Approach articles from January 2003

Approach archives from January 2003

Running out of options: I wouldn't be telling this story if it was that easy.
January 1, 2003... It had been a while since I had flown an eight-hour burner in the P-3. Most of our flights out of NAS Patuxent River are only three to four hours, but we had a target-of-opportunity off the Jacksonville coast, and I felt like I was back in the...

You can have my goggles when you pry them from my cold dead fingers.(night vision goggles)
January 1, 2003... "Some Things Don't Look Better Through Goggles," an article by Ltjg. C. J. Warren, in the May 2002 issue of Approach discussed several problems with using NVGs. As an NVG instructor pilot at the AH-1W FRS, I say that almost everything looks...

Are we backing down? We snapped our heads to the gauges ... airspeed showed zero ... the radar altimeter went off.
January 1, 2003... Three weeks after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, our ship transited the Straights of Gibraltar with the USS Theodore Roosevelt battle group. Tensions were high, and we were ready to do our part in the war on terrorism. Every...

Lost at 500 feet. (Crew Resources Management).
January 1, 2003... The flight students had returned from Christmas holiday break after visiting family and friends. Only a few sorties were flown during the holidays with students who did not go home. The air wing just had completed a morning post-holiday,...

My ticket to PSAB.(Prince Sultan Air Base )
January 1, 2003... Just days from getting underway, the Liberty Bells were cramming in as much field-carrier-landing practice (FCLP) in the Hawkeye as we could stand. As a new department head. I was establishing my reputation in the squadron. I already had...

Night cat shot in Mech.
January 1, 2003... It was a particularly dark, moonless night in March, when I explored the mechanical capabilities of the FA-18C. We had been operating in the 5th Fleet AOR for two weeks, and it was my second OEF airborne-spare mission since arriving. ...

In over my head?(keeping well trained)
January 1, 2003... Ever get the feeling you were in over your head? That's a bad feeling, but it's the one I had as I prepared to fly into a war zone. My situation started innocently with a bad case of "been there, done that." Our squadron was at the...

What could go wrong now?(landing without power or engines)
January 1, 2003... Gather a bunch of aviators, and you'll hear some hair-raising sea stories. Usually they are about someone else who met an unfortunate end or who lost a few fingers, toes, or a pound of flesh. My story centers around what happened to me. It is...

To launch or not to launch. (ORM Corner).(operational risk management)
January 1, 2003... Imagine this: You're in the Baltic Sea in March, participating in Strong Resolve 2002, a NATO exercise. The water temp is 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and the air temp is about 50. Two days ago, your detachment had installed a new main-rotor blade....

Oil & water don't mix ... except in a GE F404.(fuel contamination)
January 1, 2003... Here we go: Two night traps, and I'd be CQ complete. Overall, this looked to be a smooth-deck certification--not so fast! No moon, and it was dark, but the deck was steady, and the weather was beautiful. I got my day traps, and the walk-on...

Bravo Zulu.(Black Eagle 601 lose engine)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The crew of Black Eagle 601 lost their right engine during the catapult stroke. The aircraft lost ICS, navigation systems (CAINS, HARS, TACAN), and UHF-1, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The aircraft had no trim and no attitude gyros; the only reference was...

Boxing myself in.(problems landing military aircraft)
January 1, 2003... Our squadron returned from a detachment to NAF E1 Centro with maintenance and safety concerns. We cancelled follow-on tasking in support of a weapons school and started fixing our problems. The decreased flight time meant the aircrew had...

"Hey, doc, what is this thing?".(melanoma)
January 1, 2003... It's midmorning in the Australian Outback; the sun already is blazing, and the temperature is nearing 100 degrees. I'm making my morning rounds of the squadron when a salty staff sergeant from the seat shop stops me and asks, "Hey, doc, what is...

A little salt on a nugget.(aircraft malfunctions)
January 1, 2003... We were flying in the VACAPES during the last days of JTFEX. The JFK was preparing to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. All of Air Wing Seven, the Freedom Fighters, were eager to begin our cruise. Although this would be my nugget...

Brownshoes in action comix: "the kind real aviators like". (Classic).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... This Month in Film History July, 1984--The Presidential Committee on Film Themes is tasked with writing the original screenplay for the movie "TOP GUN." Because the committee members are on their way to the Cannes Film Festival, they...

Ready room gouge.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... "To invent an airplane is nothing. To build one is something. To fly one is everything."