Naval Aviation News articles from January 2003

Naval Aviation News archives from January 2003

Whidbey P-3s range: far from home.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 1, 2003... The throb of turboprops echoes through the skies of the Middle East. This series of photos highlights two NAS Whidbey Island, Wash.-based P-3 squadrons conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Clockwise from above: plane...

Grampaw Pettibone.(commentary on aircraft mishaps)(Column)
January 1, 2003... Gramps from Yesteryear Close Shave An A3D returning from a night training hop crossed the ramp of an attack carrier with the meatball right on the money. The hook picked up the number two wire after the touchdown and the arrestment...

Super Hornet begins combat operations. (Airscoop).(navial aviation news briefs)
January 1, 2003... The F/A-18E Super Hornet participated in its first-ever combat action on 6 November 2002 when aircraft from Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) fired on Iraqi targets in response to hostile acts against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly...

Sidewinder turns 50.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Fifty years ago, a small innovative team, headed by Dr. Bill McLean, decided an air-to-air missile could be guided accurately using infrared radiation from the target. That was the birth of the Sidewinder missile at China Lake, Calif....

The evolution of Naval Aviation and Naval Special Warfare.
January 1, 2003... In the ongoing war against terrorism, the combined abilities of Naval Aviation and Naval Special Warfare (NSW) forces have become increasingly visible. While their origins are separated by nearly half a century, these two seemingly divergent...

CVWR-20 firepower in reserve.(profile of Reserve Carrier Air Wing 20)
January 1, 2003... Today, our nation is engaged in Third World conflicts, and our military forces are stretched thin as we are busier than ever abroad. Couple the operational tempo with the 1990's downsizing, and the end result is long days and hard work for...

Joint Wings 2002.(US, Croatia hold joint military exercise)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A detachment from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 embarked on board George Washington (CVN 73) participated with the Croatian air force in Joint Wings 2002. The multinational exercise is designed to practice intelligence gathering. George Washington...

VAW-120 Greyhawks: training aircrews for the fleet.(Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120)
January 1, 2003... Flight operations on board a carrier may appear routine, but it takes years of training to turn fledgling Naval Aviators into combat-ready warriors--who slam their aircraft into the arresting cables at the end of a carrier, day and night, in...

Big Daddy "flies" Navy.(Don Garlits respairs Corsair aircraft damaged in storm at his museum)
January 1, 2003... What do drag racing and Naval Aviation have in common? More than you may think. Besides the fact that a dragster and a Navy jet can both travel at more than 300 miles per hour, they are related because of the work of one drag racing legend,...

Night teams over Korea.(naval aviation history)
January 1, 2003... When the Communists invaded South Korea in June 1950, four composite squadrons, VCs 3, 4, 33 and 35, were sending night-fighter and attack teams flying radar-equipped F4U Corsairs and AD Skyraiders to the Essex (CV 9)-class carriers. Each team...

People planes places.(multiple naval aviation news briefs)
January 1, 2003... Awards The aircraft rescue and firefighting team at MCAS Yuma, Ariz., received the 2001 Marine Corps Fire Department of the Year award, presented to the unit with the best records in customer service, innovation, quality management and...

Status change of Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher.(flier now considered 'Missing-Captured')(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... On 11 October 2002, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Gordon England announced a revision to the status of Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher. Then a LCdr., he has been unaccounted for since his VFA-81 F/A-lB Hornet was shot down over Iraq on the...

Connie departs.
January 1, 2003... Below, Constellation (CV 64) departs NAS North Island, Calif., for a six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Right, l-r, CO Capt. John W. Miller, Connie Battle Group Commander RAdm. Barry Costello, and Commander CVW-2...

Read and heed.(anti-aircraft fire returned by leaflet drops over no-fly zones, Iraq)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Iraqi forces continue to fire antiaircraft artillery at coalition aircraft enforcing no-fly zones over Iraq. Subsequently, coalition planes have been dropping leaflets urging Iraqi military forces not to engage coaltion aircrews. The leaflets...

Taking aim.
January 1, 2003... AW23(AW/SW) Tam my Gonzalez of VP-1 operates the Advanced Imaging Multi-0spectral Sensor (AIMS) aboard a P-3C Orion during a routine mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Naval Aviation critical to war on terrorism.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Two-thirds of the Navy's carrier force has deployed since the attacks on 11 September and Naval Aviation will continue to play a critical role in the war on terrorism, stated Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vein Clark, right, during a speech at...

Carrier pilot learns secrets of Wright brothers.(Lieutenant Commander Klas Ohman flies replica of 1902 glider)
January 1, 2003... Lieutenant Commander Klas Ohman, a Hawk (CV 63) F/A-18C Hornet and Navy test pilot, right, recently completed an aviation archaeology expedition at Jockey's Ridge State Park, N.C., retracing discoveries made by the pioneers of aviation 100...

Burgers on the barbey.
January 1, 2003... Members of the Australian air force hosted a barbeque at NAS North Island, Calif, that raised $200 for Navy-Marine Corps Relief. The main dish was "Aussie Burgers," a cheeseburger with a pineapple ring, a slice of beet and a fried egg. When...

Marine Aviation plants its "boots on the ground".
January 1, 2003... History was made on 24 August 2002, when a team of more than 30 Navy and Marine Corps flag officers toured MCAS Miramar, Calif., as part of the Naval Aviation Readiness Integrated Improvement Program (NAVRIIP) "Boots on the Ground" (BOG)...

'Advancement Jeopardy' helps fleet, shore sailors.(U.S. Naval Hospital, Yokusuka, Japan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A picture of Greeneville (SSN 772) in drydock comes on the screen. Can you name its class? Which U.S. president authorized the Purple Heart? These were a few of the questions at a recent "Advancement Jeopardy" game held at the U.S. Naval...

Munch-Ex '02.
January 1, 2003... Three new employees, Larry, Pete and Ron, were "hired" at NAF Key West, Fla., to help maintain the grass in the Seminole Battery area of the facility after no local contractor expressed interest in the job.

Professional reading.('An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft')(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... Nijboer, Donald. Photographs by Dan Patterson. Cockpit: An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Interiors. Boston Mills Press, 132 Main St., Erin, Ontario, Canada N0B 1T0. 2001. 176 pp. Ill. $39.95. Nijboer, Donald....