rrpilot
Member
A few Tracker's from my fathers ship, a great Tracker site with lots of info and pics:
http://home.planet.nl/~roden171/
http://home.planet.nl/~roden171/
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The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery
- Thread starter HeyJoe
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Terry & the Pirates ... Steve Canyon ... Captain Midnight ... I and most boys of my generation (and probably one on either side) cut our collective teeth on those comic strips, comic books, and radio broadcasts ... great stuff; great times ... boyhood fantasies at their best!!!
I just find something inherently sexy about a plane that could take off from the boat without a cat shot.
Double points for doing it without the rocket chairs for backup.
Double points for doing it without the rocket chairs for backup.
Right on: a STOOF deck-run was 'da BEST !!! Ol' school at it's finest !!!
I loved watching 'em from the LSO PLATFORM -- you could 'feel' the excitement of the launch as the SCREAM & THUNDER of those two Wright 1820's went right through you w/ brakes OFF ...
The SHOOTER would literally 'leap' into the air (a'la Indy 500 start/finish guy) when he 'released' the STOOF to her own designs and to the heavens ...
Terry & the Pirates ... Steve Canyon ... Captain Midnight ... I and most boys of my generation (and probably one on either side) cut our collective teeth on those comic strips, comic books, and radio broadcasts ... great stuff; great times ... boyhood fantasies at their best!!!
I old man says Steve Canyon and Captain Midnight were who was responsible for him becoming a pilot. He collects that stuff now.
Is the nose wheel even on the deck in the in tension shot?
I always preferred cat shots.
I just didn't like the sudden drop off the bow during a deck launch, the water got a bit too close.Steve
I always preferred cat shots.
Steve
Sorta like launch at 5:04?
C-1a
I had the collateral duty of USS MIDWAY's C-1A Pilot on the '71 & '72 cruises. It was a fun aircraft to fly. I didn't mind the deck launch too much as long as they had the appropriate wind down the angle (pretty tough on a hot, windless day).
To me, the hairiest thing about the deck launch was the taxi from the island back to the ramp & the 180 turn to lineup for takeoff. The cockpit was pretty much on top of the nosewheel. The "Yellow shirt" Director would taxi you 'til the nosewheel was at the round down before spinning you for max runway for takeoff. Just before the spin you look down & all you see is green water! I remember many times thinking "Lord, I hope this guy knows what he's doing"! Well, fortunately for our crew & PAX, they always did.
Attached, a couple of photos of MIDWAY's COD, "Schoolboy Triple Nuts" (000) in action & from the cockpit. It is today, on display on the MIDWAY Museum flight deck in San Diego.
I had the collateral duty of USS MIDWAY's C-1A Pilot on the '71 & '72 cruises. It was a fun aircraft to fly. I didn't mind the deck launch too much as long as they had the appropriate wind down the angle (pretty tough on a hot, windless day).
To me, the hairiest thing about the deck launch was the taxi from the island back to the ramp & the 180 turn to lineup for takeoff. The cockpit was pretty much on top of the nosewheel. The "Yellow shirt" Director would taxi you 'til the nosewheel was at the round down before spinning you for max runway for takeoff. Just before the spin you look down & all you see is green water! I remember many times thinking "Lord, I hope this guy knows what he's doing"! Well, fortunately for our crew & PAX, they always did.
Attached, a couple of photos of MIDWAY's COD, "Schoolboy Triple Nuts" (000) in action & from the cockpit. It is today, on display on the MIDWAY Museum flight deck in San Diego.
Attachments
In a STOOF-COD or STOOF-ASW bird ???
Basically ... NO, on a CAT shot. You could pass your hand under it (sometimes). It had a little 'stub' tailwheel that it bounced off as soon as the holdback fitting broke and the aircraft drove down the CAT-Track and airflow became effective over the wings as the pilot's yoke was pulled wa-a-a-a-a-ay back ... see pix for stub tailwheel:
I got some time in the STOOF out of CUBI, complements of one of our VS-'Rons, which was participating in the LAST STOOF cruise, BTW. The ship's boys offered me some time in the ship's COD (LSO X-train), but I demurred as they would ONLY grant me stick time if I'd take a deck launch ...
... I wasn't sure that I was 'ready', so I got all my left seat STOOF time off the runways in CUBI ... now I wish I'd taken the deck run. I took a couple of cat shots w/ the Aussies (me in the right seat) with 816 Squadron, HMAS Melbourne in '73 or '74 (?) ...
(note: that would be the USS MIDWAY in the background ... please observe the absolutely RIDICULOUS deck overhang on its port side ...
)
We had a CAPT @ one of my airlines w/ the last name of 'Midnight' ... TINS
Of course, he was always a 'hit' w/ his PA's to the PAX which all started off something like:
"THIS IS CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT .... "
That video is pretty intense! I don't think the outcome of the 5:04 incident would have been quite as rosy had that STOOF had turboprops... Talk about a flameout! Jesus!
navyao
Registered User
Yep...Once the P-3's retired every a/c I worked/crewed will be history - man I'm getting old.
And so was the C-1 TRADER which was the only 'ride' you had as a ship's company Naval Aviator in the days prior to the C-2's and the dedicated VRC COD-'Rons ....
Bottom line: the STOOF was a GREAT ol' girl in all shapes & missions ...
My prior boss and close friend is still a reserve cobra pilot 30+ yrs reserves, and a very good consultant job, had a C-1 trader for a few years. However, he sold it to buy a T-28... and another for spares. Saw both up close, and amazing part of Naval aviation.
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