Some pics from my last flight to the carrier as a COD pilot

[bunk22]

Not my last COD flight but most likely my last to the carrier after 8.5 years. I was right seat going out and left seat for the cat. I've come across that ramp probably around 550-600 times (left and right seat) with just over 100 at night. Routine pics for my fellow carrier pilots but I'll post none the less.

The office:

Roger Ball:

A little F-18C action:

Going to the cat:

A little sub on the way out:

 

[jai5w4]

Bunk,

Thanks for sharing. Great stuff!

Best of luck to you.

-jai5w4

 

[HooverPilot]

Congrats, Where are you off to now?

 

[RHPF]

Awesome pics. Beautiful blue water, where is that located?

 

[jai5w4]

Awesome pics. Beautiful blue water, where is that located?

The open ocean...:icon_tong

 

[Super Hornet 88]

Nice pics bunk22.:thumbup_1

Thanks for sharing.

-Dan

 

[bunk22]

Congrats, Where are you off to now?

I'm going to be the NETSAFA OIC in Whiting. It's flying orders so I will be an IP in the T-34C and maybe down the road, the T-6A. I'm going to try and get in T-6's but it might be pretty tough. I turned down the Wing in Meridian and T-45's since I just could not live in Meridian. Though P-cola isn't that much better. Turned down the wing in P-cola and definitely flying T-6's after this job popped up. So I went from T-45's to T-6's to T-34's. This job was to good to turn down. I set my own hours, don't have to work for the wing and probably (knock on wood), safe from any IA billets.

 

[bunk22]

Awesome pics. Beautiful blue water, where is that located?

So Cal.

 

[xmid]

I'm going to be the NETSAFA OIC in Whiting. It's flying orders so I will be an IP in the T-34C and maybe down the road, the T-6A. I'm going to try and get in T-6's but it might be pretty tough. I turned down the Wing in Meridian and T-45's since I just could not live in Meridian. Though P-cola isn't that much better. Turned down the wing in P-cola and definitely flying T-6's after this job popped up. So I went from T-45's to T-6's to T-34's. This job was to good to turn down. I set my own hours, don't have to work for the wing and probably (knock on wood), safe from any IA billets.

Forgive my ignorance, but how do you get T-45's as a COD guy? Isn't that a new airplane/very different curiculum? How does a COD guy teach intercepts and bombing? That sounds like it would be a pretty sweet deal, and a change of pace.

 

[jai5w4]

Forgive my ignorance, but how do you get T-45's as a COD guy? Isn't that a new airplane/very different curiculum? How does a COD guy teach intercepts and bombing? That sounds like it would be a pretty sweet deal, and a change of pace.

Just had this discussion last night at Flounder's with a (now) Marine who's a former E-2/C-2 selectee who went to the Green side to fly Hornets:

Basically you have to qualify as a hooker on the carrier. The Buckeye used to be the plane these guys (E-2/C-2) would qualify on before moving onto their next platform, but now it's just down to the T-45, save a few remaining Buckeyes (not sure if they still even go to the boat, though). Don't think the E-2/C-2 guys go through the bombing/TACAIR stuff.

-jai5w4

 

[HooverPilot]

E-2C & C-2A Studs aren't retarded, they fly the T-45 (or whatever the CQ jet was at the time) in advanced (mostly for CQ purposes). If you go back as an IP, you just don't instruct in some of the phases (weps, road reccies, tacform, acm, guns) unless you get the proper training to instruct in them. Flight school versions of tactical phases don't really mimic the true nature of how its done in the fleet. ACMs as an example, are completely scripted. You fly the directed maneuvers while transmitting the directed comms. Of course your instructors may allow you to take it beyond the script, but that is not required. Ask some of the Hornet/Super guys if ACM in flight school is anything like they fly in the fleet.

A fair amount of C-2 guys are transition guys too. They may have done the entire strike syllabus in flight school. I did.

Intercepts are taught at the FRS.

 

[Gatordev]

...and probably (knock on wood), safe from any IA billets.

Yeah...not so much. I believe the guy (literally) you're relieving was so "tasked." Then again, there's two of them (same name, just spelled differently), so I may be mistaken.

Nice pics. A clear, sunny, San Dog day.

 

[bunk22]

Forgive my ignorance, but how do you get T-45's as a COD guy? Isn't that a new airplane/very different curiculum? How does a COD guy teach intercepts and bombing? That sounds like it would be a pretty sweet deal, and a change of pace.

No problem. As E-2/C-2 guys, we do the intermediate phases of the T-45 syllabus...at least as I understand it. I flew T-2C's with VT-4 back in the day. So we don't do intercepts, bombing, etc. All the basics, like forms, BI's, RI's, cruise forms, and of course CQ are things we do. So essentially that's what we would teach. However, I've known a few COD types earn quals in the air-to-air and/or the air-ground phase (not sure exactly what they're called). Obviously they or I wouldn't be experts by any means in those areas but if you can teach a guy with 200 hours that stuff, you probably could teach a guy with 2000 hours the same stuff and maybe he could go along for the ride.

 

[Piperdriver]

Just had this discussion last night at Flounder's with a (now) Marine who's a former E-2/C-2 selectee who went to the Green side to fly Hornets:

Basically you have to qualify as a hooker on the carrier. The Buckeye used to be the plane these guys (E-2/C-2) would qualify on before moving onto their next platform, but now it's just down to the T-45, save a few remaining Buckeyes (not sure if they still even go to the boat, though). Don't think the E-2/C-2 guys go through the bombing/TACAIR stuff.

-jai5w4

We don't do ACM or weps but we do pretty much all of phase-1 like the TS guys, minus a few insturment flights and night forms. There are quite a few E2/C2 IP's in Kingsville, they teach everything exept ACM.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Bunk, awesome pictures, sir. If you don't mind, I'm going to snag that one on final to the carrier and use it as my desktop pic. Best of luck to you as an IP, sir.