Blowing The Tubes

[BusyBee604]

How many of you remember operating off the older oil-propulsion carriers (pre-ENTERPRISE except for AMERICA & KENNEDY), the periodic "Blowing The Tubes". That was a cleaning of the uptake & exhaust stack tubes by high pessure steam, of soot/sludge buildup from the ship's boilers.

The resulting huge, thick, black and horribly obnoxious lung and eye searing smoke, emanating from the exhaust stack aft on the Island, could really screw up a recovery at times. When underway, not flying... with calm winds, that dirty, smelly, acrid smoke would float down coating everybody/everything with grime & soot. When recovering aircraft, if the tubes were blown as an aircraft was rolling into or on final, the cloud would envelop the aircraft, block out sight of the landing area/meatball, and often cause a pilot intiated waveoff or bolter.

In pre-environmental & air pollution awareness days (pre-mid '70s), ships routinely blew tubes in port. God help anyone up on deck, especially in whites!

Additionally, in the A-4, it would be sucked into the pressurization system and stink up the cockpit. We often kidded the "Snipe Boss" (Chief Engineer), that he always waited for a "Skyhawk in the groove" before ordering BLOW THE TUBES!

Another seldom mentioned advantage of nuclear propulsion.
BzB

 

[MasterBates]

You guys ever have problems with stack gas (not from blowing the tubes) causing engine problems? It could be a problem with H-60s on CG and DDs, due to location of Turbine Generator exhausts.

 

[helolumpy]

Not as bad as trying to start the helos in the exhaust of the "six pack"! In the Gulf it would already be 100+ degrees and now add the exhaust from a bunch of jets!

But when the ships blew tubes, the crap would settle over all the aircraft on the roof. Everything was covered with a layer of soot and grease...

 

[BusyBee604]

You guys ever have problems with stack gas (not from blowing the tubes) causing engine problems?.

Not to my knowledge. The other problem all A/C experienced during recovery with no 'natural' wind, the ship would speed up to 30+ knots to deliver a 13 degree crosswind. The wind coming straight down the axial deck would carry a very heavy turbulence called an "Island Wake" directly into/through the groove. More noticable on the Kitty Hawk class, where the island was further aft than the FORRESTALs. Made for some interesting approaches!

*My 500th AW post!
BzB

 

[rondebmar]

Not to my knowledge. The other problem all A/C experienced during recovery with no 'natural' wind, the ship would speed up to 30+ knots to deliver a 13 degree crosswind. The wind coming straight down the axial deck would carry a very heavy turbulence called an "Island Wake" directly into/through the groove. More noticable on the Kitty Hawk class, where the island was further aft than the FORRESTALs. Made for some interesting approaches!

*My 500th AW post!
BzB

 

[squorch2]

Last time I heard about blowing tubes and aviation was from my engineering instructor in ROTC. He was a helo bubba. HSC-land was still teaching to avoid the "volcano" when active on CGs as of 2 years ago, though.

 

[insanebikerboy]

Last time I heard about blowing tubes and aviation was from my engineering instructor in ROTC. He was a helo bubba. HSC-land was still teaching to avoid the "volcano" when active on CGs as of 2 years ago, though.

Still something that is important to consider. It's not a good idea to fly through an upflowing column of super hot air when it's hot as balls in the NAG and you're about to land heavy.

 

[HooverPilot]

Not to my knowledge. The other problem all A/C experienced during recovery with no 'natural' wind, the ship would speed up to 30+ knots to deliver a 13 degree crosswind. The wind coming straight down the axial deck would carry a very heavy turbulence called an "Island Wake" directly into/through the groove. More noticable on the Kitty Hawk class, where the island was further aft than the FORRESTALs. Made for some interesting approaches!

*My 500th AW post!
BzB

This still is an issue on the Enterprise. Uncontrolled right wing down in close for the big wings. Made things interesting!

The JFK would always have turbulence IM-IC due to the stack gas too.

 

[Catmando]

I still gag thinking of stack gas. On a welcome day off on steel beach while in the balmy South Pacific, working on a combat tan and a little jogging on the flight deck, suddenly your lungs were filled with the stack gas's sulphurous fumes from hell! It makes me sick just remembering it. They should have made 1MCs so we could have taken cover. Communists!

 

[ATCS]

I did a tour aboard the America and I can't say I remeber that as an issue. We spent most of the cruise on station in the Persian Gulf in the summer. The visibility was so bad that we ran Case III ops for four month 24/7. When we were relieved by the Enterprise and went to the Med eveyone could see the aircraft aound them and in the sequence at night. A common transmission was "hey who is this guy I following so close"....response was the same guy you've been following for the last four months. Just now they could see each other.