Well, sure, you’ve heard how we used to do it back in the days when the earth was cooling and dinosaurs roamed the lands – back when real men flew of FA-18A’s, I mean – but have you read about night carrier qualification in Tanker Super Hornet?
No. No you haven’t.
As the last guys finish their dinner, we all look at each other with similar glances. Not a word needs to be said but everyone is thinking the exact same thing. The expressions say it all. It’s time to walk upstairs and play ball. We’ve been preparing ourselves for this for years now, and it’s what sets a Naval Aviator apart from every other pilot in the world. If you can’t do it, the years of training leading up to this point are no good to you. As one of our paddles said, if you can’t succeed at this you’re useless to us as a Hornet pilot because we fly, and fight, in the dark. We have to go land this thing on the boat … at night.
Day cats and landings get to be fun after a while. A night cat shot is the triumph of faith over experience.
(H/T to Jason for the link)
I must admit, my heartrate went up just a bit when I saw the title.
As TQ, one of the greatest LSOs I’ve ever seen put it:
Day traps are like sex, they are either good or they are great.
Night traps are like a trip to the dentist. You may get away without any pain, but you just never feel comfortable.
N
I read the article in the link after my last comment. Laughed out loud when he mentioned “comfort time.”
For the uninitiated, LSO NATOPS requires a pilot attempting their first night CQ to get 20 minutes of “comfort time” prior to commencing their first approach. Additionally, the first pass must be a full approach to the carrier from holding (which we call marshall). I’m sure the comfort time came about from a student being launched right into the pattern and having to perform their first night pass with a total of about 4 minutes of flight time. After the very first night pass of a pilot’s career, there is no more comfort time.
I heard the following from a CDR in the F-18 training squadron who was getting his “back to the fleet” traps on his way to be a Deputy Air Wing Commander (DCAG).
DCAG: 401 airborne
Ship: 401 radar contact, take angels 6, marshall on mother’s 210 radial standby for push time.
DCAG: 401 can take a turn downwind, I don’t require marshall.
Ship (sounding snippy): NEGATIVE 401, for comfort time procede to marshall.
DCAG: Son, comfort time for me occurs after these four traps are complete and it involves a cheesburger.
Long pause
Ship (new voice): 401 turn downwind.
N
Ughh, no thanks. I prefer ol’ terra firma. Give me a 15,000 pound load on ice in a blizzard any day… (I used to drive truck over the road).
Jim C
As always, all the pilots, both active duty and retired, have my respect and gratitude. A very well written piece, Lex, which takes one inside the pilot as well as the jet. Makes me proud to know that the United States is “above the deck”.
Veritas et Fidelis Semper
Your story had a lot more detail Lex..I reckon that comes after first couple hundred night traps and stays with ya! Amazing what you “learn” to be scared of as you begrudgingly accumulate ‘em.
That JG has got the story down though. Now he has learned why they pay him and not the other way around!
Even at my advanced age and nearly 2 decades years from the cockpit, the details still come back. And to think I never thought I could memorize CV NATOPS at one time! What I vividly remember was how close to the simulator the surreal scene looked like. O’course I had someone to cheerlead me and keep me from killing myself, unlike Lex or that JG. What a lonely existence it must be in single seat- I’d be scared I’d fall asleep in marshall! LOL. Not.
b2
Three questions for those in the know;
1. How do they distinguish between a Hornet and a Super Hornet in the ‘call-the-ball’ radio transmission?
2. I know a Nimitz-class is roughly 1,000 feet long, but how long is the actual landing area?
3. How much more difficult are landing ops on a smaller carrier, say Essex-class, or smaller?
1. Big Hornets call “Rhino” ball on the radio, and their tail strobes double flash.
2. The landing area is about 750 feet long, but the effective landing area is only about 90 feet long since anything in front of the 1-wire is actually the “wave-off area” and anything forward of the 4-wire is the “bolter area.”
3. For myself, I never landed on an Essex-class (although I did land on Lexington and Coral Sea – in the day time) and I can’t imagine having to do it at night. Although the Essex-class was nearly as long as a Nimitz-class ship at 872 feet, it was only about one-third of the latter’s displacement, meaning that not only was the landing area smaller, but that the damned thing would be moving around on you a lot more.
The real problem with the little ships was having room to spot aircraft in adequate numbers to do anything useful as we moved into the jet age, and fuel consumptions (and therefore aircraft volumes) got much bigger.
Interesting to read the article first and then reread your Night CQ post. The same but different. Either way, cool.
Now stupid question time – I have a feeling I should know this, but what is the Super Hornet as compared to the Hornet?
Real men flew F4B-4s. Slightly less real men flew F3Fs. It slid down the slope from there.
Just kiddin!
Though the picture in the article is of a 5-wet ‘fat kid’, and the author mentions ducking under a Rhino, his up and ready call gives him away as a ‘legacy’ Hornet driver. At 38,000 pounds, you’d be looking at about 4K of gas in an E or about 3K in the F (configuration-dependent). That’d most likely be well below hold-down for an FRS stud on his first night go. Only 94 more till he makes Nocturion!
Back in the day, I remarked to the ready room how much I’d like to get one night cat shot and trap in the books, just to say I’d done it. Genghis kindly suggested I should go walking down the centerline of the interstate at night, if I wanted that kid of experience.
BTW, there seemed to be some agreement that even worse than landing at night was taxiing at night, no idea where the scupper was, being brought forward down cat 2 and turned around to taxi back up beside cat 1 before parking. True/false?
Is it just me, or did some parts of those accounts sound very similar? Lights on Deck?
Also, am I the only one who knows that Doug Masters (as in Lt J.G. Doug Masters, the author of the Flying article) was the name of the teenage F-16 pilot in the movie Iron Eagle? Maybe I shouldn’t admit that.
Anyway, there both great reads, with Captain Lex’s coming out ahead on length and white knuckles.
Things that make you go hmmm…
Pablito said:
Though the picture in the article is of a 5-wet ?
Things that make you go hmmm…
Pablito said:
Though the picture in the article is of a 5-wet ‘fat kid’, and the author mentions ducking under a Rhino, his up and ready call gives him away as a ‘legacy’ Hornet driver.
Idaho Joe said:
Is it just me, or did some parts of those accounts sound very similar? Lights on Deck?
Also, am I the only one who knows that Doug Masters (as in Lt J.G. Doug Masters, the author of the Flying article) was the name of the teenage F-16 pilot in the movie Iron Eagle?
Nothing brings back a cold sweat like remembering a Carrier deck at night. I didn’t feel comfortable up there, ever. Respects and praises to the AB’s!
I only had to run out of the hatch, climb a small ladder, look both ways and scamper to the turning helo. In a wetsuit and booties, carrying a big green bag. And I felt real small.
I had a lot of faith in the pilots, to do their jobs. I know they had faith in me. Peculiar, since I sure as heck didn’t want to have to do do mine.
It seems easier now, since it has been over twenty years. (24 to be exact). This great article brought it all back.
Rock on, young fliers!
Michelle,
All Hornets are not created equal.
The SuperHornet comes in 2 flavors- big and bigger, but not too big. The F-18E is a single seat- the F-18F Rhino has two seats. Both are tankers (mission and critical overhead).
They are the Navy’s newest aircraft and our premier attack and fighter aircraft. They carry about everything but sonobuoys or ASW torpedoes. Brand new they cost about 70 million each. They replace (still being procured) a variey of aircraft- the F-14 Tomcat (2 seater), F-18A/B and theoretically the S-3B (2-4 seater). The Rhino is Jack-of-all-Trades- master of well…I’ll let a certain ADM Nathman answer that…
Several years from now we will begin deploying the EF-18G (for Growler), a 2 seat aircraft that will replace the venerable EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, a 4 seat aircraft- last of the Grumman Ironworks series.
All (except the Growler I’ll wager anyone) have a slightly greater range than the earlier, “cuter” F-18 Hornet series Lex “flew” -F-18A-F-18C. BTW, the “C” model is our most numerous Strike Fighter as of today. The F-18D is a USMC aircraft that has 2 seats. I don’t know much about it..it ain’t a corporate Hornet.
Naval Aviation is a Hornet centric world and you’ve got to know the details to get a feel for the underlying angst. Basically, aeronautical engineering diversity is no longer desired on our flight decks..Ever see that Apple computer commercial with the “1984″ theme?
Notice I try to avoid the F/A- designation because I’ve found when you start using that regularly, one has a tendency to start naming the colloquial Fighter Attack Guy AND being sensitive to the use of that acronym..”Not that there’s anything wrong with it”! Plus, in light of this Jekyll-Hyde Hornet world, and out of deference and respect for our Guiness drinking host, I use the “F” because Lex is most certainly a “Fighter Guy” first and foremost.
b2
Of course, I never can pass up the chance to bring such sporting events out of the archives.
It happened one not so stormy, but still very dark night off the Azores in August 1960 during a transit to the Med…
An A-3D returning from a night training hop crossed the ramp of a big CVA with the meatball right on the money. The hook picked up the number two wire after the touchdown and the arrestment seemed normal. Suddenly, the wire BROKE, and the big plane lurched forward with full power on — but SLOW! As the Skywarrior cleared the flight deck, the pilot cleaned up his landing gear and concentrated on holding his attitude and airspeed. All three men aboard held their breath as they watched the altimeter unwind.
The A-3D shuddered as it spanked the water. The pilot gently eased the yoke toward him as the fuselage lightly slid through the dark water. After a few seconds, the aircraft broke free of the sea and climbed swiftly.
Vectored by the carrier, the bomber flew to a nearby island airfield and landed safely. Inspection of the A-3D revealed that the underside of the fuselage aft of the bomb bay door and the port engine nacelle had been dragged through the water. The LSO logged the narrow squeak as an arrested landing, a bolter, and a water touch-and-go.
Thanks B2.
Slowly learning this stuff, one of these days I’ll shock y’all!
Sid, certainly sounds like a real “sea” story. But any chance that suppose was to be a link?
I’m obviously no pilot and no offense to the kids today, but todays pilots AND AC’s have it made. Big decks, little planes (except the Hummer) and all the electronics in the world. I was on the Lady Lex in the days of old with only a SPN 35 for final. In those, early 70’s, days the Lex did 2 weeks Tracom and 1 week Fleet CQ. During fleet week we did everything in the fleet. I still think the pilots with the biggest brass were the Electric Whale (EKA3) drivers landing those nasty things on a little old 27C Essex class at night.
It was Michelle, another victim of my typing skills. See below for the links. Mind you, the “A3D” was not a nimble fighter like the F-18 (although, for its girth and vintage, was more speedy and agile than many believe since most only remember the heavier, more draggy “queer bird” versions of the aircraft. It could LOFT every bit as well as the A-4), but was instead an aircraft approximating the size of the B-17 of Twelve O’clock High Fame and also was bereft of ejection seats.
Due to some unfortunate accidents in its early operational life it gained the sobriquet of, “All Three Dead”.
Links:
http://www.a3skywarrior.com/whaletales/closeshave.htm
The Grampaw Pettibone articles can be found in the back issues of NavAir News. Lots of good stuff in these:
http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/newbackissues.htm
Thanks b2, comforting to be considered more than just the much lamented loss 200 lbs of useable JP5. Besides cheering you on and chattering you awake, we held that plethora of circuit breakers in…
Bob,
Was/is the Hummer not an “Iron Works” product? Or did I wear that patch in error?
Nose
Nose,
I was thinking “VA” pedigree, with blunt noses only, while I was banging out my Horneto primer for the Canuck..Sorry son, you are entirely correctomundo- the Greyhound and Hawkeye are Bethpage products that still live on! Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
Now quit nitpickin me diatribes! Some honest folks in here might not believe my Hornetish snarkiness.
b2
Actually, I thought (dangerous) perhaps “Iron works” had some meaning from long-ago that I thought I knew but didn’t. Never seen you wrong before….
V/r
Nose
sid said: The LSO logged the narrow squeak as an arrested landing, a bolter, and a water touch-and-go.
Now THAT’S a LOL comment! With the understanding that two out of the three are potential catastrophes (especially the latter, if not in a PBY or descendent of same), but in combination? Beauteous!
re “Never seen you wrong before?
re “Never seen you wrong before….”
LOL. YGBSM! Just vague memories mostly reawakened by Lex from time to time! I learn a lot from all the folks in here, especially you. BTW are you sure all them Blackshoes are wearing brownshoes (literally) now? Or they wearing ‘em only when attached to an aviation command?
b2
As far as I know, anyone can now wear the brown shoes with khakis.
Someone?
N