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The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery...part DEUX
- Thread starter Gatordev
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31st? How is the Osprey doing on the boat?
Correct, 31st. Mixed bag of pics from spring patrol with HMM-262 and summer patrol with VMM-265. Big picture is that the Osprey works as advertised on the boat. Osprey integration on the boat isn't without its challenges. LHDs were made for Phrogs and the Osprey just doesn't fit as well so it comes with some costs. Different maintenance procedures that require moves outside of flight quarters that the air department isn't manned for. It comes with a lot of additional stuff that eats up a lot of room in the hangar. Bigger footprint changes moving it; you can't pull past once spread. It uses a lot more gas. The wind envelop is more restrictive which basically turns the boat into a carrier that always has to be in the wind. This requires the boat to use more gas to stay in the wind and then regain PIM. I could go on, but these are solvable issues.
Aha, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and the gorgeous Sydney Opera House. Lookin' good, brings back great memories!
BzB
I don't believe one way or the other. All I'm saying is (for everyone) to be careful so they don't have to make a trip down ENTERPRISE St. It's not like it's been an issue in the past. Oh wait, it was.
But what would I know...
@Pags,
I have no operational reason to look this up, so figured I'd ask here... Spots 3a (and I think 4a, if I remember correctly) used to be Skid/Huey only. Are they now -60 approved? I ask because of one of your first shots.
You're thinking LHA, not LHD. On an LHD the starboard bow spots are numbered 1 and 3. Off the top of my head I know it's legal to launch Skids, 60s, and Phrogs from there. I think you might be legal to operate V-22s and Shitters from there, but I don't remember all the restrictions off the top of my head as we never had a reason to do it.
It was very rare to use those spots even for the smaller helos because Spots 1 and 3 are usually clobbered by the all the aircraft boned up front. In the pic I posted we were using it for some pierside flying that was required for some high level tasking; in that case it made sense to move all the Marine a/c to the port side so SAR could fly and stay away from pier obstructions. The only other time we ever used them was when most of the ACE was ashore and then we could have a dedicated SAR helo spot on the bow.
One of the squadrons spent an entire patrol coming up with all sorts of crazy plans that required the use of seven spots. It took a lot of explaining and whiteboarding to show them that the work it would take to free up those spots for one launch would end up costing them several other spots while we were re-spotting. Bless their evil green brains, they never gave up asking for a seventh spot. I think on their fly off we ended up giving it to them mostly as a joke.
The forward spots are also basically impossible to see from tower and you end up having to use the camera an increased comms with the LSE and Deck Caller to keep SA on what's going on. For the pierside ops pictured and for non-standard jump jet fighter ops to spot 4, we'd often use "Forward Primary", aka the bridge, to get better visuals on the bow spots.
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Wait, they're not the same thing? They're both gray, flat and spinny things fly off of them. I think you're just making up stories .
(but thanks for the info)
No doubt. Just don't be the guy who not only made a selfie video during VT CQ and put it on the interwebs, but also hired a pro photographer to shoot him in the jet during the FRS on a weekend without telling anyone. There are potentially some other more important don'ts in the final chapter of that story, but I'll leave it at that.
I wouldn't expect an HSL guy to know the difference....or how to operate at either.
We had an HSL boss and every time an HSL bird came to our deck we'd bet the boss if the HSL guys knew how to operate at the gator. Much to our delight, they'd goon something up every time. The best was a 60B that tried to land on the 45deg crows foot.
All I know how to do is land in the dirt and chase and shoot fast boats.
And why wouldn't you land on the Crow's foot? It's HSL...like the Germans, everything must be in order.
In Haiti, we split our crews so that each crew had someone who was either a prior CVW guy or at least had been to the carrier before. ORM in action. I never got yelled at when operating from the Gator. I don't think any of us were as successful at the CVN.
And why wouldn't you land on the Crow's foot? It's HSL...like the Germans, everything must be in order.
In Haiti, we split our crews so that each crew had someone who was either a prior CVW guy or at least had been to the carrier before. ORM in action. I never got yelled at when operating from the Gator. I don't think any of us were as successful at the CVN.
That's because the CV hates helos.
If HSL was so orderly you'd think at least one det would have looked at LHD Natops...or sent an email to us.
HSL lands in the dirt? Are you at one of the reserve units flying Hotels now?
Malo83
Keep the Faith
CDR. "Tex" Cole, VC-6, VBF-152, VR-23
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51142
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51142
No, this was in Bravos, but that's what happens when your XO-turned-CO is a HCS guy. Our squadron was not a conventional HSL squadron, beyond just playing in the dirt, because it was Reserve. Some people balked at it, but personally I found it far more interesting than just flying in a triangle for 80 miles at a time. And as it turned out, it became very useful in several countries during deployments.
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