Approach articles from February 2001

Approach archives from February 2001

Guzzling Gas, Prowler-Style.(night mission)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... Our crew had briefed for a night section event off the carrier. Our mission was to work a time-critical targeting timeline, then come back to get a night trap for currency on a moonless night. The ship was in the eastern Mediterranean, and our...

Is Your Gear Stowed?(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Several weeks ago, our squadron was assisting with a multi-organizational, special-warfare exercise. For about two weeks, we flew missions involving fastrope, cast and recovery, SPIE rigging and insertion. We were working with teams from other...

It's Not Supposed To Work Like This.(dealing with equipment failure)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... It started out as a normal day at the E-2/C-2 RAG: brief an FCLP event and head out for a long day in the pattern, trying to help students figure out how to fly the ball. We launched and left Navy Norfolk for a three-to-four-hour flight. ...

Why the C-9 Told the P-3, "Fights On!".(navy aircraft in near-collision)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... My schedules officer finally let me out of the office to fly a good-deal training hop: a local NATOPS refresher. Flight time in the squadron had been scarce for the month, because of our current schedule. Two of our three airplanes were on...

So That's Why We Carry the SAR Checklist!(search and rescue)
February 1, 2001... Talk about the unexpected. After a weekend in the heartland of America, I launched in my Hornet from a municipal airport in the Midwest late on a Sunday afternoon and headed back to the East Coast. Despite a few days away from maintenance, the...

A Mole Calls the Ball.(teamwork averts flight emergency)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... So there I was, a first tour NFO with two Persian Gulf deployments under my belt, a mission-commander qual, more than 900 E-2C hours, two different aircraft tarriers, and a gritty layer of salt becoming visible on my shoulder. There wasn't much...

The Miracle of Condensation (or) You Never Have a Squeegee When You Need One.(removing condenstion from aircraft windows)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... When a front-seater in a Cobra mooned the Air Boss during a round of boat bounces in the middle of a particularly dull float, he instantly achieved legendary status in the community (as well as being put in hack for two weeks). I marveled that...

Why Not? Chuck Yeager Did It.(flying with a broken rib)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Our squadron was in Fallon for a month-long, air-wing training detachment prior to COMPTUEX. Despite being in the squadron for 9 months, I was still the new guy in the squadron. This status meant that I rarely got a good deal. So when I heard...

PIREPs `R' Us (or) I Give Myself Very Good Advice.(importance of communication during flight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... It was funny. Actually, as I sit here sate on deck several months after the event, it was downright hilarious. At the time, however, the situation in which the crew of Hellfire 03 found themselves revealed a serious breakdown of aircrew...

Still Deadly After All These Years.(propeller kills loadmaster)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Keflavik, Iceland, was once on the front line between the Soviet military and the free world. Today, day-to-day operations center more on being the one and only gas station in the North Atlantic, handy for aircraft that can't make a straight...

You Want Me To Do What.(a pilot's education)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... I assumed we would find a hole to descend through, but we couldn't even see any lights. One day in the VTs, I was scheduled for an out-and-in with an instructor who was known for letting students try maneuvers outside of the syllabus. We...

Hitting the Boat.(a pilot's story)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... It was a perfect day for a Mediterranean VOD mission: sky clear, sea-state nothing, and an over head time early enough to get the ship and back by mid-afternoon. It was my first mission as a fresh PQM in my squadron. I was teamed up with an O-4...

Letters.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2001... About a year ago. I attended the Aviation Safety Officer School in Monterey. I had requested to go there during my PCS move to VR-59, a C-9 squadron in Fort Worth, Texas. The school was thorough, and I felt well-prepared to handle just about...