Approach articles from July 2000

Approach archives from July 2000

FLARE DUMP!(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... We arrived on station during Operation Allied Force. This was our first mission, and we had drawn the graveyard shift. Part of our on-station checklist was to arm the ALR 47-ALE 39 system, the threat receiver and chaff-and-flare dispensers,...

We Nearly Hit the Water!(helicopter)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... It wasn't your typical dark night around the boat. In fact, it was clear with a full moon and an O-4's horizon--the kind of night when you can look up and see all the way to eternity. The kind of night when you'd never have to worry about...

`SCUSE ME While I Check My Logbook.(military pilot)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... Pay the fee, get your ATP. Sounded good to me! There I was, nine years and 2,400 hours into a terrific Navy flying career. Having a blast and feeling salty, too. After all, I'd been fortunate to bounce from two different fleet helicopters into...

Ghost From the Past.(helicopter flying)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... I was about to fly my last NATOPS check, and I was ready to go. I had more than 1,000 hours in the SH-60B and plenty of sea time. I was always a little nervous on these check rides, but who isn't? I'd flown with this guy once on my HAC check a...

This Ain't No Kid's Story.(military pilot)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... I had been embarked in the USS Sacramento (AOE-1) for more than two months on a WestPac deployment when the story about the emperor's new clothes vividly came to mind. Our detachment was doing much of the air logistics runs for the carrier...

Where'd That Frigate Come From?(military vertrep and medavac exercises)
July 1, 2000... We were two days from a port visit in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, halfway through our deployment with the NATO Standing Naval Forces Atlantic (SNFL). After the previous port, this underway period was a welcome break for our livers, yet...

The Slam Dunk.(military aircraft landing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... It was late afternoon at a high-elevation Air Force base in the Midwest. We were running a little behind schedule with a plane full of VIPs. The red carpet was out, and the band was playing. We were doing our best to make up the time lost on...

Out-of-Date Follies.(military helicopter flying)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, world events in the Balkans made military planners realize that we might have to rapidly place bridge sections across key rivers to ensure mobility. Projects officers from Second Marine Expeditionary Force...

Deer in the Landing Lights.(deer on airstrip)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... It was a normal flight, a six-hour random track from Travis AFB to NAS Patuxent River, where we forward-deploy to an alert facility. We were talking to Washington Center, and about 70 miles from the field we received an en-route descent to...

"Suspended Cat One!".(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... It was supposed to be a good deal: a day close-air-support mission at the start of our third month of combat operations over Kosovo. I had finished the FRS only a few months earlier and was excited about the prospect of raging around on a...

Tempting Mom and Fate.(landing aircraft in low clouds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... It started off innocently enough: A good-deal cross-country to complete four radio-instrument flights with one of the squadron's more friendly instructors. More importantly, I had a free ticket home to show off the mighty T-2 Buckeye to my...

How'd We Do Dat?(landing aircraft with minimum fuel)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... That was close. Too close. How did I land below NATOPS minimum fuel limits, and on a training flight flying with the NATOPS officer? Let's go back a few months... I was having a great department-head tour with HC-5. Three detachments,...

Lost in a Hornet? Impossible.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... I was aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN71) for JTFEX, the final workup cycle before deployment, it was a standard 4 V X self-escort strike into Townsend. The weather was not that great, and we correctly assumed the "X" would equal zero....

What I Learned During the First Three Weeks of Deployment.(avoiding helicopter mishaps)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... Ship's company hear a lot about helo hazards during the first week of workups, but helo dets must continually review and instruct in order to avoid mishaps. Furthermore, everyone on the flight deck must learn to watch for potential threats. ...

Where's the Challenge?(challenge and response, aircraft piloting checklists)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... Starting an aircraft just didn't seem that hard... "Checklists are a crutch," I heard when I first started flying. The seasoned fleet pilots thought checklists weren't cool. You don't need a checklist to start a car. Starting an aircraft...

Three Clear-Deck Landings in One.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2000... "Flight quarters, flight quarters! All hands man your flight-quarters stations." My pulse quickened as I made final preparations for the upcoming recovery, hot-pump, crew swap, and relaunch of Hellfire 16, our det's SH-60B. It was my...