Approach articles from January 2001

Approach archives from January 2001

The Longest 3 Seconds.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The ship was still in a turn, and I was constantly dipping my wings to stay close to centerline. I was number two above a C-2 in the marshal stack, for a day, Case III recovery. From my vantage point at 7,000 feet, as far as I could see,...

Vapes and Skidding Dogs at the Tanker.(United States Navy report)(Column)
January 1, 2001... I was leading a division of Hornets, the sweep element of a strike package, in support of Operation Southern Watch. We had just exited Iraq, with the remainder of the package close behind. It was late afternoon, and the recovery aboard USS...

I Can Do This in My Sleep.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... I think I created one of the worst ways to fly formation. Well, maybe not created, but at least perfected. It was one morning at the end of our JTFX. We had been on a two-plane det, and fly-off time had rolled around. Once again, I found myself...

Definitely Above Average.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... How can disaster strike so quickly? In less than five seconds, you can go from situation normal to barely cheating death. Here's how it happened to me. The event was a night section flight of Prowlers, flying out of NAF El Centre. It was...

Almost a Night Swim.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... "I had my hand on the emergency window release," said the crewman during the debrief of what was supposed to be a routine training flight. "I'd never been so scared in my life." Truth is, we were all scared at that particular moment during...

We Had the Checklist, We Just Didn't Do the Checklist.(United States, Air Force, report)(Brief Article)(Column)
January 1, 2001... I was on my first deployment as an H2P in the H-46D, flying SAR for the Peleliu ARG. This cruise gave me the chance to fly plenty of hours in support of Marine operations, as well as a few special-warfare exercises. Our ARG left the...

Night Fright.(United States, Air Force, reports)(Brief Article)(Column)
January 1, 2001... Our squadron was just starting COMPUTEX during my nugget workup cycle. We'd finished TSTA a week earlier. After some great liberty in Canada, a day of flying, and more liberty in San Diego, I was refreshed and ready for two more weeks of cyclic...

TCAS? What's TCAS?(Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System)(Brief Article)(Column)
January 1, 2001... It was a bright, sunny day in late spring, and the day's mission was multiple CAG lifts. The mission looked to be a "banker's hours" flight: 0700 brief for a 0900 launch, with 90minute legs. The weather was forecast to be nearly CAVU. ...

BRAVO Zulu.(United States, Air Force)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... VP-62 Cdr. Mike Preas LCdr. Scott Willower LCdr. Mike Upton AEC Fred Schultz AE1 Mike Hopper During the initial descent from 17,000 feet for approach into NAS Jacksonville, Lt. Willower (PPC)and his P-3 crew disconnected the...

2 out of 3 Ain't Bad; 2 out of 4 Is Another Matter.(United States, Air Force, maneuvres report)(Column)
January 1, 2001... I always figured my big emergency in the P-3 would come on a flight with a huge crosswind, lousy vis, blowing snow, and one shot at an approach in Iceland. As it tums out, it came during banker's hours, on a pilot trainer at Willow Grove. ...

Not a Big Deal--We Just Lost 600 HP.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Hitting the road on a cross-country while in the E-2 FRS is a great way to knock out several syllabus events and have a good time in the process. With that in mind, five of us dedicated road hogs set out for an air show in Lakeland, Fla. While...

SQUADRON IN THE SPOTLIGHT.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... THE ORIGIN OF VF-3.14 IS SKETCHY, BUT IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT IT STARTED IN 1946 AS DET 3.14 OF THE 103RD TRANSPORT WING. THEN KNOWN AS THE "DIGIT LIFTERS" FLYING THE C-47, THE SQUADRON ACHIEVED RECOGNITION FOR BEING "PRETTY GOOD FRIENDS"...