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Stupid Questions about Naval Aviation (Part 3)

Austin-Powers said:
Do the Hornet variants have adjustable seats? Comfort saves lives...
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Not exactly. You can move the entire seat up or down (within limits obviously), you can adjust the rudder pedals in or out for long/short legs, and you can pop the seat back/lumbar support out a little. That last one drove me insane…….its super uncomfortable for any normal human, and by the time you get seated, there is really no way to adjust it without climbing back out. Much like short guys who leave the seat all the way up……..even an average height person like me has to like hunch over just to close the canopy or see the engine instruments during engine start, until the gen comes online and you can adjust the seat down.
 
RadicalDude said:
Yeah. They go up and down. And there's this weird lumbar thing that no one uses. They don't recline however.
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...Except for that one guy in the squadron who sets it all the way forward, so you strap in and wonder why you have to practically curl up in the fetal position to grab the stick... and you have to completely unstrap and stand up to reset it.

And oh yeah, the rudder pedals move.

Honestly though, I think the NACES is decently comfortable. I used to feel like I'd been hit in the ass with a baseball bat after just a 2.0 in the T-34. I've flown 7+ hour missions in the Hornet with virtually no aches and pains. Never felt like I needed that extra ass pad that some guys carry, either. Maybe I'm just naturally padded.
 
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What is the NACES? :confused:

Also, do or did you feel pressure flying with a senior NFO for example you're a LTJG and the NFO is a LCDR or CDR?
 
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Austin-Powers said:
What is the NACES? :confused:

Also, do or did you feel pressure flying with a senior NFO for example you're a LTJG and the NFO is a LCDR or CDR?
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Some of us, seven helmet included, never flew with an NFO as a first tour guy (i.e. you flew F/A-18C/E)……..though I'm sure there are a number of folks here who can comment on that at least. Probably similar to flying with a senior pilot in your backseat during flight school. In 8 1/2 years of flying Navy airplanes, I have only flown three flights with an NFO, and ironically, all were in an F-16 (which no NFO is NATOPS qualified in).
 
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sevenhelmet said:
...Except for that one guy in the squadron who sets it all the way forward, so you strap in and wonder why you have to practically curl up in the fetal position to grab the stick... and you have to completely unstrap and stand up to reset it.

And oh yeah, the rudder pedals move.

Honestly though, I think the NACES is decently comfortable. I used to feel like I'd been hit in the ass with a baseball bat after just a 2.0 in the T-34. I've flown 7+ hour missions in the Hornet with virtually no aches and pains. Never felt like I needed that extra ass pad that some guys carry, either. Maybe I'm just naturally padded.
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In both the FRS and my fleet squadron, there was language written specifically in the SOP on how to adjust the seats, pedals, and straps for hotseats since a) time is of the essence especially in cyclic ops, and b) some people are annoying and this prevented them from being that way.

The MH-60 seat can move up and down, forward and backwards, and the pedals can move too, and the crash impact attenuation of the seat can be adjusted based on one's weight; they are pretty gucci seats up front. I almost always enjoyed that seat. The TH-57 though... woof. Nothing except the pedals are adjustable, the padding is 30+ years old, and I'm sure the design is going on 60 years old, when ergonomics were not a thing. It's terrible.
 
DanMa1156 said:
The TH-57 though... woof. Nothing except the pedals are adjustable, the padding is 30+ years old, and I'm sure the design is going on 60 years old, when ergonomics were not a thing. It's terrible.
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We regularly HAZREP'd the ergonomics, or lack thereof, in the 57. Worst report was an IP that'd flown a triple and had to be helped out of the cockpit because his back hurt so bad.

Got the X though.
 
Austin-Powers said:
That really sucks the Hornet has barely any adjustable seats, meanwhile the Poseidon guys and gals get to recline their seat all the way back with a margarita /s
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Why does it suck? Have you logged any time in either? Two completely different weapons systems filling two completely different roles.
 
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