The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery

[Gatordev]

Eek, vertrep on the forward station of an FFG. Must've been disconcerting for the guys on the bridge. Helo pad clobbered or something?

No, it's just another place you can do it (I know you know this), so we did it there. It was a combination of a training exercise for one of the 2Ps (forward VERTREP) and the need to move some contraband to a CG cutter.

What's up with that FLIR on the starboard station. I have never seen it there.

That aircraft is a Block .75 (Block 0 airframe), so it doesn't have the license plate up front. We also had a Block 1 w/ the mount up front, but kept the FLIR on the side on both of them because it's much easier to do MIO w/ a side-mount. Sadly, we weren't going to be shooting anything in theatre, so there was no need for it up front. Although I still maintain to this day that had we had a collimnator and -299 onboard, the CO would have let us shoot at a boat to sink it. Instead we spent all day taking pop shots at it. But that's another story.

 

[Uncle Fester]

No, it's just another place you can do it (I know you know this), so we did it there. It was a combination of a training exercise for one of the 2Ps (forward VERTREP) and the need to move some contraband to a CG cutter.

I knew it could be done, but never saw it done. Combination of our DesRon didn't allow them, for whatever reason, and we had salty old-dawg Reservista H-2 guys who didn't need any damn training and didn't do vertreps anymore anyway.

Did land an H-3 on our flight deck once, though my boat was one of the old Flight I (pre-H-60) decks. It was an HC bird supporting a drone shoot off San Clemente. Started shitting hyd fluid, San Clemente too far, we were the only flight deck around. Juuuuust managed to squeeze on by landing athwartships - I think each tire was about a foot from the deck edge - but they did it.

One more example of how NATOPS stands for "Not Applicaple To Our Present Situation".

 

[Junkball]

Instead we spent all day taking pop shots at it. But that's another story.

Let's hear about the sinking of the DPRK's PLAN's great vessel, the San Jose!

 

[zipmartin]

While digitizing my photos and slides, I came across these pics I aquired from the base photo lab, back when we were getting ready to shut down NAS Dallas. I'd forgotten I had them. No dates were on the back. Could A4sForever be hiding behind those masks? Notice the wing-down, top-rudder, venting-fuel-from-the-dump-mast-to-get-a-good-shot in the top picture.

 

[Gatordev]

Did land an H-3 on our flight deck once, though my boat was one of the old Flight I (pre-H-60) decks. It was an HC bird supporting a drone shoot off San Clemente. Started shitting hyd fluid, San Clemente too far, we were the only flight deck around. Juuuuust managed to squeeze on by landing athwartships - I think each tire was about a foot from the deck edge - but they did it.

I thought the FFG FLT I could land the H-3 since it went in diagonally. It fits just fine on the FLT II (or whatever they're called), but I know that capstan isn't in the way. I always figured the capstan is what prevented the -60 from landing there (officially).

we had salty old-dawg Reservista H-2 guys who didn't need any damn training

Interestingly enough, I know there's one HSL east coast guy who did some forward VERTREP a year or so ago BECAUSE of a salty old reservist. But I know what you're sayin'.

Let's hear about the sinking of the DPRK's PLAN's great vessel, the San Jose!

Are you serious or am I missing a joke?

 

[exhelodrvr]

I knew it could be done, but never saw it done. Combination of our DesRon didn't allow them, for whatever reason, and we had salty old-dawg Reservista H-2 guys who didn't need any damn training and didn't do vertreps anymore anyway.

Did land an H-3 on our flight deck once, though my boat was one of the old Flight I (pre-H-60) decks. It was an HC bird supporting a drone shoot off San Clemente. Started shitting hyd fluid, San Clemente too far, we were the only flight deck around. Juuuuust managed to squeeze on by landing athwartships - I think each tire was about a foot from the deck edge - but they did it.

One more example of how NATOPS stands for "Not Applicaple To Our Present Situation".

When was that? My old squadron (HC-85) if between 93 and 2007, or HC-1 if prior to that.

 

[exhelodrvr]

Eek, vertrep on the forward station of an FFG. Must've been disconcerting for the guys on the bridge. Helo pad clobbered or something?

I did that once to med evac a sailor with a broken arm, when there was some type of electronics "van" on the helo deck. Not an especially comfortable feeling for the helo crew, either! (At least when you haven't done a vertrep to the forward station before.)

 

[A4sForever]

.... Could A4sForever be hiding behind those masks.....???

ACTUALLY ... one of my 2 helmets WAS a red form-fit and the 1st & 3rd pix look like one of our periodic "recce's" over east Texas ... this one looking suspiciously like Lake Tawokoni or Lake Fork Reservoir ...

 

[Mumbles]

Though I've neve angled there......Lake Fork is renowned for producing monsters!!

biggest goddamn crappie I've ever seen!

 

[Junkball]

Quote:
Let's hear about the sinking of the DPRK's PLAN's great vessel, the San Jose!

Are you serious or am I missing a joke?

Wasn't sure if it belonged to Comrade Mao's heavenly fleet or Kim Jong Il's glorious armada... so, lets hear it!

 

[Gatordev]

Wasn't sure if it belonged to Comrade Mao's heavenly fleet or Kim Jong Il's glorious armada... so, lets hear it!

If it belonged to either, I think you'd have heard about it on the news. Both this vessel and another that was intercepted a week earlier belonged to certain family in South America. From what I was told, they were not happy.

http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=17880

 

[Uncle Fester]

I thought the FFG FLT I could land the H-3 since it went in diagonally. It fits just fine on the FLT II (or whatever they're called), but I know that capstan isn't in the way. I always figured the capstan is what prevented the -60 from landing there (officially).

Officially, the short-hull FFG's weren't supposed to land H-3's. There were H-3 wind tables in the tower book, but they seemed to be for vertreps. We also had tables for H-53s, Phrogs, all kinds of things that I know we couldnt land. We took the last operational SH-2G's on cruise with us.

The aft capstan was why we couldn't take -60's, true; there wasn't enough tail rotor clearance. The long-hull boats had their transom angled out about 30 degrees or so, which gave extra, lowered deck space aft of the flight deck. For the H-3, I think the issue was about rotor clearance from the hangar...not sure, I just know they only did it because the other option was swimming.

 

[Gatordev]

Officially, the short-hull FFG's weren't supposed to land H-3's. There were H-3 wind tables in the tower book, but they seemed to be for vertreps. We also had tables for H-53s, Phrogs, all kinds of things that I know we couldnt land. We took the last operational SH-2G's on cruise with us.

The aft capstan was why we couldn't take -60's, true; there wasn't enough tail rotor clearance. The long-hull boats had their transom angled out about 30 degrees or so, which gave extra, lowered deck space aft of the flight deck. For the H-3, I think the issue was about rotor clearance from the hangar...not sure, I just know they only did it because the other option was swimming.

Gotcha.

BT BT

Let's hear about the sinking of ... the San Jose!

Here's a quick and dirty clip.

 

[Old R.O.]

Old R.O. Picture of the Day for 17 December 2008

Canopy roll over a VF-301 F-4S, circa 1981

 

[Pugs]

VAQ-141 blk 82 Prowler on a Roosey Det in 89. IIRC this was one of the points on the southern LL around the island.

I always had a good time down there. VFR flying and the Red Air mission was always a little different.