A public apology for barfing on the COD
January 30th, 2012 | Aviation Carrier On-Board Delivery plane Carriers Chow COMPTUEX Enterprise Life at Sea Naval aviation Navy | Posted by Joshua Stewart
Dear VRC-40 “The Rawhides,”
I’m just writing to apologize for getting airsick in your C-2A Greyhound. It was certainly unintentional. You handled the plane with steady hands as we flew from Naval Air Station Mayport, Fla., to the carrier Enterprise last week. We even had weather on our side, allowing for a particularly calm flight.
If only my stomach was able to manage my breakfast as well as you flew the COD.
Usually I handle flights pretty well, but the combination of the smell of aviation fuel, the lack of windows, the heat and the sheer grittiness of the Navy’s draft horse airplane was more than I could manage. I didn’t even make it halfway through our quick flight. By the time we were headed into our approach, I wasn’t as excited about going from 100 to zero mph in less than two seconds as much as I was excited about just getting out of that torture chamber.
This C-2A Greyhound lands on the carrier Enterprise with a reporter who is very sorry he got airsick. // Navy
Please don’t think anything less of me for this; better-known reporters have handled it just as poorly (one former SWO who took a COD with a certain cable news star told me “Wolf ralphed” during a flight to the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower). And please don’t forget that I cleaned up after myself. I just wish I had had an airsick bag
While I’m feeling contrite, I should also apologize to the cooks who made breakfast before our flight back at Mayport … that was your banana muffin with green apple syrup that ended up in the seat next to me. This was not a commentary on your culinary skills; it was certainly delicious on the way down.
And to everyone else on the carrier who heard about my illness, from the chief medical officer who gave me a motion sickness patch (if you’re curious, they certainly work and I’m available for paid endorsements) to the three people who provided me with stacks of airsick bags for my return flight (I thankfully didn’t need to use them for their intended purposes, but I’ll hold onto them to carry lunches through the year), I appreciate all of your help.
Once again, I apologize for my faux pas and I hope I can one day fly with you again.
Sincerely,
Josh Stewart
Celebrating the Wrights, and naval aviation’s 100th
December 8th, 2011 | Aviation Historical Naval aviation centennial Photos Wright Brothers | Posted by Bill McMichael
East Coast aviation buffs should mark their calendars for Saturday, Dec. 17, when the 108th Celebration of Powered Flight will be held at the Wright Brothers National Monument in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Well, it’s probably not exactly the 108th celebration … no one likely paid any attention to such things for a few decades. But this event does promise to be special.
It starts at 8:30 a.m. and, weather permitting, there’ll be a military aircraft flyover at exactly 10:35 a.m. — precisely when the Orville Wright “powered” off a 60-foot monorail guide and flew the brothers’ biplane a total of 120 feet.
Orville Wright's famous first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on Dec. 17, 1903. The site is now the city of Kill Devil Hills, south of present-day Kitty Hawk. That's Wilbur Wright on the right.
No details yet on which aircraft will be involved. But given that the event’s also billed as marking the 100th anniversary of naval aviation — and given that Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and a veteran Navy jet pilot, will be giving the keynote address — here’s guessing there’ll be a Navy jet or two involved.
DEC. 15 UPDATE: The military flyover will be all Navy: F/A-18 Hornets from Carrier Air Wing 7, according to the First Flight Society.
In addition, the first Navy ace, Lt. David Ingalls, will be inducted into the First Flight Shrine.
Lt. David Ingalls, the Navy's first ace.
You can read about his World War I exploits here.
A separate flyover by civilian aircraft will take place later in the day. And descendants of those who witnessed the first flight will lay wreaths at the marker where the flight occurred.
Wright Brothers National Memorial Park entry fees are waived for the morning of December 17th, so attending the ceremony will be free of charge. For more information about his year’s event, visit the event page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FirstFlightCelebration.
It’ll be good day — weather permitting, of course.
And then there are two
November 28th, 2011 | Aviation Naval aviation Unmanned systems | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
The second X-47B Unmanned Combat Air Systems Demonstration, or UCAS.-D, took to the air Nov. 22 for its own maiden flight. The Navy eyes the X-47B bomber for its future unmanned fleet. (Northrop Grumman Corp. photo)
Nearly three years ago, the Navy and defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. unveiled the X-47B unmanned air system in Palmdale, Calif., showing off the bat-wing-like tailless and pilotless autonomous bomber that is designed to take off and land on aircraft carriers. In February, the first air vehicle made history when it completed its first real flight, a half-hour mission over the California desert.
On Nov. 22, the second air vehicle, known as AV-2, took off in the hazy blue skies at nearby Edwards Air Force Base and flew up to 5,000 feet as it cut some race patterns over a dry lakebed before landing to wrap up a successful 27-minute flight, according to Northrop Grumman, the program’s prime contractor.
That first flight of the second demonstration aircraft will propel the program closer to actual flight deck landings and carrier trials that are planned to take place in 2013. But first, there’s at least a year’s worth of flight testing at Patuxent River, Md. “With two aircraft now available, we can increase the amount of aircraft performance data we gather, which will allow us to meet our required aircraft capability demonstration goals in a timely manner,” Carl Johnson, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and program manager for its aerospace systems sector, said in a Nov. 28 announcement.
The company will send one of the air vehicles to Pax River by the end of this year, where it will continue with flight and systems testing that will eventually lead to the X-47B’s first carrier shot and trap.
It’s pretty, but can it go supersonic?
September 13th, 2011 | Aviation Navy | Posted by Joshua Stewart
Parked in the lobby of John Ascuaga’s Nugget hotel and casino in Reno, Nev., is a one-of -a-kind Ford Mustang. Loaded with a 624-horsepower super-charged engine, the car has a custom paint job inspired by the Blue Angels, complete with a paint job of non-production, silver-infused blue paint.
The Scoop Deck has seen pictures of the car before, but checking it out in person gives the change to peer over the velvet ropes and into the interior. It’s more stately than glitzy. The dash has clean lines, soft curves and is a good exercise in subtlety. Unfortunately the lighting in the lobby makes it tough to snap a good picture with a camera phone.
The car was created in tribute to 100 years of naval aviation and was in Reno for the annual Tailhook Reunion and Symposium.
Advice from a guy who has done it before
September 13th, 2011 | Aviation Naval aviation Navy Officers | Posted by Joshua Stewart
The Tailhook Reunion and Symposium hosted a winging ceremony, a first for the annual meet-up. Two Navy and two Marine Corps officers received their wings. But before things were made official for Lt. j.g. Erik Michael Sink, 1st Lt. Jeffrey C. Monroe, Lt. j.g. Gregory Brett Maters and 1st Lt. Reid Savid, retired Adm. Tim Keating, formerly CO of Northern Command and Pacific Command, gave some advice that will help out any aviator headed to their first squadron.
- Don’t forget about mom and dad.
- Learn how to be a good wingman. “The best combat leaders I know … they were great wingmen. It’s a hard job to be in position, to be prepared.
- “Have fun, it’s hard enough work.”
- “Work hard. The fate of our nation is on your shoulders. It sounds like a momentous statement. It is. It’s meant to be.”
And with not much else, the four young pilots received their golden wings.
Airplane trip
August 3rd, 2011 | Aviation Navy spice Video | Posted by Joshua Stewart
Have you ever slowed down to really take your time and think about how how an airplane flies? Like really thought about it? Like looked through the airplane and thought about it, man?
No need to spark up a pipe loaded with spice, Liz Matzelle is giving you that chance with an errie web video. In her clip she shows helicopters and planes flying at incredible speeds, but with their motions played back at a sluggish pace. She captured the footage at an extremely high number of frames-per-second but then played them back at a normal speed. The effect: extremely smooth, slow motion video.
Creating this type of super-slo-mo video may have been an obvious decision for Matzelle — besides scores of videos about airplanes she has several clips of aquatic snails and sea creatures, some of which, of course, have been sped up to unnatural speeds. So kudos to her from the Scoop Deck, where we have yet to even master stop-and-go animation with Legos.
So click away and watch:
Details of flight that are usually invisilbe at normal speeds pop out in slow motion. // Screengrab from Liz Matzelle.
NAS Whidbey Airshow from Liz Matzelle on Vimeo.
That flag
August 2nd, 2011 | Aviation Foreign navies Helicopters Historical Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Maritime operations Naval aviation Navy Pearl Harbor Photos Ships The Pacific Training World War II | Posted by Bill McMichael
I remember a 1990-ish visit to a Japanese submarine base and being dumbfounded to see the subs flying the rising sun flag off their stern masts. Dumbfounded, because being, ahem, of a certain age, I associated the flag — a red disc with red and white “beams” extending outward — with the aggressive World War II-era regime that launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in an effort to exercise total dominance over the Pacific. Its use was banned in 1945 following the surrender to the United States and its allies, but many Americans don’t realize that it was re-adopted in 1954 as the war flag and naval ensign of the Japan Ground and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, respectively.
This isn’t news to U.S. sailors stationed in Japan, now a staunch U.S. ally, or those who’ve trained with the Japanese navy — such as the Norfolk-based sailors assigned to Destroyer Squadron 26, taking part in a “PASSEX” with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Training Squadron — manned by newly commissioned Japanese surface warfare officers — through today off the U.S. East Coast.
The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force training ship KASHIMA passes the destroyer Nitze during a passing exercise. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marie Brindovas, PASSEX Public Affairs.
PASSEX is an exercise that tests routine operational challenges and is meant, according to the Navy, to strengthen the partnership between the U.S. and Japan. Tasks include operating a Japanese helo on a U.S. ship.
Sailors assigned to the destroyer Nitze guide a Japanese SH-60 helicopter onto the flight deck. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marie Brindovas, PASSEX Public Affairs.
Today, incidently, is a big date in post-World War II affairs. The final meeting of the “Big Three” nations — the U.S., the Soviet Union and Great Britain — concluded on a sour note. The failure to resolve expected post-war issues at the Potsdam Conference, historians say, helped set the stage for the Cold War.
Ike’s return is on track
July 14th, 2011 | Aviation Carriers Flight deck certification Maintenance Maritime operations Navy Photos Safety Shipyard Unmanned carrier landing | Posted by Bill McMichael
The carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is enjoying a noteworthy and productive post-availability period at sea.
On July 2, Ike, operating off the Atlantic coast, was the scene of the first fully hands-free carrier landing as an F/A-18D modified to emulate the in-development X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System aircraft touched down under control of an onboard computer network linked to the plane. The aircraft was manned in case something went wrong, but the pilot kept his hands off the controls, the Navy told my colleague Joshua Stewart. See his story in the July 18 Navy Times.
Four days later, the carrier and Air Wing 7 completed flight deck certification, just a week after taking the flattop’s first arrested landing since its 2010 deployment to the Arabian Sea in support of the war in Afghanistan — only three weeks after Ike left Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., after completing a nine-month planned incremental availability.
On July 7 in Washington, D.C., the carrier was given the Secretary of the Navy’s Safety Excellence Award for large deck combatants.
Meanwhile, the carrier — enjoying a no-fly day Thursday, according to AIRLANT — continues operations in the Atlantic, qualifying new fliers from Fleet Replacement Squadron fliers.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron 106 performs an arrested landing July 13 aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. // U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Parde.
Hornets, Vikings and carrier Yorktown (?!) in Disney movie
July 8th, 2011 | Aviation Carriers Movies Naval aviation | Posted by Joshua Stewart
It’s not just the littoral combat ship Independence that has a cameo in a Disney movie. All sorts of Navy hardware show up for an upcoming release.
A carrier and at least a squadron’s worth of Super Hornets are featured in “Planes,” a direct-to-video movie expected in 2013. A frame-by-frame review of the trailer shows that in addition to Hornets, there’s what looks like an S-3B Viking in the background of an unidentifiable aircraft carrier (a big “10” is painted on the flight deck, but this ship is clearly is not Yorktown, which was decommissioned in 1970), and a B-2 Spirit (which the Air Force, not the Navy flies) soaring over a mountain range as well.
The plot line is far from clear, but seems to be another “Little Engine that Could” tale, complete with a puny turbo-prop – something that seems like a better fit among Cessnas and other general aviation aircraft — that’s somehow assigned to the carrier.
Not even released yet, the movie is already getting slammed across the blogosphere, with the overall sentiment boiling down to “what is this junk?”
Well, at least the trailer is entertaining and has good background music. Nothing could be more appropriate for a movie about a bunch of overly-animated, smiling, wise-cracking, anthropomorphic aircraft than Rob Zombie’s “More Human than Human.”
F-35C heads north
June 30th, 2011 | Aviation Navy Research testing | Posted by Joshua Stewart
The first F-35C test aircraft has left Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., for the first volley of carrier-suitability tests at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
CF-2, the second test aircraft delivered by Lockheed Martin to the Navy, arrived at Lakehurst on June 25 and was flown by test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Eric “Magic” Buus. While there, the airplane will be used for jet blast deflector tests, including deck heating, deflector panel cooling and other aspects. Shipboard testing is scheduled for 2013.
But this isn’t exactly how things were planned, and this change-up, unlike others that have dogged the Joint Strike Fighter program, isn’t something to worry about. Originally a different test aircraft, CF-1, was supposed to head to Lakehurst first. However, tests earlier this summer went better than expected, allowing a change of plans, said Cmdr. Victor Chen, a Naval Air Systems Command spokesman.
“F-35C testing is currently ahead of schedule, allowing previously unplanned testing on CF-1 to eliminate the requirements that caused it to be the only aircraft that could support initial (jet blast deflector) testing. With both aircraft able to support, the decision was made to keep CF-1 at the F-35 integrated test facility at NAS Patuxent River in order to perform a software upgrade, modify flight test instrumentation and execute flight test points, which it did on its first Pax fly day,” Chen said.
Two test aircraft are expected to go to Lakehurst later this summer for more carrier-suitability tests, including catapult launches and roll-in and arrested landings.