. If enabled, the speedbrake function will retract automatically when the FLAP switch is moved from the AUTO position. Continue to decelerate to on-speed AOA (8.1 deg). Longitudinal trim inputs are required with the flaps in HALF or FULL. The MI code for on-speed AOA is unit 14, address 15743, data 3300. WARNING In-flight Memory Inspect (MI) of FCC (UNIT 14 or 15) addresses (ADDR) greater than six digits long is prohibited since it may cause all four FCC channels to shut down which will result in loss of aircraft control. With MC OFP H3E AND UP, the pitch trim AOA value is displayed on the HUD while trimming and for two seconds after trimming, and continuously on the FCS page with WoffW and flaps in HALF or FULL. The HUD value is displayed with or without ATC engaged but will not be displayed with autopilot engaged. If the autopilot is ″paddled off″ and AOA is greater than or equal to 6°, pitch trim is automatically set to on-speed. Trim the aircraft hands-off and on-speed. Compare airspeed and AOA. Onspeed AOA is approximately 136 KCAS at 44,000 lb gross weight (max trap). Subtract (add) 1½ KCAS for each 1,000 lb decrease (increase) in gross weight. Complete the landing checklist. When wings level on downwind, descend to pattern altitude (600 ft AGL for the low pattern). Ensure the ground track pointer is on the exact reciprocal of runway heading. 7.7.2.1 Landing Checks. 1. Landing checklist - COMPLETE: WHEELS FLAPS HOOK ANTI SKID HARNESS DISPENSER EJECT SEL AOA 2. Report - AFT INITIATE, 3 DOWN AND LOCKED, FLAPS FULL (HALF), AOA CROSSCHECKED 7.7.3 VFR Landing Pattern and Approach. At the abeam position, pick a spot on the ground as a reference point. (At the ship, TACAN will be used to adjust abeam distance). Remember this abeam position, as all abeam distance corrections will use it as a reference. From the abeam position, time 20 seconds to arrive at a no-wind 180° position. To compensate for winds, subtract one second for each knot of final approach headwind component. At the 180, roll into 27 - 30° AOB, add power, and adjust rate of descent to 300 to 400 fpm. Maintain on-speed AOA. This should place the velocity vector about 1° below the horizon with its wingtip below the horizon bar. If required, adjust rate of descent to arrive at the 90° position at 450 ft AGL. Develop an instrument scan for the turn from the 180 to the 90, because an instrument scan will be required at the ship. At the 90, glance at runway centerline and the lens and adjust AOB to arrive on extended centerline. From the 90, rate of descent must be increased by reducing power and adjusting the velocity vector to 1½ to 2° below the horizon, on-speed. This will produce a rate of descent of 400 to 500 fpm to arrive at the 45° position at 320-370 feet AGL. From the 45, continue to increase rate of descent to approximately 500-600 fpm with a power reduction to arrive at ″the start″ on centerline, at 220 to 250 feet AGL, with 650 to 750 fpm rate of descent, on-speed. The optimum rate of descent will vary with glideslope angle, approach speed, and headwind component. The approach turn from a pattern altitude greater than 600 ft AGL is slightly different. At the 180, adjust rate of descent between 400 - 700 fpm to arrive at the 90 at approximately 500 ft AGL. This requires a power reduction at the 180 rather than a power addition. Power will need to be added at the 90 to break the rate of descent to 400 to 500 fpm in order to arrive at the 45 at the same flight conditions as the low pattern. 7.7.4 Pattern Adjustments. Deviations to the standard no-wind pattern will be required based on headwind, crosswind, approach speed, and starts by adjusting abeam distance. Adjust the ground reference point and fly exactly the same AOB as the previous pass. Correct for long-in-the-groove or not-enough-straight-away starts by adjusting the timing from the abeam to 180° positions. Correct for high or low starts by adding or subtracting 20 to 50 feet from the target altitudes at and inside of the 90. The purpose of pattern adjustments is to determine a repeatable pattern technique which will produce consistent starts. 7.7.5 Final Approach. The desired final approach is flown by maintaining a centered ball to touchdown on runway centerline and on-speed. Timely, well-controlled power corrections will be required to capture and/or maintain the desired glideslope. A complete discussion of glideslope geometry and glideslope corrections will be covered during the FRS training syllabus and/or by squadron LSOs...." Pic Clik: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...OPSbwSMALL.gif |
Hornet/Super Hornet NATOPS PDFs Download URLs
U.S. Navy F-18 NATOPS Flight Manuals Public Intelligence
U.S. Navy F-18 NATOPS Flight Manuals | Public Intelligence Specifically: http://info.publicintelligence.net/F18-EF-000.pdf (19Mb) And an F/A-18E almost ideal No.2 wire arrest but great attitude. [From a virus ridden .PPT file: College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Villanova University ] As always - click the thumbnail: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...WireArrest.jpg |
A tailhooker's tale from a few years back:
Oyster, here. This note is to share with you the exciting night I had the other month. It has nothing to do with me wanting to talk about me. But it has everything to do with sharing what will no doubt become a better story as the years go by. So.... There I was .. ' manned up' a hot seat for the 2030 night launch about 500 miles north of Hawaii. I was taxied off toward the carrier's island where I did a 180 degree turn to get spotted to be the first one off Catapult # 1. They lowered my launch bar and started the launch cycle. All systems were ' go' on the runup. And after waiting the requisite 5 seconds to make sure my flight controls are good to go, I turned on my lights. As is my habit I shifted my eyes to the catwalk and watched the deck edge dude and as he started his routine of looking left, then right. I put my head back against the head rest. The Hornet cat shot is pretty impressive. As the cat fires, I stage the afterburners and am along for the ride. Just prior to the end of the stroke .. there's a huge flash . . and a simultaneous . . B-O-O-M ! And my night world is in turmoil. My little pink body is doing 145 knots or so and is 100 feet above the black Pacific. And there it stays -- except for the airspeed, which decreases to 140 knots. Some where in here I raised my gear. And the throttles aren't going any farther forward despite my Schwarzze-negerian efforts to make them do so. From out of the ether I hear a voice say one word: "JETTISON ! " Rogered that ! And a nano second later my two drops and single MER, about 4,500 pounds in all, are Black Pacific bound. The airplane leapt up a bit but not enough. I'm now about a mile in front of the boat at 160 feet and fluctuating from 135 to 140 knots. The next comment that comes out of the ether is another one-worder: " EJECT ! " I'm still flying . . so I respond . . " Not yet . . I've still got it." Finally, at 4 miles ahead of the boat, I take a peek at my engine instruments and notice my left engine . . doesn't match the right. ( Funny, how quick glimpses at instruments get burned into your brain.) The left rpm is at 48% even though I'm still doing the Ah-Nold thing. I bring it back out of afterburner to military power. About now I get another " EJECT ! " call. "Nope . . it's still flying." At 5 1/2 miles I asked tower to please get the helo headed my way as I truly thought I was going to be ' shelling out '. At some point, I thought it would probably be a good idea to start dumping some gas. But as my hand reached down for the dump switch, I actually remembered that we had a NATOPS operation prohibition against dumping fuel while in afterburner. But after a second or two [contemplating the threat of the unnecessarily burden] I turned the fuel dump switches on. Immediately [ I was told later ] . . SIXTY FOOT ROMAN CANDLE . . BEGAN TRAILING BEHIND. At 7 miles I started a ( very slight ) climb to get a little breathing room. CATCC control chimes in giving me a downwind [ landing pattern] heading . . and I'm like: "Ooh . . what a good idea" . . and I throw down my tail hook. Eventually I get headed downwind to the carrier at 900 feet and ask for a Tech Rep [Manufacturer's Technical Representative]. While waiting, I shut down the left engine. But In short order, I hear Scott "Fuzz" McClure's voice. I tell him the following : " OK Fuzz, my gear's up . . my left motor's off . . and I'm only able to stay level by using minimum afterburner. And every time I pull it back to military power, I start down at about a hundred feet per minute." I just continue trucking downwind . . trying to stay level . . and keep dumping fuel. I think I must have been in afterburner for about fifteen minutes. At ten miles or so I'm down to 5000 pounds of gas and start a turn back toward the ship. I don't intend to land but I don't want to get too far away. Of course, as soon I as I stuck in that angle of bank . . I start dropping like a stone. So I end up doing a [shallow bank] 5 mile [radius] circle around the ship. Fuzz is reading me the single engine rate of climb numbers from the ' book' based on temperature, etc. And it doesn't take us long to figure out that things aren't adding up. One of the things I'd learned about the Hornet is that it is a perfectly good single engine aircraft . . flies great on one motor. So why do I now need blower [afterburner ] to stay level ? By this time, I'm talking to the Deputy CAG ( turning [duty] on the flight deck) and CAG who's on the bridge with the Captain. And we decide that the thing to do is climb to three thousand feet and ' dirty up' [gear and flaps down] to see if I'm going to have the excess power needed to be able to shoot a night approach for a landing. I get headed downwind . . go full burner on my remaining motor . . and eventually make it to 2000 feet before leveling out below a scattered layer of puffy clouds. And the 'puffies' are silhouetted against a half a moon which was really, really cool. I start a turn back toward the ship . . and when I get pointed in the right direction . . I throw the gear down and pull the throttle out of after-burner. Remember that flash/boom! . . that started this little tale ? [ Repeat it here ] . .Boom ! I jam it back into afterburner, and after three or four huge compressor stalls [and accompanying deceleration] the right motor ' comes back'. I'm thinking my blood pressure was probably ' up there' about now . . and for the first time, I notice that my mouth has dried up. This next part is great. You know those stories about guys who deadstick crippled airplanes away from the orphanages and puppy stores and stuff and get all this great media attention? Well, at this point I'm looking at the picket ship in front of me, at about two miles, and I transmit to no one in particular, "You need to have the picket ship hang a left right now. I think I'm gonna be outta here in a second." I said it very calmly but with meaning. The picket immediately pitched out of the fight. Ha! I scored major points with the heavies afterwards for this. Anyway, it's funny how your mind works in these situations. OK, so I'm dirty and I get it back level and pass a couple miles up the starboard side of the ship. I'm still in minimum blower and my fuel state is now about 2500 pounds. Hmmm. I hadn't really thought about running out of gas. I muster up the gonads to pull it out of blower again and sure enough...flash, BOOM! I'm thinking that I'm gonna end up punching out and tell Fuzz at this point " Dude, I really don't want to try that again." Don't think everyone else got it . . but he chuckled. Eventually I discover that even the tiniest throttle movements cause the ' flash/boom thing ' to happen so I'm trying to be as smooth as I can. I'm downwind a couple miles when CAG comes up and says, " Oyster, we're going to rig the barricade." Remember, CAG's up on the bridge watching me fly around doing blower donuts in the sky and he's also thinking I'm gonna run outta JP-5 fuel. By now I've told everyone who's listening that there a better than average chance that I'm going to be ejecting. (The helicopter bubbas . . God bless 'em . . have been following me around this entire time.) I continue downwind and again, sounding more calm than I probably was, call the LSO. " Paddles, you up[listening] ?" "Go ahead" replies " Max" Stout, one of our LSO's. "Max, I probably know most of it ,but do you want to shoot me the barricade briefing?" So, in about a minute .. he went from expecting me to ' punch out ' .. to have me asking for the barricade brief [so he was hyperventilating.] But he was awesome to hear on the radio though . . just the kind of voice you'd want to hear in this situation. He gives me the barricade brief. And at nine miles I say, "If I turn now will ' it ' be up when I get there? Because I don't want to have to go around again." "It's going up right now, Oyster. Go ahead and turn." "Turning in, say the final bearing." "Zero six three," replies the voice in CATCC. " " OK, I'm on a four degree glide slope and I'm at 800 feet. I will intercept glide slope at about a mile and three quarters then reduce power. " When I reduced power : Flash/boom ! [ Add power out of fear.] Going high ! Pull power. Flash/boom ! [ Add power out of fear.] Going higher ! [Flashback to LSO school...." All right class, today's lecture will be on the single engine barricade approach. Remember, the one place you really, really don't want to be is high. O.K.? You can go play golf now."] I start to set up a higher than desired sink rate the LSO hits the " Eat At Joe's" wave-off night lights." Very timely too. I stroke the AB and cross the flight deck with my right hand on the stick and my left thinking about the little yellow and black ejection handle between my legs. No worries. I cleared that sucker by at least ten feet. By the way my fuel state at the ball call was [now low] at 1.1. As I slowly climb out I punched the radio button saying . . again to no one in particular : " I can do this." I'm in blower still and CAG says, "Turn downwind." After I get turned around he says, "Oyster, this is gonna be your last look [at the boat in the dark below] so you can turn in again as soon as you're comfortable." I flew the DAY pattern and I lost about 200 feet in the turn and like a total dumbs_ I look out of the cockpit as I get on centerline and that "night thing about feeling that I'm too high " grabbed me . . and [ in error] I pushed down further to 400 feet. I got kinda irked at myself then as I realized I would now be intercepting the four degree glide slope in the middle .. with a flash/boom every several seconds all the way down. Last look at my gas was 600-and-some pounds [100 gallons] at a mile and a half. "Where am I on the glide slope, Max ?" I ask. And I and hear a calm "Roger Ball." I know I'm low because the ILS is waaay up there. I can't remember what the response was but by now the ball's shooting up from the depths. I start flying it but before I get a chance to spot the deck I hear:" Cut, cut, CUT ! " I'm really glad I was a paddles for so long because my mind said to me " Do what he says Oyster ! "and I pulled it back to idle. (My hook hit 11 paces from the ramp. The rest is pretty tame. I hit the deck . . skipped the one, the two and snagged the three wire and rolled into the barricade about a foot right of centerline. Once stopped, my vocal cords involuntarily shouted, " VICTORY ! " The deck lights came on bright . . and off to my right there must have been a . . ga-zillion cranials and eyes watching. You could hear a huge cheer across the flight deck. After I open the canopy and the first guy I see is our huge Flight Deck Chief named Richards. And he gives me the coolest personal look . . and then two thumbs up. I will remember all of that forever. You're probably wondering what gave motors problems. When they taxied that last Hornet over the catapult .. they forgot to remove a section or two of the rubber cat seal. When the catapult shuttle came back [to hook me up], it removed the cat rubber seal which was then inhaled by both motors during my catapult stroke. Left engine basically quit even though the motor is in pretty good shape. But it was producing no thrust and during the wave-off one of the LSO's saw "about thirty feet" of black rubber hanging off the left side of the airplane. The right motor .. the one that kept running .. had 340 major hits to all engine stages. The compressor section is trashed . . and best of all . . it had two pieces of the cat seal [one 2 feet and the other about 4 feet long] sticking out of the first stage and into the air intake. God Bless General Electric ! By the way, maintenance data showed that I was fat on fuel -- I had 380 pounds ( 61 gallons) of gas when I shut down. Again, remember this particular number as in ten years [ of story telling] when it will surely be . . " FUMES MAN . . FUMES . . I TELL YOU ! " Oyster, out. |
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