Approach articles from March 2001

Approach archives from March 2001

OUR TURN IN THE SPOTLIGHT.(pilot recounts his experience on a surface surveillance flight)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... It was a standard surface surveillance flight (SSC) during our composite-task-unit exercise. Cutlass 476, our detachment's SH-60B, was to launch, radar floodlight the area, and visually identify all contacts with our forward-looking infrared...

From Combat to Casale.(pilot recounts experience flying strike over Kosovo)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A month into my first deployment, we had been flying strikes over Kosovo for two weeks. We had been frustrated by bad weather, but this night promised to be different. The skies were clear, and we had a juicy target. I was more than ready to...

What Is an A-6 Doing Way Out Here?(air pilot recounts his experience)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Fly-off day at last. We were preparing for a fly-off from an East Coast cruiser at the end of a work-up. I was on my first underway period as an aircraft commander in the SH-60B, about to do my first fly-off with nobody in the other seat to...

To Secure or Not Secure, That Is the Question.(air pilot recounts experience on joint exercise with Kuwaiti Air Force)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... It's a beautiful day, and you have completed the painful brief, done the walk-around, started engines, and finally received your clearance from the ATC guys. Pushing up the throttles, you notice an off-speed on the starboard side and hear...

Too Close for Comfort.(military flying instructor recounts in-air experience with students)
March 1, 2001... I was working up for what would be my last boat as an LSO in the training command. We had just started night FCLPs and my students would be in the first wave. The class was small, and only two LSOs were waving. The other LSO was working his...

23,000 Feet and No Pressure--Where's That Green Whatchamacallit?(piot recounts experience, importance of emergency-oxygen handle)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... How many times have you been behind the JBD and gone through your settle-off-the-cat procedures? How many times have you rogered the weight board and practiced touching the ejection-seat handle? How many times have you practiced finding the...

BRAVO ZULU.(stories of aircraft accidents averted thanks to skill of pilots and crew)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... HS-15 Red Lion 617 launched on a post-phase FCF with Lt. Roberge as the HAC. This profile required the crew to make sure the autorotation RPM was within limits based on environmental conditions and aircraft gross weight. After the aircraft...

Dumps On ... and On ... and On.(pilot recounts experience)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... I was working hard to fly the needles, and I would have felt more comfortable on a dark night with those lights visible. Flying magazine runs a monthly column called "I learned a lot about flying from that"--stories describing hard-learned...

Stuck Stick Strikes Again.(VF-14 air force mission report)
March 1, 2001... I applied my hours of training and let my RIO know about our problem by uttering a choice four-letter word. It was a beautiful day for flying around NAS Oceana. I launched as the lead of a two-plane Close Air Support (CAS) strike. We were...

When It Rains, It Pours: Multiple Malfunctions on a Pilot Trainer.(VP-1, air force training excercise)
March 1, 2001... During my training to be an Instructor Pilot (IP) in the P-3C, I remember feeling utter disbelief at the wild, complex flurry of malfunctions the instructors threw at me. These flights are legendary for FRS IPs. Prospective instructors...

Birds Always Turn Away, Right?(flight instructor recounts encounter between a large bird and his airplane)
March 1, 2001... I scheduled myself for a two-plane low-level over central Florida to get out of the office and out from under the ever-present spotlight that skippers tend to blaze upon poor, defenseless Ops O's like myself. As an Air combat Training...

Classic BROWNSHOES IN ACTION COMIX.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... "The kind real aviators like" "I guess he's got it..." "I guess he's got it..." Meanwhile "We need to get the presentation ready for the Bigsby account. We need overheads, graphics and a myriad of business buzzwords and it...