General Category > Unofficial F/A-18 Acceleration Pack board
Lap Around the Boat
SpazSinbad:
As fate will have it there is an RAN FAA LSO logbook PDF from 1980 at 43Mbs online for download at:
http://www.filefront.com/6895657/805LSOlog1980context.pdf/ (43Mbs) "805LSOlog1980context.pdf"
(left click on the above link to go to the download page first)
There are any number of various graded passes to HMAS Melbourne plus some FCLP (or MADDLS as they were formerly called in RAN "Mirror Assisted Dummy Deck Landings"). There is a 'mythical perfect OK pass' recorded in this logbook also - carried out by the very first RAN LSO who after 12 years could do such a thing. He is the 'SP' which in the RAN FAA means "Senior Pilot" (same as the XO in USN 'Executive Officer or Second in Command of the Squadron [CO]).
Also you will see some passes recorded made by the current CAF of the RAAF (Chief of Air Force) AM Mark Binskin, who at that time was a Midshipman A4G pilot who transferred to the RAAF when the 'fixed wing folded' in 1984. In the FCLP pages (towards the back of the PDF) you will see that 'wires' not recorded.
'Stumpf' on the LSO page is the USN Exchange pilot who went on to become the Blue Angels Leader with Hornets.
Same PDF example (with fewer extraneous pages probably) can be found here also:
http://www.a4ghistory.com/VF-805-LSO-log-Early1980pp66.pdf (38Mb)
SpazSinbad:
Screenshot from Utube video below shows A4G pilot view of HMAS Melbourne. The pilot is NOT going to land but is only pretending to approach for filming purposes. As you can see the deck is foul, with a tractor (or film crew filming the A4G approaching) in the landing area with an A4G on the catapult (which also means deck is foul because the landing foul line goes over the cat track). "Patrol Boat" was a TV series about the RAN Patrol Boats at that time (as a TV non-reality drama) in the late 1970s when this film was made for a segment about the carrier and aircraft: [BTW the pilot seen here (in the video) is an actor in 'Patrol Boat' saying a scripted line to the plane captain. "Fish head" is a well accepted [humourous] term for the ordinary Navy (RAN) personnel used by the 'Birdies' and vice versa.]
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l261/SpazSinbad/A4GpilotViewHMASmelbourne.jpg
Paddles:
Spaz, brilliant video! 8)
I love that "How can you guys land on that mini-ship..." ;D BTW, was it a standard procedure in a Skyhawk to deploy speedbrakes when coming aboard?
SpazSinbad:
fsxnp, The 'around the boat' video has caught on. Go here for comments by USN peoples. :D Here is one comment (whether or not 'Comjam' is an LSO I don't know) and I would dispute that anyone could get a good idea of the approach in that video for various reasons explained.... Anyway here is 'the LSO' comments from that other 'NeptunusLex' website:
http://www.neptunuslex.com/2010/06/25/tracom-cq/
Comjam: "TWA(may be camera parallax) LIG LURAW CBAR (OK) But who cares, the young ‘un made it!"
Spaz: "TWA=Too Wide Abeam; LIG=Long In the Groove; LURAW=Lined Up Right All the Way; CBAR=Coming Back to line up At the Ramp; (OK)=Fair [Grade] Reasonable Deviations - YMMV (YourMileageMayVary)"
Comjam: "…and, I might add, just about the most fun anyone can have with their clothes on. During the day."
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In the olden tymes when speedbrakes were speedbrakes (separate bits of metal for the use of) they were deployed as SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). The reason being that the extra slight drag at landing airspeed allowed the engine to be at a higher RPM for Optimum Angle of Attack. This allowed a better engine response for carrier landing. Jet engines have a spool up time that was much longer in the days before sophisticated engine control. Any adverse effects such as the slight amount of extra fuel used were negligible. Also note that the speedbrakes are retracted when engine goes to full power during arrest/bolter. This would seemingly give a better aircraft response overall during a bolter/waveoff for example.
Voodoo:
--- Quote ---The reason being that the extra slight drag at landing airspeed allowed the engine to be at a higher RPM for Optimum Angle of Attack. This allowed a better engine response for carrier landing. Jet engines have a spool up time that was much longer in the days before sophisticated engine control.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, the old A6's were the same, Spaz. The principle works quite well in FSX too for a few planes!!
Question: Is use of speedbrakes in the approach a "no-no" nowadays for planes such as the Hornet?
Great videos, BTW!
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