Approach articles from November 2001

Approach archives from November 2001

Three buckets of naval aviation: this old guy obviously had been to those faraway places where few men boldly go, and fewer still return from.(experience, knowledge, luck)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Many years ago, as a flight student, I was fortunate to have more than my share of good instructors. They would offer advice, encouragement and when needed, a healthy dose of motivation. Each had his own style. Some used soft-spoken, clever...

Playing hyd and go seek on an emergency divert.(hydraulic system failure)
November 1, 2001... I had been out of the cockpit for four years and, statistically speaking, was about as high risk for a mishap as you could find. I completed a quick Cat. IV FA-18 syllabus at the FRS. While an FRS student, I also was conducting XO duties,...

Those helos weren't there a minute ago.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... In the spring of 1996, I was a low-time civilian pilot looking for any opportunity to get in the sky and build flight time in the Cessna 170B. One Saturday, the conditions were not ideal: VFR, with ceilings at 3,000 feet and five to six miles...

Self-loading luggage.(pilot-in-training bails out)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... No one expects to have a "There I was..." story early in his or her flying career. Those tales are for the crusty old codgers with thousands of hours under their belts, who, for the price of a drink at the club, will pass on their wealth of...

Welcome to the fleet, have we got a good deal for you!(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Ten days out of the Prowler FRS and I was scheduled to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime bagex for three days, here in the Puget Sound, just a few minutes flying time from NAS Whidbey Island. As the new guy, I was scheduled as the priority...

Are you sure about that?(following checklist)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... It was the last WestPac of the millennium, and I was the new guy in town. The squadron was flying over 500 hours per month during our deployment to the Arabian Gulf. Everyone was working, flying and playing hard. We were getting a new CAG helo...

Climb! climb! climb! Coming around the 90 and peeking at the carrier for the first time is something I never will forget.(Brief Article)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2001... It was a warm, late June day off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., a perfect day to kick fledgling carrier naval aviators out of the nest with a steel-toed boot. I was about to join the proud tradition of tailhook aviation in a T-45C, bagging my...

Where do you stand?(aircraft mishap rates)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... At the Tailhook Convention in Reno, Nev., on August 17, 2001, RAdm. David Architzel, Commander, Naval Safety Center, discussed the state of naval aviation. According to RAdm. Architzel, even though declining mishap rates are cause for...

Fire -- who, me?(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... After seven days of dropping bombs and refining our weapon tactics in beautiful Hawaii, it was time to return to sunny California. The day began very early with the loading of luggage and maintenance equipment, since the maintainers were...

Who checked the aux tank?(preflight check)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Being a new HAC can be a trying time for any pilot. Not only do you lack the experience of the older squadron HACs, but you're under pressure, whether actual or perceived, to complete the mission and prove yourself as an aircraft commander....

Should I say anything?(pilot-training)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... As recently winged naval flight officer at the Hawkeye FRS, one of my duties was to fly in the back of the tube and provide a safety and fire-warning watch during pilot-training hops. Many of us got to be canaries in these pilot-training...

Blue-Water follies.(pilotage)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Ninety-nine delta easy, report tank-plus-two with position in the pattern." Not exactly the words the ship and air-wing leadership wanted to hear with the blue-water certification process underway. Catapult four could not be wrapped; the...

Vaguely uncoordinated: I felt like I just had been kicked in the learning curve, and my heart was in my throat.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Three autumns ago, I was on my third flight in the oh-so-short portion of the NFO familiarization syllabus. This flight put the controls of the T-34 into my hands. It was a fresh, exciting feeling to be flying, and the pungent smell and taste...

Single-Engine in the heat: the airplane still was shaking as we turned toward or nearest divert, Ahmed Al Jaber Airfiled, in Kuwait, 45 miles to the west.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... I was a sweltering 140 degrees on the flight deck as we taxied our Prowler to the catapult for a late July launch into the skies of the Arabian Gulf. It was our second week of flying in support of Operation Southern Watch. As a nugget, I was...

When do you cross the line? Our concern was FOD in the cockpit, so we had to find the bag.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Everyone has their own lines drawn in the sand when it comes to risk. Some of those lines are inviolate. Some fall into gray areas: areas where the decision is not clear-cut, and where judgment and experience make all the difference. A recent...

Letters.
November 1, 2001... Approach received several letters to the editor concerning a P-3 article in the July, 2001 issue entitled, "Engine Fire at High Power." The author of the article discussed two maintenance procedures: maximum-power checks, and fuel-governor,...

Did you know?(Eugene Ely)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The first aircraft to take off from a ship was in 1910. Eugene Ely flew from an 83-foot wooden platform built over the ram bow of the cruiser USS Birmingham in Chesapeake Bay on 14 November. His aircraft was a Curtiss pusher land plane powered...