A Day On The Catapults...

[Single Seat]

I'm sure that you do. But for us wet-behind-the-ears SNAs on their first few traps, I thought it was better to be safe than sorry, both as a practical matter (trickling off the boat) and an academic matter (getting a down or "unwanted attention" from Paddles).

I think my first trap the air boss had to tell me to throttle back. "We've gotcha 188...." Followed there after by "Rotate" going off the cat. "Holy shit I'm flying again."


A4's, you're right on about the habit pattern. There were times I'd be getting parked and not even remember if I had done everything right on the trap. It just becomes muscle memory. You even start to develop a feel for where you touched down. Having the three stripped is always fun because you get that taxi 4 if you're just wee bit high. I actually shouted into my mask thinking I had boltered just as I grabbed the 4 one night.

 

[Harrier Dude]

The first time I CQ'ed was just a blurrrrr-r-r-r-r.

That's for sure. Anybody that says different is either lying, or is too stupid to realize what they just did.

 

[BigIron]

And Big Iron, that picture made me throw up in my mouth.

Me too. I aim to please.

 

[BigIron]

I thought that the prep they gave us for the flight deck routine was kind of lacking. I was very confused the first time I trapped. I had only a vague idea where to go, who to look at, and what to expect. They basically said "Just do what the guy in the yellow shirt says to do". I didn't realize that there would be around 50 of those guys there. Also, the whole catapult signals and functions were kind of a mystery.....

I wonder if this is still the case. For you guys that have recently CQd in the TRACOM, what kind of brief about flight deck ops do you get?

 

[A4sForever]

.... I thought that the prep they gave us for the flight deck routine was kind of lacking. I was very confused the first time I trapped. I had only a vague idea where to go, who to look at, and what to expect. They basically said "Just do what the guy in the yellow shirt says to do". I didn't realize that there would be around 50 of those guys there. Also, the whole catapult signals and functions were kind of a mystery. .....

This was/is completely UNSAT and reflects poorly on the TRAWING and your LSO's. Period. There should be NO MYSTERIES. You may be scared, screwed up, and operating in a buzz-saw blurr ... but you should know what's next, what's next, where am I going -- all things being equal -- it should NOT be for a lack of chalk-talk on the beach prior to arriving in Delta. If this was the case; then there is just simply no excuse for you guys not being better prepared ....

On the other hand, I think initial CQ "harder" on everyone when we no longer have a dedicated CVT .. i.e., a LEXINGTON or a reasonable facsimile available. You really need a deck that does little else but qualify STUD-rookies wherein the CO, the BOSS, and in fact the entire Air Department know what they're dealing with and are trained and experienced accordingly.

I waved STUDs on a couple of Fleet BOATs and there was definitely a little finesse that had to be applied to the deck crews to "devolve" them into a tender-lovin' care & feeding TRACOM-STUD level of proficiency instead of what they were used to with seasoned Aviators ...

 

[Nose]

I was very confused the first time I trapped. I had only a vague idea where to go, who to look at, and what to expect.

A Marine confused at the boat? SAT IT AIN'T SO!

 

[BigIron]

. They'll have you and point to the next guy who's taking control.