JIMI...
Im at work, but have a few questions to ask the Hornet driver when you get back to class. What do they fly the pattern at? 150 or Yellow donut, whatever it higher? Or at whatever speed to maintain interval? Also, do they use rudder IN-THE-PATTERN or during the approach phase? Or both? Whats a common abeam length?
Ok, this is the response I got:
1) The pattern is always flown on-speed (yellow donut) with minor changes only used for interval correction.
2) We never use rudder in the pattern. The hornet is fly-by-wire and has an amazing flight control computer that we can only confuse if we use rudder. The rudder in the hornet is used for tactical maneuvers or emergencies only.
3) The Standard abeam length for a vintage hornet is 1.3-1.5 miles.
Hope this helps.
My dad said they never used rudder in the pattern either and his aircraft weren't fly-by-wire (A-3, A-7, F-4). So I guess no rudder regardless.
He said the A-3 was by far the hardest to get aboard, had to be super smooth. It would float through the glide slope, and he'd keep pulling off power, and then it would fall through the glide slope, and the engines would take forever to spool back up. And, the A-3 had asymetrical thrust issues with the engines so far apart. He would get a yaw rate developed on final, but he didn't correct with rudder--he would just stagger the throttles.
When he went to A-7's, the LSO said he was trying to be way too smooth. he said to man-handle it more: if you're high, don't finese it down, dump the nose and power immediately and reestablish with the counter corrections.
And then the F-4, by far the easiest behind the boat. He said it glided like a safe, and the power was so instaneous and enormous that essentially the meatball was attached to the throttle.
