Allied jets conducting flight ops on USN CV's

[ChuckMK23]

OK so I am reading about how a squadron of French Super Etendard's conducted bounces on Stennis/CVN-74 back in April...

I am curious as to the logistics of this kind of evolution. Apparently there were no traps since the Super Etendard is not able to be launched on our cat configuration. So the ops were restricted to t&g's.

So for any of you that know about this - especially LSO's.... how is this preped? What are the rules? Do they have their own LSO's on the platform? DOes the lens need to be reconfigured? Is the language barrier an issue?

Thanks!

 

[SteveG75]

Not sure if that picture is from the April since the hook is down. Here is a pic from April:

The reason we can't launch the Super Etendard is that they use the old bridal system which US carriers are no longer are equipped for:

 

[Schnugg]

We strip all our wires so they can't trap...just touch and goes.

 

[MasterBates]

So those Bridle things, were expendable? and just went off the end of the deck?

 

[Renegade One]

We did the same on NIMITZ coming around South America in 2001. Did T&G's with Brazilian A-4's. They had a USN LSO on exchange duty who flew out to the ship via COD before the T&G's began. We also stripped the wires...T&G's only. But they looked pretty darned good. Materially and as ball flyers. Their A-4's, too, needed the old-style bridle launch technique. The bridles weren't "expended"...recovered by what I recall was known as the VanZelm retraction gear or something similar...basically tied with ropes to two shuttles that paralleled the cat track. Flopped over onto the bridle arrestor tracks (those two long extensions of the cats you see on earlier (pre-1990) CV bows), and just got "retracted" back to the cat spot area. Different lengths/types for each type of aircraft. All of our aircraft now, obviously, use the nose-tow mechanism, and the bridle-launch gear has all been removed, I suppose. So...it's a fairly routine op to offer at least T&G's to allied naval aviaton types who fly CV-capable aircraft and have had the benefit of USN-like CQ training and use similar procedures. Just my experience.

 

[HeyJoe]

We did the same on NIMITZ coming around South America in 2001. Did T&G's with Brazilian A-4's. They had a USN LSO on exchange duty who flew out to the ship via COD before the T&G's began. We also stripped the wires...T&G's only. But they looked pretty darned good. Materially and as ball flyers.

Their senior LSO advisor was Curt "Potsie" Francis, a former Tomcat RAG LSO and cross trained A-4 Bogey driver. See link for awesome photos and a shot of Potsie on their platform.

 

[2sr2worry]

So those Bridle things, were expendable? and just went off the end of the deck?

No. The bridle cables slapped against the finger that used to extend from the flight deck. Then they'd retract the shuttle and bring 'em back to use again. No finger...no bridles. Sure was awesome to see the Phantom and the Whale get shot off the cat.

 

[montellv]

Just came off the Stennis and saw the evolution first hand. The wires were left in place but they did two passes that were waved off then two touch-n-go's. It was Super E's, Raphale's, and E-2's from the Charles de Gaulle

 

[bunk22]

We strip all our wires so they can't trap...just touch and goes.

Why would the wires need to be stripped? Unless gear rolling over the wires induces stress on them. Just keep the tailhook up and most likely, from my experience, you will do a touch and go. It's those touch and go's with the hook down that become annoying.

 

[Schnugg]

When we had foreign aircraft do touch and goes, we stripped all the wires...just so no one could accidentally put the hook down and try to trap. This was on Stennis as well. I made the 2000 and 2001-2002 cruises on her.

The risk was too great that we'd get something stuck on board or damaged when it trapped from an incorrect wire setting. Plus we had no launch bulletins for them either.

Back then the Super E's did touch and goes. The Rafale was so new they kept them on their own little carrier in semi-secret seclusion. One did a fly by.

Sorry about the huge pics...best to see what we're discussing.

No wires here...they're laying coiled up on port side of the LA.

Here you can clearly see the wires coiled beyond the port sheaves.

Here is a pic from 2002. This was as close as the Rafale got to us. It was considered a fly by...thus the wires still in place. I watched this one...very cool...a small jet.

020314-N-9769P-084 At sea aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Mar. 14, 2002 -- A French “Rafale” MO2 ignites its afterburner as the fighter aircraft performs a fly-by pass over the flight deck. John C. Stennis and coalition forces are conducting combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jayme Pastoric. (RELEASED)

 

[East]

Thanx

Great pictures and great reply

 

[bunk22]

I guess thats one way of doing it. Another way might be, I don't know...... not putting the hook down. Extra work to strip the wires for our guys. Maybe not that difficult but still, extra work. In my time, I've come across that deck around 550 times and not once, those times when I had the hook up, did I ever trap. I can see being careful but there has to be more to it than that. Maybe I'm overthing here, like an NFO....or former COD pilot.....no, COD pilots don't think that much

 

[Schnugg]

I guess thats one way of doing it. Another way might be, I don't know...... not putting the hook down. Extra work to strip the wires for our guys. Maybe not that difficult but still, extra work. In my time, I've come across that deck around 550 times and not once, those times when I had the hook up, did I ever trap. I can see being careful but there has to be more to it than that. Maybe I'm overthing here, like an NFO....or former COD pilot.....no, COD pilots don't think that much

Ahhh yes, but we're not the French...

 

[bunk22]

Ahhh yes, but we're not the French...

Ahh, now it makes sense