F-8 Ejection

[A4sForever]

I'm not sure when the official end of the NAVCAD program happened.....

October 1993 --- the NAVCAD program was disestablished for the second and final (?) time.

It was one of the all-time best deals going.

The program was begun during World War II when there was a big demand for flyable warm bodies, and initially was called the V-5 program and then the V-12 program. It was temporarily disestablished in 1966, but was later reinstated in 1986 to help train more flyable warm bodies for the planned 600-ship Reagan Navy.(I would have dropped out of NROTC and college in 1966 and gone NAVCAD if the program had not sunset at that time-- grades and attitude sucked but the draft was an express ticket to some SE Asian jungle -- -- I'd probably be dead today )

A brief description of the program from an old Navy publication follows:

The NAVCAD Program is open to qualified civilians and enlisted personnel who have not previously been disenrolled from any flight program.

Eligibility Requirements:

1. Age—At least 19, but not have reached 25th birthday before reporting to AOCS.

2. Citizenship—United States citizen only.

3. Marital Status—Single with no dependents; must remain single until commissioning. There are no exceptions to this rule.

4. Additionally, they must meet all physical requirements, including 20/20 uncorrected vision and height limitations.

NAVCAD applicants must complete AOCS and attend basic and advanced flight training. The NAVCAD is obligated for 6 years of active commissioned service after becoming a Naval Aviator.

 

[Harrier Dude]

Evidently there was some fine print that I missed on that page:

"Oh, and by the way, if we change our mind, run over budget, or otherwise screw the pooch, we can let you go at any time and with no notice"

I should have read it more closely. I'm not bitter, though.

 

[Pags]

There's one in front of the Oclub at Oceana, you can probably sit in that one.

or at least on it after a few beers...in unrelated news, isn't Bash #3 coming up soon?

 

[Sarge]

Blacklion Bash III

Blacklion Bash III is Friday 23 June. Info can be found at:

http://www.blacklion-bash.com/

 

[bunk22]

Blacklion Bash III is Friday 23 June. Info can be found at:

http://www.blacklion-bash.com/

For once, I wish I were back in Virginia :icon_drin

 

[Coota0]

Evidently there was some fine print that I missed on that page:

"Oh, and by the way, if we change our mind, run over budget, or otherwise screw the pooch, we can let you go at any time and with no notice"

I should have read it more closely. I'm not bitter, though.

But if the program hadn't been dropped, you wouldn't have ever had the oppritunity to be fish Harrier Dude?

 

[Fly Navy]

But if it hadn't happened been dropped, you wouldn't have ever had the oppritunity to be fish Harrier Dude?

This was complete gibberish.

 

[raptor10]

something about being a freshman aggie

 

[HeyJoe]

Blacklion Bash III is Friday 23 June. Info can be found at:

http://www.blacklion-bash.com/

Got my tickets yesterday from the Black Lions who were out in force at club.

"Only the Strong Survive!"

Max Kudos to the Black Lions for doing what no other squadron has been able to do since Bash I. Revive the club for a tleast one night like it was "in the day". For that reason they were selected to run the Key West Night (aka Bash IV) at the Tomcat Sunset farewell on 21 Sept....:icon_smil

 

[Coota0]

This was complete gibberish.

I realize that....now.

 

[Harrier Dude]

This was complete gibberish.

It's in "code". You'd have to be an Ag to understand. And by the way, I was a fish before NAVCAD. I came back as a CT under the zips that were my fish. Figure that one out.

Ahhhhhh......buffoonery.

 

[Coota0]

It's in "code". You'd have to be an Ag to understand. And by the way, I was a fish before NAVCAD. I came back as a CT under the zips that were my fish. Figure that one out.

Ahhhhhh......buffoonery.

Wow...that had to be wird. I still cringe if I see a campaign cover with an infantry blue cord.

 

[FLYTPAY]

I soloed in the T-34C at 20 years old.

A buddy of mine was qualed in the F-16 at 20! ANG bubba!

 

[Tex_Hill]

I didn't know that you were a necromancer FLYTPAY.

 

[Nose]

We fly our procedures and hope to pull it off. You've got the rest of the flight to get it right.

Ok, seriously, we really hawk our S.E. performance and brief exactly what we would do in that scenario. Ground effect over the water and some good old fashioned torque will help you fly and accelerate to a S.E. climb speed. I guess the key is how fast are you going when you go off the front end. Our stall speeds can be pretty low but Vmca will be the killer. we've got some big ass wings that can help out, but it will take some hard work for a pilot to pull it off on a hot/heavy day. You MUST account for enviromental factors in you aircraft loading to address just that scenario. Emergency Jettisioning is not an option so you have to be able to fly S.E. with what you've got.

I don't know the rules about commenting on an old post - but there is some confusion here.

The question is about cold cat shot, not single engine. Cat will give you single engine fly-away speed plus some. In an E-2 or a C-2 single engine is really not that big a deal. We practice it a lot.

As to Vmc being a killer - I think that is a bit of an exaggeration. Vmc just means you loose directional control (the ability to fly a straight line). If you need full power to keep the climb going and have a Vmc issue, then just let the heading drift until you have enough altitude to start buying some airspeed. You are off the Cat, at sea, not much to hit. Unless it is super hot, all you have to do to avoid Vmc issues is get the nose over and get some K-nots or pull a bit of power on good motor.

As for a cold cat, you either get enough knots from mom to fly, or you don't. Might spend a few seconds in ground effect, but if ground effect catches you, you will be able to fly. If not, you are getting wet.

I'll take a controlled ditch in the Hummer any day, especially off the Cat. Clearing turn gets you away from Mom, go in at a good attitude, very survivable. I'm pretty sure that if the VAW-126 guys had decided to ditch or bailout with that fire in '92, they would be alive right now.