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The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery, Troisième partie: la vengeance!

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
A bad day on the deck of the USS Enterprise (CVAN or CVN 65) back in the day: An RA-5C of RVAH-1 "Smokin' Tigers" had brake and nosewheel steering failures while being moved on deck. Whoever was in the pilot's cockpit -- pilot? plane captain? -- had a sporty day!

View attachment 42493
We had a Viggie on a stick near the chow hall at NATTC Millington when I went through A school back in 1986…and boy is that a HUGE plane.
 

zipmartin

Never been better
pilot
Contributor
It is a BIG airframe. We had Viggies on my first cruise on CVN-68. RF-8's after that. Had a former Viggie driver in my A-7 squadron. They hated taxiing on deck after dark, when the yellow shirts would try to taxi them until the nose gear was almost at the scupper. The cockpit was way in front of the nose gear which meant they were sitting out over the water looking back at the yellow shirt.
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
It is a BIG airframe. We had Viggies on my first cruise on CVN-68. RF-8's after that. Had a former Viggie driver in my A-7 squadron. They hated taxiing on deck after dark, when the yellow shirts would try to taxi them until the nose gear was almost at the scupper. The cockpit was way in front of the nose gear which meant they were sitting out over the water looking back at the yellow shirt.
As an EA-6B Prowler guy, I’ve had my share of scary night taxis over the water, albeit probably not as scary as the Viggie.
 

Llarry

Well-Known Member
When the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm decided on the McDonnell F-4 Phantom in the mid-60s, they made some modifications to minimize the gnashing of teeth in the UK. Notably Rolls-Royce Spey engines replacing the J79s (at considerable engineering expense). To allow the Phantom FG.1 (aka F-4K) to operate from the smaller RN carriers, there was also a nose gear mod to increase the angle of attack for takeoff from the smaller RN carriers and a folding nose to fit onto elevators.

To minimize deck damage, they attached a heat-resistant steel plate behind the catapult and periodically hosed the area down to cool it.

In the event, only one squadron operated Phantoms from HMS Ark Royal and only from 1969 to 1979, after which the RAF inherited the RN's Phantoms to supplement their own Phantom FGR.2s (F-4Ms).
Phantom FG.1 catapult.jpgPhantom_FG1 892_NAS.jpgRN Phantom on elevator.jpg
 

GroundPounder

Well-Known Member
When the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm decided on the McDonnell F-4 Phantom in the mid-60s, they made some modifications to minimize the gnashing of teeth in the UK. Notably Rolls-Royce Spey engines replacing the J79s (at considerable engineering expense). To allow the Phantom FG.1 (aka F-4K) to operate from the smaller RN carriers, there was also a nose gear mod to increase the angle of attack for takeoff from the smaller RN carriers and a folding nose to fit onto elevators.

To minimize deck damage, they attached a heat-resistant steel plate behind the catapult and periodically hosed the area down to cool it.

In the event, only one squadron operated Phantoms from HMS Ark Royal and only from 1969 to 1979, after which the RAF inherited the RN's Phantoms to supplement their own Phantom FGR.2s (F-4Ms).
View attachment 42531View attachment 42532View attachment 42533
Ref the last shot, riding the elevator down below decks. Was the fit so tight that bad weather with pitching decks would make it not possible?
 

PhrogPhlyer

Two heads are better than one.
pilot
None
What happens when you forget the simplest things... like lift vectors.
iu
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
What happens when you forget the simplest things... like lift vectors.
iu

They gave us a pretty extensive briefing on that mishap at nav school in Randolph, IIRC the guy who briefed it had flown 52's and knew the guy and was not a fan. One of the guys in the jet was on his fini flight with his whole family watching, I forget if it is that is a hatch or a seat you see of someone who initiated ejection right before they hit but didn't make it.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
They gave us a pretty extensive briefing on that mishap at nav school in Randolph, IIRC the guy who briefed it had flown 52's and knew the guy and was not a fan. One of the guys in the jet was on his fini flight with his whole family watching, I forget if it is that is a hatch or a seat you see of someone who initiated ejection right before they hit but didn't make it.



It was the pilot. The flight had a really senior crew (All O-5s and O-6s) on an airshow profile. The pilot was notorious for breaking flight safety rules, and thumbing his nose at anyone who would call him out on it. He almost killed himself and his crew a couple times before. One of the reasons the mishap crew was so senior was that they didn't want anyone younger flying with him- they thought he'd get them killed.

This mishap is taught at the ASO course as one of the reasons the CRM program was created and why human factors boards are important.
 

KODAK

"Any time in this type?"
pilot
It was the pilot. The flight had a really senior crew (All O-5s and O-6s) on an airshow profile. The pilot was notorious for breaking flight safety rules, and thumbing his nose at anyone who would call him out on it. He almost killed himself and his crew a couple times before. One of the reasons the mishap crew was so senior was that they didn't want anyone younger flying with him- they thought he'd get them killed.

This mishap is taught at the ASO course as one of the reasons the CRM program was created and why human factors boards are important.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
It was the pilot. The flight had a really senior crew (All O-5s and O-6s) on an airshow profile. The pilot was notorious for breaking flight safety rules, and thumbing his nose at anyone who would call him out on it. He almost killed himself and his crew a couple times before. One of the reasons the mishap crew was so senior was that they didn't want anyone younger flying with him- they thought he'd get them killed.

I looked it up and it was a pilot and the Vice Commander of the Wing, but not the mishap pilot, who was riding along as a safety observer that was on his fini flight.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
I looked it up and it was a pilot and the Vice Commander of the Wing, but not the mishap pilot, who was riding along as a safety observer that was on his fini flight.
Damn. That's not the way you want your last flight to be remembered.
 

PhrogPhlyer

Two heads are better than one.
pilot
None
This also ended the tradition of a fini flight before retirement.
Temptation to go out in a blaze of glory, unfortunately, occurred too many times.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
This also ended the tradition of a fini flight before retirement.
Temptation to go out in a blaze of glory, unfortunately, occurred too many times.
Really? I've seen a good amount of good deal fini flights.
I remember watching my first Commodore at TW-2's fini flight. "Holy shit, he buzzed the tower Top Gun style and did the sloppiest shit hot break ever." The interesting thing was that every stud watching thought, "What a fucking moron" and "he'd kick me out of flight school for that". It's bad when the 1stLt's and LTJGs think you've gone from being cool to being a moron.

Joe Bags was a much better Commodore. We'd have removed every spine on every cactus in south Texas if he asked us to.
 
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