Hawkeyes!

[Goober]

5.5??!! That is nothing, try 10.4 in a Prowler. At least in an E-2 you can get up if you really need to, I was ready to climb the walls after hour 8.....OF course, nothing can beat the guy sitting next to me in the back who went that entire time without going to the bathroom......at all....

As for the refuelling probe, welcome to the club.......

Oh no...been there, done that (well, at least 8 anyway). I was an S-3 SENSO for years before the switch. While the tactical practicality of the probe would have made life easier in OEF, I can't say I'm welcoming the addition w/ great excitement. The Israeli E-2s were equipped w/ one, and word has it the plane is already plumbed for it and only in need of the actual probe.

Back to the track the post was on, relief tubes, yes. Anything other than the "expedient" deuce solution though is non-existent. We're feeling the same pain the jet guys are if we get the probe.

 

[A4sForever]

I am preparing a presentation having to do with flaps and my professor used to fly the E-2. Can someone tell me what kind of high lift devices (flaps, leading edge devices, boundary layer control devices) is the E-2 equipped with?

I don't know WTF they had on their wings ... I just know they were a b!tch to wave at the blunt end of the BOAT when their piloto-s got sloppy or when they got "in the bucket" ....

Sooper Stoof with a Roof = Hummer

 

[Harrier Dude]

Back to the threadjack.....

Since E-2s don't have ejection seats, why are they so hard? You would think that they'd have put Lazy-Boys in there. Why the pain for no good reason? Just curious.

 

[MasterBates]

Same reason the -60 has crap seats, they are cheaper.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

But calling people aviators babies for having to sit on a hard metal/ballisticlly tolerant seat for 3, 4, 5, 8+ hours is a bit much, even if it wasn't totally serious.

For the record, of course it was said in jest. Now, on to the more important issue. If you guys can't take a joke from a silly shoe, you've got problems. Gatordev, you're not getting soft are you?

 

[Harrier Dude]

Same reason the -60 has crap seats, they are cheaper.

It's funny you mention the -60. I sat in one once, and the first thing I thought of was how comfortable the seats were. Really soft, as I recall. You should sit in an ejection seat sometime. They're painful, but there is a valid reason for it (seat slap).

 

[MasterBates]

What model? Our seat are trashed here, torn, lumbar supports missing/fubar, etc.

A couple have been "upgraded" with -s cushions and are better. Not due to design, but new.

I have sat in 1 bird that we bought oregon aero pads for, and it was AWESOME! But they made us take the cushions out.

 

[Flash]

What model? Our seat are trashed here, torn, lumbar supports missing/fubar, etc.

A couple have been "upgraded" with -s cushions and are better. Not due to design, but new.

I have sat in 1 bird that we bought oregon aero pads for, and it was AWESOME! But they made us take the cushions out.

Why??!! It is not like it is an ejection seat, what harm is it going to do? And who made you take them out in the first place?

 

[Harrier Dude]

What model? Our seat are trashed here, torn, lumbar supports missing/fubar, etc.

A couple have been "upgraded" with -s cushions and are better. Not due to design, but new.

I have sat in 1 bird that we bought oregon aero pads for, and it was AWESOME! But they made us take the cushions out.

The one I sat in was a B (USS Princeton), but that was in 1993, so maybe they're all worn out by now. In any case, I don't see why aircraft without ejection seats (to include the T-34, which seats SUCK) don't have more comfortable cushions.

As a sidenote, at the Harrier SSWG a few years ago this subject came up with our seats. Flying 5+ hours strapped to an ejection seat (even one relatively "comfortable" by ejection seat standards like ours) was making guys legs go numb and causing lots of problems (attention drain, stress, physical limitations). Somebody brought up the Oregon Aero pads that "the Hornet guys are using" and got shot in the face.

The pads were depicted in an advertisment for the company as basically "ready for issue" and implied that it was OK to do so. The AMSO at the conference (navy Captain) was adamant that NAVAIR hadn't signed off on any of them, and quite to the contrary, had prohibited them in all TACAIR (including the Hornet) due to testing for seat slap and other aerodynamic issues. More testing and development needed to be done.

We all know that the only way that any of that will happen is with money. The only way money will flow to that is to make it a SOF/Operational necessity issue rather than comfort. He said that as soon as anybody used the word "comfort" the guys recieving the pitch eyes glazed over and the money well dried up. Nobody really cares about comfort.

I have no idea where this stands, but I doubt that anything will happen anytime soon. Get your cheeks in shape and stand by for the pain.


.........well that sure didn't come out sounding too good.

 

[Gatordev]

@Steve:

Sometimes I can't tell, what w/ the interweb. I think the same thing happens to you and A4s sometimes.

It's funny you mention the -60. I sat in one once, and the first thing I thought of was how comfortable the seats were. Really soft, as I recall. You should sit in an ejection seat sometime. They're painful, but there is a valid reason for it (seat slap).

The problem is not the seat cushion when new. The way you make the 60B comfortable (can't speak for the other models, since they have the bullet proof seats) is order new seat cushions. It's not hard to do. It may take a while to get them, but just sitting around and complaining about how bad they are won't help.

However, the problem comes in that the foam they use is so cheap that it breaks down very quickly, as Master said. And as we all know, there's only so much money to go around, and only so many cushions can be purchased (when not on cruise) before the MMCO and MCO start taking prisoners.

I've mentioned this before, but here it goes again... Harrier Dude, the T-34 cushions are actually different than when you (and I) went through as studs. They're the "better" memory foam. Of course, they're not the highest end foam, so the "memory" is basically in it's squished state after a little while and you're right back to where we were before. Oh well...progress.

 

[e6bflyer]

I've mentioned this before, but here it goes again... Harrier Dude, the T-34 cushions are actually different than when you (and I) went through as studs. They're the "better" memory foam. Of course, they're not the highest end foam, so the "memory" is basically in it's squished state after a little while and you're right back to where we were before. Oh well...progress.

True. When we went through flight school, they were covered with Naugahide, resulting in sweaty ass and balls from preflight to shutdown. That, coupled with the crappy foam, led to many lost training days due to ass pain and jock itch.
The new ones are only slightly better. I am digging the cloth seats, but the "memory foam" isn't exactly "soft". Coming from the giant sheepskin recliners with adjustable lumbar that we had in the Merc, I am in ass hell. I tried to borrow a cushion, but I don't think it helped in the least.
Anyone have any suggestions for a good/reasonably priced cushion?

Oh, yeah, and the E-2 has flaps and stuff.

 

[Gatordev]

True. When we went through flight school, they were covered with Naugahide, resulting in sweaty ass and balls from preflight to shutdown. That, coupled with the crappy foam, led to many lost training days due to ass pain and jock itch.
The new ones are only slightly better. I am digging the cloth seats, but the "memory foam" isn't exactly "soft". Coming from the giant sheepskin recliners with adjustable lumbar that we had in the Merc, I am in ass hell. I tried to borrow a cushion, but I don't think it helped in the least.
Anyone have any suggestions for a good/reasonably priced cushion?

Oh, yeah, and the E-2 has flaps and stuff.

On the road, I use the el cheapo Wings green cushion. I rented the Oregan Aero cushion from logistics, but it just didn't feel right. Sitting on a cushion which is on top of a cushion is weird. I usually suck it up when I'm local.

 

[Tom]

I appreciate all the helps with the "flaps and stuff" guys. Not only were ALL of my questions answered but I was able to realize the importance of clean underwear, showering and Gold Bond.

 

[A4sForever]

I appreciate all the help..... Not only were ALL of my questions answered but I was able to realize the importance of clean underwear, showering and Gold Bond.

Then you are a better man than you were 3 days ago ... Que Bueno.

 

[Tom]

So is all of Naval Aviation pretty much a male sports team in a locker room goofing around?