Stupid questions about Naval Aviation (Pt 2)

[yak52driver]

Okay, I know this question will fit in the Stupid Questions thread, but the picture makes me wonder, do carriers ever get struck by lightning? They've got to be the highest point for it to strike when they are in a storm at sea, so I'm guessing they do. How are crew members on deck protected? (if that's not an opsec issue to answer)

 

[A4sForever]

LOL, I had same thought! Then my brain started thinking about Katherine Ross....

...and how the Zeroes almost did her in!

Oh, Mommy ... in the ol' days, Katherine Ross was one of the 2-3 women I WAS TERMINALLY IN LOVE WITH ... !!!

Had the opportunity presented itself ... I would have drunk her bath water ...

Believe it.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Since you mentioned the Hummer Hole - the determining factor is deck-edge power, as there's only a few spots where the Boat power is 'sweet' enough for the Hummer's finicky-ass external power connectors. So they can only be spotted for startup/maintenance in the Hummer Hole/Junkyard and Cat 1. There's another suitable power spot on the port side aft of Cat 4 - or so I've been told, I never saw one spotted there myself. They can certainly be parked elsewhere, but seldom are; you can't do anything without external power, and they're out of the way in the Hummer Hole, which is where the Handler wants them.

Speaking of The Final Countdown...you ever wonder where, on a circa-1980's Boat, they would have found dungarees cut to fit Ms Ross?

Not complaining, mind...just wondering.

 

[jmcquate]

Is that a yaw string on those Tomcats?

 

[Swanee]

Is that a yaw string on those Tomcats?

Yes

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145509&pagenumber=

 

[GreenLantern330]

Yes and no. Depends on what's going on at a particular time (ie launch or recovery or respot or pulling into port or even for a staged photo op, etc.). Take a look at images and pick one that suits your fancy.

020801-N-8794V-029 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Aug. 1, 2002) -- Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) man the rails during arrival honors, as the ship and air wing prepare for a short port visit. Abraham Lincoln and Carrier Air Wing One Four (CVW-14) began a regularly scheduled deployment in July and will be conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Kittie VandenBosch. (RELEASED)

Now this might seem like a REALLY dumb question, but when/why does the crew ever stand all around the deck like that?

 

[SynixMan]

Now this might seem like a REALLY dumb question, but when/why does the crew ever stand all around the deck like that?

They are "Manning the Rails" as they arrive into port, specifically here to honor the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor.

 

[eddie]

What are the advantages to storage of aircraft topside vs. below decks?

 

[wlawr005]

What are the advantages to storage of aircraft topside vs. below decks?

-There are always planes in the hangar going through various stages of periodic/phase maintenance, sometimes it's nice to have a little room.
-Alert planes are spotted and ready for launch (or close to it), and there is usually almost always an alert, even if it's just the SAR bird.
-Less planes to blow up if the hangar deck catches fire. It's usually easier to shitcan a flaming plane from the flight deck.
-It easier to park them up top than to run the elevator 50-100 times to put them in and bring them out again.
-Planes on the flight deck hide dirt from the Airboss, therefore less flight deck scrubdowns? Maybe not.

I'm empty...next?

 

[Uncle Fester]

Planes that need serious maintenance get struck below; otherwise, it's just a matter of shuffling the planes around so everything fits, you can launch/recover, whichever they're doing next, the Boat stays trimmed up, etc. For example, there's really no way to spot all 4 E-2's topside at the same time when the whole Air Wing's aboard. But rolling a Hummer in and out of the HD is a pain in the ass for everyone involved. So your crankiest plane gets sent below and quickly becomes the hangar queen. Until another plane goes hard down, then it goes to the basement and Maint Control scurries around trying to get the hangar queen back up.

 

[A4sForever]

Planes that need serious maintenance get struck below; otherwise ...

True, quite true ... seemed like it was either this:

Image by A4sForever

Or this:

Image by A4sForever

 

[jmcquate]

With the exception of HMX-1 Whitetops, how come the USMC never used the UH-60?

 

[phrogdriver]

Because it didn't fit in with its purchase priorities. It was discussed as a Huey replacement, but that went away. You can chalk that up to one or more of the following: Bell Helicopter's political muscle, the "synergy" of a common H-1 platform, budget reasons (even though it'd be cheaper for the DOD as a whole to buy H-60s, it's cheaper to the USMC to buy UH-1s), and the fact that a 60 filling a utility role would lift more than a medium-lift H-46.

As to why an H-60 didn't replace the CH-46, the Corps had already signed on to the V-22 as the future medium-lift aircraft. That's a topic we could go round and round on.

 

[exhelodrvr]

Planes that need serious maintenance get struck below; otherwise, it's just a matter of shuffling the planes around so everything fits, you can launch/recover, whichever they're doing next, the Boat stays trimmed up, etc. For example, there's really no way to spot all 4 E-2's topside at the same time when the whole Air Wing's aboard. But rolling a Hummer in and out of the HD is a pain in the ass for everyone involved. So your crankiest plane gets sent below and quickly becomes the hangar queen. Until another plane goes hard down, then it goes to the basement and Maint Control scurries around trying to get the hangar queen back up.

But there is no such thing as a hangar queen!!

 

[Kaman]

Judging by the attire on the flight deck it looks like a stand-down for either steel beach, Wog Day, or the very rare "rope yarn". Sure doesn't look an emergency pull forward/rig the barricade kind of day!

True, quite true ... seemed like it was either this:

Image by A4sForever

Or this:

Image by A4sForever