Meridian VT-7, cross country?

[Jay Season]

I see a lot of T-45s doing touch-and-go landings at Huntsville (Alabama) International, guessing they are from VT-7 out of NAS Meridian (Mississippi)?

I always wonder: Those student naval aviators also conduct solo 'cross country' training flights, where might those take them? Do they perform multiples of those, of increasing lengths...?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Not today, Russia.

(Just kidding)

 

[Anthony2000]

I see a lot of T-45s doing touch-and-go landings at Huntsville (Alabama) International, guessing they are from VT-7 out of NAS Meridian (Mississippi)?

I always wonder: Those student naval aviators also conduct solo 'cross country' training flights, where might those take them? Do they perform multiples of those, of increasing lengths...?

They fly into AZ a lot. Scottsdale,AZ KSDL gets them frequently my buddy when he was in the T-45 was able to fly in to Scottsdale where he grew up and I was able to go out there and check out the plane!

 

[Anthony2000]

They fly into AZ a lot. Scottsdale,AZ KSDL gets them frequently my buddy when he was in the T-45 was able to fly in to Scottsdale where he grew up and I was able to go out there and check out the plane!

There’s also a low level route in AZ they practice on. Forgot the VR they fly

 

[Skywalker]

I see a lot of T-45s doing touch-and-go landings at Huntsville (Alabama) International, guessing they are from VT-7 out of NAS Meridian (Mississippi)?

I always wonder: Those student naval aviators also conduct solo 'cross country' training flights, where might those take them? Do they perform multiples of those, of increasing lengths...?

I'd hardly call that a cross country - but even being an SNA in Kingsville, I can see why they'd love it for RI flights. Sits right off of a J route and has 12000 and 10000 foot runways with ILS approaches to all of them.

The only solo SNA cross country events I'm aware of are the T-44 "brolo" event which has to stay in Texas, the helo "brolo" event that I know nothing about, and the jet air nav solo, which I believe is limited to a single leg out and single leg in. IPs I think have more flexibility in all cases.

 

[Swanee]

I'd hardly call that a cross country - but even being an SNA in Kingsville, I can see why they'd love it for RI flights. Sits right off of a J route and has 12000 and 10000 foot runways with ILS approaches to all of them.

The only solo SNA cross country events I'm aware of are the T-44 "brolo" event which has to stay in Texas, the helo "brolo" event that I know nothing about, and the jet air nav solo, which I believe is limited to a single leg out and single leg in. IPs I think have more flexibility in all cases.

We had a solo out and in back in 2012. My buddies and I went to Austin. New Orleans was also a popular destination.

You could go anywhere a bag of gas got you and you had to be back before the airfield closed. Later that was moved to sunset after an SNA took out a taxiway light after going IFR in the cockpit as the T-45 ECS would do.

They took that away?


Edit: I didn't read, they did not.

 

[nittany03]

You could go anywhere a bag of gas got you and you had to be back before the airfield closed. Later that was moved to sunset after an SNA took out a taxiway light after going IFR in the cockpit as the T-45 ECS would do.

At the end of one of my last XCs in Meridian, my IP and I had a complete ECS circus shitshow in the NMM bounce pattern because we were slow to get the defog going on descent. Ended up going RAM AIR and full-stopping. The reason it stuck in my head was seeing the NATOPS change when I came back to T-45s that labeled the MAX DEFOG setting as something like "yeah, this doesn't work the way the engineers said it would; don't use it."

Thanks, that would have been useful to know 3 years before . . .

 

[MIDNJAC]

Yeah, we did T-45 student solo CCX's somewhere in RI's I think.....maybe it was just after you started advanced, as a delayed event (like RI-17X or something)? Can't remember. I did Jackson MS, and had lunch, then went home. The statute of limitations has probably passed, but that is all I'll say.

 

[jollygreen07]

Ran into a few post-CQ Meridian bois on a solo down at Stennis. Looks like a great deal!

 

[jointhelocalizer]

I see a lot of T-45s doing touch-and-go landings at Huntsville (Alabama) International, guessing they are from VT-7 out of NAS Meridian (Mississippi)?

I always wonder: Those student naval aviators also conduct solo 'cross country' training flights, where might those take them? Do they perform multiples of those, of increasing lengths...?

Not in the way that resembles the FAA PPL/CPL requirements for Part 61/141. CCXs (Navy abbreviation for Cross Country) are typically used for instrument training flights and they are dual (Instructor Pilot on-board). You get a lot of approaches done, fly in the IFR system, talk to unfamiliar controllers, and go to a cool spot all in the process. CCXs also usually imply that you are staying there overnight. Going somewhere that isn't your home field, stopping and getting gas/lunch, and flying home is referred to as an out and in.

 

[Anthony2000]

Not in the way that resembles the FAA PPL/CPL requirements for Part 61/141. CCXs (Navy abbreviation for Cross Country) are typically used for instrument training flights and they are dual (Instructor Pilot on-board). You get a lot of approaches done, fly in the IFR system, talk to unfamiliar controllers, and go to a cool spot all in the process. CCXs also usually imply that you are staying there overnight. Going somewhere that isn't your home field, stopping and getting gas/lunch, and flying home is referred to as an out and in.

My regional airport KSDL (Scottsdale, AZ) gets T-6s, T-45s, Navy/Marine F-18s…. Harriers awhile back as well.

They all stay the night, very rarely is it a gas and go. Normally they pop in on a Fri and leave Sun morning. The Sharpshooters came in once and were here for a week.

 

[Wumwuts]

They took that away?

It's still there. I got to go to Savannah GA for a long weekend. Good deal.