Airhoss

Here is a really nice clip about landing on a heavily pitching deck. yes and it's F-18's again sorry USMC but it has to be shown for the betterment of all.

YouTube - PBS: Carrier - Landing on a Pitching Deck Pt. 1


Carrier Landing on a pitching deck, Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...bBzg&feature=related

USMCFLYR

I miss a lot of things but I love that sound at 0:15 of the second video!
That long bolter at 1+45 was cloooooooooose!

Thanks for sharing Airhoss.
Another thing that I will be thankful for is a better audience than the ones who post directly onto YouTube - thank goodness!

For those that don't understand some of the TOS here on APC - maybe reading those comments will make it a little clearer.

USMCFLYR

Airhoss

Hey FLYR,

The only Carrier deck I've ever been on was the USS Hornet I think anyway it was the one that is berthed in NYC? And the deck surface on that ship was almost spongy feeling it had like a rubber coating on it. Is that a preservative coating or are the decks on active carriers spongy? And if so how do they get the sparking that they do from a tail hook dragging on a bolter?

Thanks

Airhoss

Another question for you Naval aviators out there. When the deck is severely pitching, on short final are you flying a constant decent path OR are you trying to vary your path to follow the deck up and down?

Sorry for the stupid rookie questions, I've never landed on a moving surface before.

USMCFLYR

I haven't been on the USS Hornet - but the decks of carriers that I have been on are anything but "spongy". The non-skid is very thick and very rough. Whenever I see video of an aircrew that has ejected landing on the flight deck I just cringe! Oh the road rash! I was driving down the highway the other day and a truck has a small piece of chain dragging underneath. Whenever it hit the concrete in the road it produce a few sparks. In this case - take this metal hook traveling along at 150 mph (and bouncing - you heard the phrase "hook skip" in the video) along a steel deck (even with the non-skid) and you can imagine the sparks that would be produced. It is quite impressive. Field traps at night are quite the fireworks show since you are purposefully dragging the hook into the wire for a couple of hundred feet.

I'll let people with a lot more carrier experience than I give you more details, but I do know this. You are NOT varying your flight path with the ship. You are flying the ball - in this case it sounded like they were working MOVLAS (the LSO working the ball) It is the LSOs job to work you in time with the pitching deck. Trust is an amazing thing and one reason the LSOs are probably the most loved AND most hated people on the ship Did you hear the "thanks paddles" from a few pilots after they trapped?

USMCFLYR

Airhoss

FLYER,

Thanks for the reply. I figured that the deck material must be different than what my limited experience would suggest which would allow for sparking.

Yep that whole procedure is team work at it's peak.

Hooverdog

When the deck is moving, your best friend is the LSO (hurts to say that). The source can not keep up with the moving deck thus it gives you very little or any useful glideslope information. The LSO's will give you "sugar calls" all the way in as to where you are on glideslope and what the deck is doing. If you get out of phase, ie working off a high while the deck is down and starting to come back up (a deadly combonation) they will wave you off to come around again.

Airhoss

OK got it so the LSO is the fine tuner of the operation.

USMCFLYR

Landing Signal Officer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

USMCFLYR

Airhoss

FLYR,

Thanks for that I kind of knew what an LSO did, now I've got a bigger picture.