An Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer gets to go flying in the back seat of a Blue Angel FA-18B, recording his ups and downs for those who never got the chance. Good clean fun and a pleasant reminder for any of us that have taken media flying before.
Tempered somewhat by the knowledge that his pilot was killed a year later in a mishap.
It’s a risky business.
Great video .
But what I want to know is why I never get offered a lift. Just a poor Canadian Girl, standing by the side of the road looking up at the sky … wanting to hitch a ride… Ain’t there a special deal for Lex Babes or something like that? Life just ain’t fair, I tell ya.
But about Lt Cmdr Davis … yeah.
lex … in case you’re interested, there’s a lovely pic of a restored [?] P-51 Mustang flying into the sunlight over on maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com. The P-51, as I’ve said before is my all-time favorite plane from My War.
Apparently, some folks are building a plane called the A-67 Dragon which draws inspiration from the P-51. I’d love to know how the P-51 could possibly relate to or offer anything to today’s jets. Anyone care to tell me?
Just askin’.
Marianne Matthews
Lex,
Did you take a media member for a spin? If you’ve written one of your sea stories about it, could you provide a link?
With regard to Lt Cmdr Davis, what a terrible shame. God rest his soul.
Oh, it wasn’t a big deal. We had a TOPGUN detachment down at Miramar and a local media type asked for a ride. The PAO needle came to rest on me, so I took him out for a bit. We did a standard departure to the operating area and a bit of mild maneuvering – put a little g on the jet, an aileron roll or two. Then I asked him if he wanted to do a “squirrel cage,” which is a bit of standard aerobatics that you learn back in basic jets, as I recall: It’s a loop, followed by a half Cuban eight, followed by an Immelman, followed by a split “S”.
He said that it was cool and asked me to do it again. He threw up half way through the second squirrel cage, just as I was recovering from the half Cuban eight.
That pretty much ended the ride and we went gently home.
I think holding G’s from the backseat is a bit easier when you’re not on the stick…having so much more information in your scan as well as deliberate control inputs definitely sucks away some of your focus when you’re trying to do the AGSM AND hold altitude AND target airspeed AND (most importantly) look cool while doing it.
That being said, I am perpetually amazed at how much easier it is to get airsick from the backseat. I know it’s been said a million times, but I think 99% of it is mental. Whether your body is not prepared for a maneuver because you’re not executing it, because your concentration is not 100% because you’re not hawking the primary instruments, or just because there is a tendency to swing your head around and look back and forth, something about not being at the controls just messes with you. Having done so myself in the T-6, it’s possible, and of course necessary, to get used to it; however, a few months out of a high performance aircraft and you definitely lose some ability to hold your cookies. That was always a fun radio call during forms: “Knock it off, Phantom 2 is cookies…”
~Ens Tim
Great comment, Ens Tim. Thanks so much for the peek it provided.
Okay. A little of my own knowledge and a little Googling, and I figured out exactly what Lex was talking about.
I’m dizzy, now.
Word to the wise- put the feed bag where you can get to it quick. NOT in the leg pocket on the G-suit.
Concur, GEO6.
Of course, not having brought one with you and having to use one of your gloves sorta sucks as well.
Looks like a rather grody (sp?) udder after it’s been filled, from what I hear.
When Husband was in flight training, he got nearly-sick during aerobatics as a student. Once he had control of the stick and the maneuver, he was fine.
He went on to be one of the aerobatic instructors for T-28s later on. And loved it then. Having to let the students practice, though, was hard on him. Being in control made all the difference.
So, let’s all raise a salute to Lt Cmdr Kevin Davis. God bless him and thank you Sir for serving your country. I am sure he went out doing what he loved. Never the less, we are somewhat diminished by his absence.
Amazing that the reporter didn’t choke on his gum with all the G-induced naps he took!
As for the back seat issue, you do eventually get used to it. The back of the Viking was even worse – in order to better see the computer screens the rear canopies were painted over. The only visual reference to the outside world was a little port-hole by your elbow, a little smaller than an airliner window. Or you could lean toward the center and take a peek out the front.
As an instructor it was even more fun. With an instructor pilot and student pilot up front doing pilot stuff (not much straight and level) meanwhile I’m back in that cold dark cave sitting next to a student NFO whose inner ear is most definitely not accustomed to ACM in a box. Fun times!
When I was ship ops I used to get S-3 rides up to Lemoore to try and stay FA-18 current. Rode the right seat with an actual NFO in the back. Tickled me to hear him ask the PIC to “throw another log on, would ya?”
I asked the pilot what that meant and he told me the guy in back was cold. Never occurred to me how much you could mess with a guy who couldn’t control his own AC.
So, don’t take this the wrong way guys but I was just wondering.
The Navy is well represented in these parts and there are a fair number of naval aviators flying around as well. But in the aviator category, there seem to be an awful lot of NFOs. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.) Which term seems to be a bit of misnomer anyway as they do fly, they just don’t fly … drive… er, umm… pilot… those big things with wings. Yeah, that’s it.
So here’s my question. Why would someone choose to be an aviator (I’m thinking the term here covers both NFOs and pilots but I am sure I will be suitably educumated if’n I am wrong) but not want to be an actual pilot? Just curious…
*waiting expectantly*
Oh oh.
Did I pull a no no?
Forgive me for I am but a lowly foreigner…
Haha, good question Michelle, perhaps better suited for the aviation selection committee at the Naval Academy!
“Why would the selection committee decide that you only deserve to get your second choice (NFO) versus your first choice (Pilot) even though 3 of the 9 pilots selected from your company had lower order of merit and grade point standings?”
It has a lot to do with billet availability, honestly, how many pilots they can accept. It was my “next best” choice besides being a surface bubba, and any aviation is better than surface I was told (and now believe emphatically). For some, the decision is made for them by their physical qualification. Eyesight and/or the ability to have that eyesight repaired is a huge deciding factor. NFO’s are allowed to wear corrective lenses and have terrible vision without glasses. Pilots, not so much.
I guess the short answer is, for most it’s the next best thing when the Navy/Life/God throws them a lemon or two. For some, it’s the mission specific aspects of being an NFO, such as anti-submarine warfare, Weapons Systems operations, radar interception/jamming/counter-intelligence, or electronic denial. A lot of aircraft out there with NFO’s rely on their ability to multi-task without worrying about basic airwork and stick skills. Airforce B-1 Lancer navigators, for example, have so many sensor systems and weapons deployment tasks that they simply could not be able to fly the plane AND do their job at the same time. The principal concept is Crew Resource Management. Using more people to accomplish the same amount of work BETTER.
*sits back and waits for the single-seaters to chime in*
~Ens Tim
Had my last ‘tactical’ flight in TF-9J Cougar back in Dec 1973. Then it was on to P3s. I’d give a month’s pay for a opportunity for that flight.
For Michelle – I doubt anyone aspires to be an NFO. Ah, to have 20-20 vision would have been great. I fight being true to my NFO brothers by gently nudging my young (11) grandson to be a Naval Aviator.
For Ens Tim – There is no better career in the world than being a Naval Aviator / NFO.
Fly Navy!!!
Michelle,
If you can’t get Uncle (or who ever you have there in Canada) to pay for it, pass a flight/Medical then get your pilot’s ticket on your own. Once you get the itch, it NEVER goes away. Believe me I tried to put it away 14 years ago. BTW, when I eventually get a cruise prop for my bugsmasher I may come and visit. Still like that Keith’s !
GEO6
Ack, bit of a stupid question I see.
As in maybe I should have put brain in gear for awhile before engaging typing fingers…
Sorry about that. Ens Tim, I would agree (and now risk getting a different crew perturbed with me … how can I best put this now that I already have one foot stuck so awkwardly in mouth?) better to fly than anything else!
Geo6, the Keiths is always cold and I have some set away with your name on it. Hell, I would probably consider buying you a brewery, if you would take me for a few hops in your bugsmasher. Alas, though, I’m pretty sure I’m but a NFO myself … I’ve thought about getting a private pilot’s license (not that I could ever afford the flying time but a girl can always dream, or so I thought) my vision doesn’t correct to 20/20 even with lenses. Good enough for driving down on the ground I’ve been led to believe but not up in the wild blue yonder, I’m afraid… Kind of ironic that I asked about NFOs, eh?
Interesting question you posit, though. We don’t have Uncle. So then who?
Uncle Steve, perhaps…NOT!!
*Cough, gag, choke. sputter*
Uncle Steve would be Steve Harper, our current Prime Minister… did I mention he’s a Conservative? What the hell, I might as well annoy everyone who I haven’t yet gotten to this evening. That should just about cover the ground.
Always saw myself in an F-14 (sorry Lex) or A-6 with NAVY on the side while growing up… When the NAMI “Whammy” whammed me my last year at SDSU, it was devastating…20-30, right eye…records stamped “NFO Only”. Done. (They’ve got to cut the herd somehow, right?).
Chose not to continue (College Program)…worst mistake I ever made. Young, selfish, and shortsighted…no better place to serve than with the Navy, and the point is…TO SERVE. Somehow, I lost that in my quest to fly. Took my ball and went home.
Point is, for the young, strive but SERVE (in any capacity)…the flying bug probably will not go away and you WILL satisfy that bug…somehow. The regret of not recognizing and cheerfully embracing the opportunity to “own” the pride, traditions, skills, and experiences of serving is…deep. Serve. As Aviator or Other.
Flying? I fly 747’s now…still wish I’d taken that NFO slot. You can always fly (maybe just not FLY NAVY). You can’t always be a part of something…noble.
Lex: Oh my. All my sympathies are with your poor passenger. Among the many reasons that I could never be a military aviator, the fact that I got motion sick just from reading your description is high on the list.
Michelle, there are a lot of pilot wannabees in the ranks of NFOs, but there were in my experience a much larger group of NFOs who simply had different skill sets. In naval aircraft, NFOs were used when the workload related to the mission was too much for one person to perform. Some of what an NFO does is “nice to have” copilot stuff if you have an extra set of eyeballs available in the cockpit, but the real reason for an NFO is the mission, and the functions of the mission that require more than one person to perform. Naturally, division of labor allows for complementary skill sets.
I certainly would not have been a good pilot, and I knew few pilots who would have been good NFOs in my aircraft. However, I also knew a few guys who started as NFOs and later got eyesight waivers to become pilots (one of them now an admiral), and a couple of guys who had trouble as pilots (landing at night on the ship) who became successful NFOs. So the skill sets are certainly related.
Most NFOs have been replaced by microprocessors, which are cheaper, faster, lighter, more easily trained, and less likely to tell what really happened!
Personally, I never had a problem being chauffeurred.
Nyuk, Nyuk.
Seriously, I view it in reverse to Milton: it’s better to serve in heaven than rule in hell.
Michelle,
Something else for you to check over there in Nova Scotia. Is Canada also pursuing the Light Sport Aircraft Certification and Sport Pilot Certifications? This may put flying in reach for you as it takes a whole lot less time (read money) to get in the air. I think I read somewhere that Canada was looking at it. Best of luck!
I really shouldn’t be encouraged, you know …
I guess you didn’t realize that.
Oh well, too late now, I will have to check it out. Thanks
I coulda been a contendah.
Actually, a high school guidance counselor (Mrs. Stewart, AKA Lt. Commander Stewart,USNR(Ret.) took a shine to me and tried to get me to apply for the Regular ROTC program. I could have probably got in, but being myopic in one eye (even though it corrected to the same 20/15 as the other one, eliminated aviator as a career path. I distinctly remember thinking that I did not want to ride in the back seat, so I blew it all off. Curiously, I don’t recall thinking about the Vietnam thing much back then. Just assumed we’d prevail, I think
P.s.
On mature consideration (*many* years later) I decided that I prolly have the dutiful back-seater’s temperament, anyway.
If I had graduated on schedule in the early seventies, and spent a year or so training and gotten commissioned, I would have missed all of the Vietnam experience, and have gotten to experience the depressing after-effects of the Viet-Nam experience..