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Calling all Pilots...
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AveConscientia
路
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corn18
路Okay, I'll bogart this thread.
It was mid 1990. I was finishing up my Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP's) getting ready to go to the boat for the first time in the F/A-18. I was scheduled for an afternoon Charlie time (C) the next day. That night, my wife made homemade chicken divan. Later that night, the horrific squirts began and continued unabated throughout the next morning. Had to call into the ready room and tell them I was med down with stomach flu and couldn't make my C time. Felt better that night and put myself in A status and got a Charlie time the next day flying on the Skipper's wing.
Flight out to the USS Roosevelt off the coast of VA was uneventful. We dropped into the pattern and I got my touch and go's and 2 traps before I was bingo+1 on the ball and had to stop for gas. The yellow shirts taxied me just aft of the island and the purple shirts scurried out and hooked me up for fuel. While I am sitting there taking gas, the right motor is shut down, the canopy has to stay down and I have to sit in the armed ejection seat with my oxygen mask on in case something happens and I need to eject.
Well, something happened. I was watching a Hornet launch off cat 2 and much to my surprise, just after the end of the cat stroke, the pilot ejected. Holy Shite! I watch him fly out of the jet and get under his chute. He lands in the water abeam the port side of the ship. Looks like we ran him over, but he popped out behind the boat and appeared to be ok. Boss calls out over the radio that a pilot is in the water and directs the rescue helo to go pick him up. Skipper of the boat starts the man overboard maneuver and turns the ship port to circle back around as backup to the helo.
Of course, I'm in my trusty Hornet crapping my pants. And then it gets worse.
Turns out, after the guy ejected from the Hornet, it kept flying. It leveled out at about 1,500 ft and started a slow left hand turn back towards the ship. About the time the rescue helo gets to the pilot, I hear the Boss come over the 5MC and YELL "99, clear the flight deck. Aircraft out of control!" WTFO! I look to my right and sure enough, there is a pilotless Hornet headed right for the ship. Everyone is scrambling to get off the deck. The LSO's are jumping off the side of the ship into their escape net. And here I am, hooked up to a fuel hose in a turning Hornet.
While I'm trying to decide whether to climb out and run or eject, the out of control Hornet hits the water about 100ft from the port side of the boat about midships. Huge splash of water over the landing area (LA). Then I see a nose tire go rolling across the LA at about 100 kts. That's when time compression set in and I just marveled at the ridiculousness of what was happening. I stayed in my jet, not because I decided to, but because I couldn't figure out what else to do.
Well, the boat cleared the area, the rescue helo did its job and brought the perfectly fit pilot back. Then the Boss calls for a FOD walk down to clear the deck of all the debris from the crash. At this point, I'm expecting my plane captain to come out, shut me down and we'll all go below and talk about what just happened. Regroup and start CQ again tomorrow.
Negative, Ghostrider. The plane captain came out, unhooked the fuel hose and started up my right motor for taxi. Ok, just going to move someplace better so I can shutdown, go below and talk about what just happened.
Negative Ghostrider. They taxied me to CAT 2 for launch into the pattern. WTFO! WTFO! Did no one see what just happened to the last guy that launched off CAT 2? This can't be how things work in the fleet. WTFO!
I taxi onto CAT 2, JBD goes up, in tension and BAM! off I go from 0 to 175 in just over 2 seconds. I try to get my wits about me, get back in my box and complete my day CQ so I can go out that night.
Turns out, the reason the guy ejected was he thought his Hornet was out of control. Well it wasn't. He was a transition pilot from A-7's with mechanical flight controls to the Hornet with fly-by-wire. In the A-7, you flew the plane off the deck during a catapult launch. In the Hornet, it's hands off. The computer flies the jet off the deck and you cannot touch the controls for at least 1.5 seconds while the flight controls transition from on deck gains to fly away gains. If you jump in too soon, you cannot control the jet and it feels like it is out of control. So it turns out, the only thing wrong with the jet was the pilot. As soon as he ejected, the computers took over and flew the jet until it hit the water.
Welcome to the fleet.
Corn
It was mid 1990. I was finishing up my Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP's) getting ready to go to the boat for the first time in the F/A-18. I was scheduled for an afternoon Charlie time (C) the next day. That night, my wife made homemade chicken divan. Later that night, the horrific squirts began and continued unabated throughout the next morning. Had to call into the ready room and tell them I was med down with stomach flu and couldn't make my C time. Felt better that night and put myself in A status and got a Charlie time the next day flying on the Skipper's wing.
Flight out to the USS Roosevelt off the coast of VA was uneventful. We dropped into the pattern and I got my touch and go's and 2 traps before I was bingo+1 on the ball and had to stop for gas. The yellow shirts taxied me just aft of the island and the purple shirts scurried out and hooked me up for fuel. While I am sitting there taking gas, the right motor is shut down, the canopy has to stay down and I have to sit in the armed ejection seat with my oxygen mask on in case something happens and I need to eject.
Well, something happened. I was watching a Hornet launch off cat 2 and much to my surprise, just after the end of the cat stroke, the pilot ejected. Holy Shite! I watch him fly out of the jet and get under his chute. He lands in the water abeam the port side of the ship. Looks like we ran him over, but he popped out behind the boat and appeared to be ok. Boss calls out over the radio that a pilot is in the water and directs the rescue helo to go pick him up. Skipper of the boat starts the man overboard maneuver and turns the ship port to circle back around as backup to the helo.
Of course, I'm in my trusty Hornet crapping my pants. And then it gets worse.
Turns out, after the guy ejected from the Hornet, it kept flying. It leveled out at about 1,500 ft and started a slow left hand turn back towards the ship. About the time the rescue helo gets to the pilot, I hear the Boss come over the 5MC and YELL "99, clear the flight deck. Aircraft out of control!" WTFO! I look to my right and sure enough, there is a pilotless Hornet headed right for the ship. Everyone is scrambling to get off the deck. The LSO's are jumping off the side of the ship into their escape net. And here I am, hooked up to a fuel hose in a turning Hornet.
While I'm trying to decide whether to climb out and run or eject, the out of control Hornet hits the water about 100ft from the port side of the boat about midships. Huge splash of water over the landing area (LA). Then I see a nose tire go rolling across the LA at about 100 kts. That's when time compression set in and I just marveled at the ridiculousness of what was happening. I stayed in my jet, not because I decided to, but because I couldn't figure out what else to do.
Well, the boat cleared the area, the rescue helo did its job and brought the perfectly fit pilot back. Then the Boss calls for a FOD walk down to clear the deck of all the debris from the crash. At this point, I'm expecting my plane captain to come out, shut me down and we'll all go below and talk about what just happened. Regroup and start CQ again tomorrow.
Negative, Ghostrider. The plane captain came out, unhooked the fuel hose and started up my right motor for taxi. Ok, just going to move someplace better so I can shutdown, go below and talk about what just happened.
Negative Ghostrider. They taxied me to CAT 2 for launch into the pattern. WTFO! WTFO! Did no one see what just happened to the last guy that launched off CAT 2? This can't be how things work in the fleet. WTFO!
I taxi onto CAT 2, JBD goes up, in tension and BAM! off I go from 0 to 175 in just over 2 seconds. I try to get my wits about me, get back in my box and complete my day CQ so I can go out that night.
Turns out, the reason the guy ejected was he thought his Hornet was out of control. Well it wasn't. He was a transition pilot from A-7's with mechanical flight controls to the Hornet with fly-by-wire. In the A-7, you flew the plane off the deck during a catapult launch. In the Hornet, it's hands off. The computer flies the jet off the deck and you cannot touch the controls for at least 1.5 seconds while the flight controls transition from on deck gains to fly away gains. If you jump in too soon, you cannot control the jet and it feels like it is out of control. So it turns out, the only thing wrong with the jet was the pilot. As soon as he ejected, the computers took over and flew the jet until it hit the water.
Welcome to the fleet.
Corn
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RCAFBuster
路Okay, I'll bogart this thread.
It was mid 1990. I was finishing up my Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP's) getting ready to go to the boat for the first time in the F/A-18. I was scheduled for an afternoon Charlie time (C) the next day. That night, my wife made homemade chicken divan. Later that night, the horrific squirts began and continued unabated throughout the next morning. Had to call into the ready room and tell them I was med down with stomach flu and couldn't make my C time. Felt better that night and put myself in A status and got a Charlie time the next day flying on the Skipper's wing.
Flight out to the USS Roosevelt off the coast of VA was uneventful. We dropped into the pattern and I got my touch and go's and 2 traps before I was bingo+1 on the ball and had to stop for gas. The yellow shirts taxied me just aft of the island and the purple shirts scurried out and hooked me up for fuel. While I am sitting there taking gas, the right motor is shut down, the canopy has to stay down and I have to sit in the armed ejection seat with my oxygen mask on in case something happens and I need to eject.
Well, something happened. I was watching a Hornet launch off cat 2 and much to my surprise, just after the end of the cat stroke, the pilot ejected. Holy Shite! I watch him fly out of the jet and get under his chute. He lands in the water abeam the port side of the ship. Looks like we ran him over, but he popped out behind the boat and appeared to be ok. Boss calls out over the radio that a pilot is in the water and directs the rescue helo to go pick him up. Skipper of the boat starts the man overboard maneuver and turns the ship port to circle back around as backup to the helo.
Of course, I'm in my trusty Hornet crapping my pants. And then it gets worse.
Turns out, after the guy ejected from the Hornet, it kept flying. It leveled out at about 1,500 ft and started a slow left hand turn back towards the ship. About the time the rescue helo gets to the pilot, I hear the Boss come over the 5MC and YELL "99, clear the flight deck. Aircraft out of control!" WTFO! I look to my right and sure enough, there is a pilotless Hornet headed right for the ship. Everyone is scrambling to get off the deck. The LSO's are jumping off the side of the ship into their escape net. And here I am, hooked up to a fuel hose in a turning Hornet.
While I'm trying to decide whether to climb out and run or eject, the out of control Hornet hits the water about 100ft from the port side of the boat about midships. Huge splash of water over the landing area (LA). Then I see a nose tire go rolling across the LA at about 100 kts. That's when time compression set in and I just marveled at the ridiculousness of what was happening. I stayed in my jet, not because I decided to, but because I couldn't figure out what else to do.
Well, the boat cleared the area, the rescue helo did its job and brought the perfectly fit pilot back. Then the Boss calls for a FOD walk down to clear the deck of all the debris from the crash. At this point, I'm expecting my plane captain to come out, shut me down and we'll all go below and talk about what just happened. Regroup and start CQ again tomorrow.
Negative, Ghostrider. The plane captain came out, unhooked the fuel hose and started up my right motor for taxi. Ok, just going to move someplace better so I can shutdown, go below and talk about what just happened.
Negative Ghostrider. They taxied me to CAT 2 for launch into the pattern. WTFO! WTFO! Did no one see what just happened to the last guy that launched off CAT 2? This can't be how things work in the fleet. WTFO!
I taxi onto CAT 2, JBD goes up, in tension and BAM! off I go from 0 to 175 in just over 2 seconds. I try to get my wits about me, get back in my box and complete my day CQ so I can go out that night.
Turns out, the reason the guy ejected was he thought his Hornet was out of control. Well it wasn't. He was a transition pilot from A-7's with mechanical flight controls to the Hornet with fly-by-wire. In the A-7, you flew the plane off the deck during a catapult launch. In the Hornet, it's hands off. The computer flies the jet off the deck and you cannot touch the controls for at least 1.5 seconds while the flight controls transition from on deck gains to fly away gains. If you jump in too soon, you cannot control the jet and it feels like it is out of control. So it turns out, the only thing wrong with the jet was the pilot. As soon as he ejected, the computers took over and flew the jet until it hit the water.
Welcome to the fleet.
Corn
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JimInOz
路路Melbourne AustraliaSo you always wear brown underdaks now Tom?
馃榿
馃榿
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RCAFBuster
路I can't top Corn, but one of my memorables is the day I claimed a 'peacetime' GAF Tornado 'Kill'.
My wingman and I were loitering near Koblenz in our CF-18s, to perform "Red Air" for a mate's combat upgrade sortie. Turning cold/ away from the threat sector, I got a radar hit, so committed for a visual identification, with my wingman splitting high as the 'shooter'. A long way off I got the smoke trail and initially called it a Phantom as their engines belched black smoke, got an aircraft visual about 10 miles and then saw it was a Tornado (we called them Tomatoes as they couldn't turn well).
I took him down my right side and lead turned him with about 7g's, gaining an huge advantage at the merge. He elected to turn, his wings spread wide as he slowed and within 180 degrees of turn he was being gunned by my wingman. As he peeled off I saw a distinct flame emit from the Tornadoes right engine. I called my wingman back saying, 'he's had a flameout".
The Tornado entered a flat spin with outstretched wings. We were only 5000 above ground and I positioned my self above him so I could monitor. It seemed like an eternity and then, Bang, Bang, both crew ejected. It took 25 seconds for the plane to impact the ground from the initial spin and they rode it for 12-13 seconds, so would have ejected about 2500 agl. The plane pancaked in between three farm houses with the obligatory large fireball, and one guy almost went into the fire in his chute. This all happened 7 kms SE of Koblenz.
I called in the crash and initiated rescue, and then you should have seen al of the guys streaming in to have a look. Luckily both survived and no ground casualties.
Cheers,
Buster
My wingman and I were loitering near Koblenz in our CF-18s, to perform "Red Air" for a mate's combat upgrade sortie. Turning cold/ away from the threat sector, I got a radar hit, so committed for a visual identification, with my wingman splitting high as the 'shooter'. A long way off I got the smoke trail and initially called it a Phantom as their engines belched black smoke, got an aircraft visual about 10 miles and then saw it was a Tornado (we called them Tomatoes as they couldn't turn well).
I took him down my right side and lead turned him with about 7g's, gaining an huge advantage at the merge. He elected to turn, his wings spread wide as he slowed and within 180 degrees of turn he was being gunned by my wingman. As he peeled off I saw a distinct flame emit from the Tornadoes right engine. I called my wingman back saying, 'he's had a flameout".
The Tornado entered a flat spin with outstretched wings. We were only 5000 above ground and I positioned my self above him so I could monitor. It seemed like an eternity and then, Bang, Bang, both crew ejected. It took 25 seconds for the plane to impact the ground from the initial spin and they rode it for 12-13 seconds, so would have ejected about 2500 agl. The plane pancaked in between three farm houses with the obligatory large fireball, and one guy almost went into the fire in his chute. This all happened 7 kms SE of Koblenz.
I called in the crash and initiated rescue, and then you should have seen al of the guys streaming in to have a look. Luckily both survived and no ground casualties.
Cheers,
Buster
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al128
路Okay, I'll bogart this thread.
It was mid 1990. I was finishing up my Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP's) getting ready to go to the boat for the first time in the F/A-18. I was scheduled for an afternoon Charlie time (C) the next day. That night, my wife made homemade chicken divan. Later that night, the horrific squirts began and continued unabated throughout the next morning. Had to call into the ready room and tell them I was med down with stomach flu and couldn't make my C time. Felt better that night and put myself in A status and got a Charlie time the next day flying on the Skipper's wing.
Flight out to the USS Roosevelt off the coast of VA was uneventful. We dropped into the pattern and I got my touch and go's and 2 traps before I was bingo+1 on the ball and had to stop for gas. The yellow shirts taxied me just aft of the island and the purple shirts scurried out and hooked me up for fuel. While I am sitting there taking gas, the right motor is shut down, the canopy has to stay down and I have to sit in the armed ejection seat with my oxygen mask on in case something happens and I need to eject.
Well, something happened. I was watching a Hornet launch off cat 2 and much to my surprise, just after the end of the cat stroke, the pilot ejected. Holy Shite! I watch him fly out of the jet and get under his chute. He lands in the water abeam the port side of the ship. Looks like we ran him over, but he popped out behind the boat and appeared to be ok. Boss calls out over the radio that a pilot is in the water and directs the rescue helo to go pick him up. Skipper of the boat starts the man overboard maneuver and turns the ship port to circle back around as backup to the helo.
Of course, I'm in my trusty Hornet crapping my pants. And then it gets worse.
Turns out, after the guy ejected from the Hornet, it kept flying. It leveled out at about 1,500 ft and started a slow left hand turn back towards the ship. About the time the rescue helo gets to the pilot, I hear the Boss come over the 5MC and YELL "99, clear the flight deck. Aircraft out of control!" WTFO! I look to my right and sure enough, there is a pilotless Hornet headed right for the ship. Everyone is scrambling to get off the deck. The LSO's are jumping off the side of the ship into their escape net. And here I am, hooked up to a fuel hose in a turning Hornet.
While I'm trying to decide whether to climb out and run or eject, the out of control Hornet hits the water about 100ft from the port side of the boat about midships. Huge splash of water over the landing area (LA). Then I see a nose tire go rolling across the LA at about 100 kts. That's when time compression set in and I just marveled at the ridiculousness of what was happening. I stayed in my jet, not because I decided to, but because I couldn't figure out what else to do.
Well, the boat cleared the area, the rescue helo did its job and brought the perfectly fit pilot back. Then the Boss calls for a FOD walk down to clear the deck of all the debris from the crash. At this point, I'm expecting my plane captain to come out, shut me down and we'll all go below and talk about what just happened. Regroup and start CQ again tomorrow.
Negative, Ghostrider. The plane captain came out, unhooked the fuel hose and started up my right motor for taxi. Ok, just going to move someplace better so I can shutdown, go below and talk about what just happened.
Negative Ghostrider. They taxied me to CAT 2 for launch into the pattern. WTFO! WTFO! Did no one see what just happened to the last guy that launched off CAT 2? This can't be how things work in the fleet. WTFO!
I taxi onto CAT 2, JBD goes up, in tension and BAM! off I go from 0 to 175 in just over 2 seconds. I try to get my wits about me, get back in my box and complete my day CQ so I can go out that night.
Turns out, the reason the guy ejected was he thought his Hornet was out of control. Well it wasn't. He was a transition pilot from A-7's with mechanical flight controls to the Hornet with fly-by-wire. In the A-7, you flew the plane off the deck during a catapult launch. In the Hornet, it's hands off. The computer flies the jet off the deck and you cannot touch the controls for at least 1.5 seconds while the flight controls transition from on deck gains to fly away gains. If you jump in too soon, you cannot control the jet and it feels like it is out of control. So it turns out, the only thing wrong with the jet was the pilot. As soon as he ejected, the computers took over and flew the jet until it hit the water.
Welcome to the fleet.
Corn
I also had a hectic day at the office as 2 called in sick ...
...but I rode it out like a champ ... 馃憤
馃榿
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Bumper
路Happened to a batch mate when we were getting our flying hours up during our CPL course. Flying cross country for 4 to 6 hours gets very boring, so sometimes we took friends up.
This particular guy had the autopilot on while flying near some hills, and had a bit of wind blow over the hills just enough to point the nose a few degrees off. If you've been in a single engine Cessna or piper, the very rudimentary autopilot tries to turn the plane back, works fine if there's no wind. If a stiff breeze blows, the plane is unable to correct the heading & the controls go full lock into the direction of the wind. Which eventually puts the plane into a dive.
Of course, being student pilots, the instinct is to grab the controls with both hands & get the plane back into level flight. Forgetting completely that the autopilot is on... which feels like something is jammed & fighting against you. Panic sets in, you break out in a sweat, you're wondering wtf is happening, you can barely move the yoke, let alone control the plane, you scan the instruments but everything is normal, you look out the side wondering if today you make a forced landing. Gripping so tight your knuckles are white & your arms are aching, you realise it feels like some sort of power steering, only it's working 100% against you. Then, the ball drops, power steering...you realise the little switch at the top of the dash is set to "on", you flick it to "off" & instantly, everything goes back to normal.... Slightly dazed, you marvel that such a little thing could have such consequences & never, ever use the bloody thing again.
So when the the plane starts turning by itself, and he found the controls jammed he totally forgot all about his 3 passengers, or that his thumb was jammed on the "transmit" button for the radio when he screamed (This was confirmed by a few pilots who heard the transmission ) "F*** WE'RE GOING TO DIE! WE'RE GOING TO DIE! F**************************!!!!!!!"
Cool as a cucumber, radar calls back "Unidentified aircraft, please say again.... Unidentified aircraft are you in distress?" No reply, but a plane flying behind him called back " This is xxxx, there's a Cessna about 2 clicks ahead of me at xxxx in a dive, he's going down pretty quick". Since our SOP for long cross country flights included filing flight plans, we all had transponders on, & it only took a second for radar to work out who he was.
There was an investigation into a near crash, but nothing came of it. Not sure if he's still flying today.... 馃槜
But i digress, once word got around, we cornered him at lunch & grilled him 馃榿 His version was, they were having a great time flying straight & level. The group of buddies were having a chat when the plane suddenly went into a turn
& ended up diving upside down. - How did you know you were upside down? "Because everything was on the ceiling, maps, charts, bags..." He managed to recover the plane in time, about 50 feet off the ground, "because i looked out the side & i could see all these trees level with the plane..." Denied having the autopilot on, "the plane just turned. Had no problems after that, but the rest of the flight was pretty quiet".馃槈
This particular guy had the autopilot on while flying near some hills, and had a bit of wind blow over the hills just enough to point the nose a few degrees off. If you've been in a single engine Cessna or piper, the very rudimentary autopilot tries to turn the plane back, works fine if there's no wind. If a stiff breeze blows, the plane is unable to correct the heading & the controls go full lock into the direction of the wind. Which eventually puts the plane into a dive.
Of course, being student pilots, the instinct is to grab the controls with both hands & get the plane back into level flight. Forgetting completely that the autopilot is on... which feels like something is jammed & fighting against you. Panic sets in, you break out in a sweat, you're wondering wtf is happening, you can barely move the yoke, let alone control the plane, you scan the instruments but everything is normal, you look out the side wondering if today you make a forced landing. Gripping so tight your knuckles are white & your arms are aching, you realise it feels like some sort of power steering, only it's working 100% against you. Then, the ball drops, power steering...you realise the little switch at the top of the dash is set to "on", you flick it to "off" & instantly, everything goes back to normal.... Slightly dazed, you marvel that such a little thing could have such consequences & never, ever use the bloody thing again.
So when the the plane starts turning by itself, and he found the controls jammed he totally forgot all about his 3 passengers, or that his thumb was jammed on the "transmit" button for the radio when he screamed (This was confirmed by a few pilots who heard the transmission ) "F*** WE'RE GOING TO DIE! WE'RE GOING TO DIE! F**************************!!!!!!!"
Cool as a cucumber, radar calls back "Unidentified aircraft, please say again.... Unidentified aircraft are you in distress?" No reply, but a plane flying behind him called back " This is xxxx, there's a Cessna about 2 clicks ahead of me at xxxx in a dive, he's going down pretty quick". Since our SOP for long cross country flights included filing flight plans, we all had transponders on, & it only took a second for radar to work out who he was.
There was an investigation into a near crash, but nothing came of it. Not sure if he's still flying today.... 馃槜
But i digress, once word got around, we cornered him at lunch & grilled him 馃榿 His version was, they were having a great time flying straight & level. The group of buddies were having a chat when the plane suddenly went into a turn
& ended up diving upside down. - How did you know you were upside down? "Because everything was on the ceiling, maps, charts, bags..." He managed to recover the plane in time, about 50 feet off the ground, "because i looked out the side & i could see all these trees level with the plane..." Denied having the autopilot on, "the plane just turned. Had no problems after that, but the rest of the flight was pretty quiet".馃槈
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JimInOz
路路Melbourne Australia.............. "Because everything was on the ceiling, maps, charts, bags..."
Reminds me of a legendary yarn I was told as a young Naval Airman many many years ago.
About three years before I got to the squadron, they were doing one of the last servicings on the remaining flyable Sea Fury. The aircraft had been in the corner of the hangar for months waiting for the last parts to arrive.
Comes the big day and the monster was pushed out and pre-flighted. The pilot checks it out and climbs in, starts up and takes off. Doing the normal gentle things a test flight demands, he put the aircraft into a slow roll at about 1500 feet above the strip.
Suddenly, as it became inverted, the canopy filled with kittens. The quick thinking pilot, probably a bit shocked by this, and not wanting them to fall back down around his pedals etc, quickly grabbed them and stuffed them into the front of his jacket. Regaining normal attitude he went straight into an approach and landed. The mechanic couldn't believe his eyes when he unstrapped the pilot and helped him out with his new cargo.
They figured one of the hangar cats (vermin controllers) had used the servicing platforms to find a nice safe quiet spot to have her kittens.
True or not I can't say, but all of these yarns have an element of truth in them.
At least I'd like to think this one did.
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CanberraOmega
路See here I was thinking kittens was some military term for smoke or something!
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Bumper
路See here I was thinking kittens was some military term for smoke or something!
It's something the crew chief has if you damage the plane 馃榿
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rbird7282
路Okay, I'll bogart this thread.
It was mid 1990. I was finishing up my Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP's) getting ready to go to the boat for the first time in the F/A-18. I was scheduled for an afternoon Charlie time (C) the next day. That night, my wife made homemade chicken divan. Later that night, the horrific squirts began and continued unabated throughout the next morning. Had to call into the ready room and tell them I was med down with stomach flu and couldn't make my C time. Felt better that night and put myself in A status and got a Charlie time the next day flying on the Skipper's wing.
Flight out to the USS Roosevelt off the coast of VA was uneventful. We dropped into the pattern and I got my touch and go's and 2 traps before I was bingo+1 on the ball and had to stop for gas. The yellow shirts taxied me just aft of the island and the purple shirts scurried out and hooked me up for fuel. While I am sitting there taking gas, the right motor is shut down, the canopy has to stay down and I have to sit in the armed ejection seat with my oxygen mask on in case something happens and I need to eject.
Well, something happened. I was watching a Hornet launch off cat 2 and much to my surprise, just after the end of the cat stroke, the pilot ejected. Holy Shite! I watch him fly out of the jet and get under his chute. He lands in the water abeam the port side of the ship. Looks like we ran him over, but he popped out behind the boat and appeared to be ok. Boss calls out over the radio that a pilot is in the water and directs the rescue helo to go pick him up. Skipper of the boat starts the man overboard maneuver and turns the ship port to circle back around as backup to the helo.
Of course, I'm in my trusty Hornet crapping my pants. And then it gets worse.
Turns out, after the guy ejected from the Hornet, it kept flying. It leveled out at about 1,500 ft and started a slow left hand turn back towards the ship. About the time the rescue helo gets to the pilot, I hear the Boss come over the 5MC and YELL "99, clear the flight deck. Aircraft out of control!" WTFO! I look to my right and sure enough, there is a pilotless Hornet headed right for the ship. Everyone is scrambling to get off the deck. The LSO's are jumping off the side of the ship into their escape net. And here I am, hooked up to a fuel hose in a turning Hornet.
While I'm trying to decide whether to climb out and run or eject, the out of control Hornet hits the water about 100ft from the port side of the boat about midships. Huge splash of water over the landing area (LA). Then I see a nose tire go rolling across the LA at about 100 kts. That's when time compression set in and I just marveled at the ridiculousness of what was happening. I stayed in my jet, not because I decided to, but because I couldn't figure out what else to do.
Well, the boat cleared the area, the rescue helo did its job and brought the perfectly fit pilot back. Then the Boss calls for a FOD walk down to clear the deck of all the debris from the crash. At this point, I'm expecting my plane captain to come out, shut me down and we'll all go below and talk about what just happened. Regroup and start CQ again tomorrow.
Negative, Ghostrider. The plane captain came out, unhooked the fuel hose and started up my right motor for taxi. Ok, just going to move someplace better so I can shutdown, go below and talk about what just happened.
Negative Ghostrider. They taxied me to CAT 2 for launch into the pattern. WTFO! WTFO! Did no one see what just happened to the last guy that launched off CAT 2? This can't be how things work in the fleet. WTFO!
I taxi onto CAT 2, JBD goes up, in tension and BAM! off I go from 0 to 175 in just over 2 seconds. I try to get my wits about me, get back in my box and complete my day CQ so I can go out that night.
Turns out, the reason the guy ejected was he thought his Hornet was out of control. Well it wasn't. He was a transition pilot from A-7's with mechanical flight controls to the Hornet with fly-by-wire. In the A-7, you flew the plane off the deck during a catapult launch. In the Hornet, it's hands off. The computer flies the jet off the deck and you cannot touch the controls for at least 1.5 seconds while the flight controls transition from on deck gains to fly away gains. If you jump in too soon, you cannot control the jet and it feels like it is out of control. So it turns out, the only thing wrong with the jet was the pilot. As soon as he ejected, the computers took over and flew the jet until it hit the water.
Welcome to the fleet.
Corn
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rbird7282
路Negative. He went on to do his command tour.
I see you have a Tomcat in your avatar. I love telling Tomcat stories.
Always go the the NAS Oceana airshow, miss seeing the Tomcats fly there.
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Alpha
路路Kilt Owner, Beagle Parent, Omega CollectorMy thanks go to all pilots.
As passengers a small piece of history from the first scheduled 'Super Shuttle' to land at Heathrow using the latest landing system in a real pea souper.
I suspect the gifts were to help us find the terminal 馃槈
As passengers a small piece of history from the first scheduled 'Super Shuttle' to land at Heathrow using the latest landing system in a real pea souper.
I suspect the gifts were to help us find the terminal 馃槈
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Mad Dog
路...I love telling Tomcat stories.
EDIT CORRECTION: Corrected the word "series" to "stories".
Edited:
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corn18
路Ahh, Wednesday nights at Miramar. Those were the days. We would plan cross country flights from Cecil Field in Jacksonville, FL and make sure we spent Wed night in Miramar. Then Tailhook '91 happened and that all went south. Luckily, I was on cruise for that.
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rbird7282
路Lol, there has to be a few more good Tomcat stories....
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