Shots Across The Bow

Carrier Landings

President Bush will speak to the nation from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)tonight, after landing in an S-3B Viking aircraft

He's in for quite a ride. I was stationed on the USS Nimitz(CVN-68) for just over four years, and while I never got to land on it, I did take off from it once.

I was transferring off the ship to go to my next command. We had just pulled out of San Diego the week before when my rotation date arrived. I had tried to get them to let me detach in San Diego, figuring it would be more efficient to leave me there instead of flying me off.

Nope, Uncle Sam wanted every minute to which he was entitled, so I went out with the ship for 6 days, then they flew me back to San Dieqo. At first, I thought I would helo out, but instead, I caught a ride on a C-2A COD, which is used primarily to deliver mail.

The flight deck is a very noisy, dangerous place. To put it into perspective, a routine launch cycle on a carrier at sea will see approximately 60-70 fixed wing launches in about an hour, counting taxi time. In comparison, the Knoxville airport sees 63 take-offs a day. Nashville sees 400 over 16 hours. Compress the activity at Nashville airport into a 1000 foot carrier, and you have some small idea of the controlled chaos that is flight ops.

Now to launch and recover planes, you need about a 30 knot (34.5 mph) wind across the flight deck. Add to that the prop and jet wash of the planes maneuvering on the flight deck, the slow rolling of the ship, the thin sheen of oil and grease covering the non skid deck, and the constant motion of tow motors and aircraft, and it's real work simply to stand up. An E-2C Hawkeye turned about 75 yards away from me, and the wash from his props knocked me back about 6 feet before I caught my balance.

I was hustled across the flight deck to the waiting COD, where we entered through a large hatch in the rear. One of the plane crewmen showed us how to strap in to the seats, which carried a five point harness similar to a racing harness. The seats faced towards the rear of the plane, and once we were all strapped in, they closed the rear hatch, and it got dark.

After a few minutes, the engines revved up and we began to taxi into position. The crewman who helped us all strap in gave us our launch briefings.

"When I give the signal," he said, "cross your arms over your chest, tuck you head, and lean forward into the straps as hard as you can, and enjoy the ride!"

We heard a thunk as the catapult socketed just ahead of the front landing gear, then the engines cycled up to full throttle. The plane was vibrating, held back by brakes, and the catapult, straining to burst forward into the sky. The crewman gave the signal and we all assumed the position. The catapult released, and we rocketed forward across the launch strip, shoved into our straps by the massive thrust of the steam pistons. The blood rushed to my head and I felt like the guy behind me was sitting on my back.

The shot only lasts a little more than a second, then the roar of the wheels along the flight deck ended with a sudden bumb, and a sickening drop as the plane made up its mind whether it was a bird or a fish. It decided to be a bird and we climbed rapidly away from the Nimitz, headed for San Diego.

After the launch, the rest of the flight and the subsequent landing in San Diego was fairly dull.

President Bush will have even more fun, since he gets to sit up front and actually see what's going on. On the other hand, I's seen video shot from gun camera's of what a carrier landing looks like from the pilot's point of view, and I think I'd rather not know. The flight deck seems huge until you see it from above on final approach, then you realize just how small it is. To make matters worse, it's moving.

The landing strip on the carrier is angled, so it doesn't line up with the ship's motion.

What this means is that not only is the landing strip moving away from you, it's also moving sideways, so you have to angle in. Add to that the rocking and rolling of the deck, any cross winds, and the fact that you have to hit a spot barely over a foot square in order to catch the wire and you can see why carrier pilots are a bit cocky.

They have to be.

One last pic, just because its pretty cool. After an overhaul, a ship is taken out and pushed to the limit to make sure all the bolts are on tight. Here's a shot of the Nimitz in a high speed turn.

Posted by Rich at May 1, 2003 10:41 AM | TrackBack