Uh-huh .... and I've heard they smoke faggots over there, too ....
Those crazy pommy bastards!!
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The Great Growler Gallery
- Thread starter woodman
- Start date
Uh-huh .... and I've heard they smoke faggots over there, too ....
Those crazy pommy bastards!!
Yeah, but... the weight settings will still be on the board, as they're never updated, and you can't count on some ABAN to know the air wing composition. The settings board on my '06 IKE cruise still had the TA-4, A-6 and A-7 weights on them, with "Super Hornet" tacked on the end. During my days of Tower Flower two months into that same cruise, the guy in the tower calling down weight settings kept asking "is that a Tomcat?" every time a Rhino rolled into the groove despite the fact that we didn't have any.
The launch bulletins do have those a/c included still and I don't know why. They aren't included in the ABE sets either in the bubble or at center deck. All weight settings are set by the shooter (99% of the time an aviator of some flavor) so a lot of tomfoolery is prevented. I'm not saying there isn't AB buffoonery.... only that there are some admin safety nets in place.
I meant for the AG weight settings. As far as I could tell, the only check on that was whatever the kid manning the gear read back to the guy in the tower. Are there any other checks? I don't claim to be an expert, just sayin' what I saw.
A wrong weight setting for the arresting gear's not as bad as a cold cat, but still not something you'd want to get fucked up, right?
Not an answer to your question but reminds me of good gouge for newbies: tower flowers should always look over his shoulder and verify what weight is set on his computer screen before your a/c land. I believe it also says the name of the aircraft as well. During our rag CQ, we had a near snafu when a rhino had a ID light fail and word was slow to travel..
It very well may be urban legend - but it has been said that there was a time in the USAF when you could get yourself an Article 15 quicker than a French surrender for referring to the C-5 as FRED (Fucking Rediculous Economic Disaster.) FRED was highly political - but, the name stuck like glue. And I've heard even little kids and instructors at the Squadron Officers School in Maxwell refer to the B-52 as a the BUFF (Big Ugly Flying Fucker.)
Kind of seems like it works as it does with pilot callsigns. The harder they are resisted, the more likely they are to stick.
The AG guy in our tower had to verbally confirm to the Air Boss what he was reading from his computer screen. Each time the gear was reset after a trap and after confirming what type is next in line he would say something like "Gear set Prowler..." and whatever a prowler max trap weight setting is, i forget. Then, our Air Boss would repeat what he just said in acknowledement.
There are 3 AB types that sit behind the Air Boss. 1 is a white shirt aft spotter who verifies a/c type and location. Case 1: type a/c at the initial, and as it comes through the 90, a/c type and gear/hook setting. Case 3: Light configuration (hence a/c type) and gear config. The 2 green shirts behind the Boss do the following: One guy sets the lens according to a/c type and the other guy (gear pri fly operator) runs the arresting gear computer system. At least 6 people and the LSOs themselves verify what type a/c is next to land: the Arresting Gear Officer (AGO), the arresting gear deck edge operator (tells AGO the gear is set to the correct weight, verifies the engine is ready to arrest a/c, and retracts the wire after it's clear of the a/c). LSO spotter (white shirt who's on sound powered phones) on the LSO platform, the aft lookout, the gear prifly operator and the Boss himself.
The computer already has the single weight settings for each a/c. Once the operator pushes the correct a/c in, the computer sets all 4 arresting gear engines below decks to the correct setting. Each engine has an operator who verifies the engine is good to go and is set (also known as "battery"). They all report on soundpowered phones to the gear deck edge operator and the prifly operator the engine is set. The gear prifly operator looks left to see the lens is set and calls out to the Boss "Gear/Lens set 440 Rhino Battery" and will repeat this until the Boss repeats it back to him. The Boss also has a screen over his head that indicates the gear weight setting, lens is set, engine is in battery and if the deck is clear to land a/c. The screen also indicates whether MOVLAS is being used, etc.
Sorry for the long answer, but as an educational point, I don't think most folks know how many people are involved in making sure things are set right and how much double checking is done to make sure it's safe to recover a/c aboard (or launch).
There is really zero room for error in launching or recovery. A wrong weight setting on recovery most likely (IMO) would cause equipment damage, but the possibility is there for disaster for the aircrew/deck crew/below deck crew. I haven't heard of a cold cat shot in many many years. My worse nightmare as a shooter was if the holdback bar released prematurely while in tension. Thankfully that's also a rare occurrence and I walked away bootless from my tour.
Happened to a guy on JFK during workups; Hornet spat a holdback fitting and the pilot went for Mr Toad's Wild Ride. Managed to get it stopped on deck, though.
A lose-lose for everyone. This guy is always in a bad position for the early release.....
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MasterBates
Well-Known Member
Sidebar question-
On the E-2 we have frangible holdbacks, that break at a certain tension. Those I understand how they work.
On the T-45 we had these "fingers" that I could never figure out how the hell they worked. How do the non-frangible holdbacks work?
On the E-2 we have frangible holdbacks, that break at a certain tension. Those I understand how they work.
On the T-45 we had these "fingers" that I could never figure out how the hell they worked. How do the non-frangible holdbacks work?
I think you're talking about the Repeatable Release Holdback Bars (RRHBs). I've attached a pic. It appears to be PFM how they work. Seriously.
These bars fit onto a fitting aft of the nose gear on Rhinos (orange colored and "ribbed"), Hornets (yellow), and T-45s (blue). The other end fits into the "buffer hooks" (also pictured) which are pulled out and actually holds the aircraft back while in full tension. Unlike the "tension," or T-bars used in the launch of the Grumman a/c (third pic, far right), these repeatable release bars let go when the catapult launch valves snap open. There is no breakable item in them. Catapult steam pressure is the same for every shot/every aircraft. It's the rate at which the catapult launch valves open that determine how fast the a/c goes down the track. That initial jolt, along with a predetermined release weight (around 50,000 lbs of tension), releases the bar and it falls to the deck. It resets itself and gets sent to AIMD every 100 shots for rework.
/end threadjack....
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