I bet the LSO wasn't happy about this one!

#1 Wire...rookie ;)
Correct me if I'm wrong, SuperHornet pilots are essentially out of the loop with carrier takeoffs/landings nowadays?
 
Not sure what you mean by "out of the loop." Super Hornet squadrons deploy on aircraft carriers, so they still have to take off and land on carriers... If you mean the plane lands and takes off "by itself", I would say no, they are no more out of that loop than FA-18C pilots. The Hornet is probably easier to land on the carrier than the Mighty Tomcat, but there is still plenty of "opportunities" to goon the landing... :d
 
Wing_Z said:
#1 Wire...rookie ;)
Correct me if I'm wrong, SuperHornet pilots are essentially out of the loop with carrier takeoffs/landings nowadays?
Click to expand...

Don't know about that, but if I'd been on deck when this Tomcat landed, I would've been heading for the catwalks.....

NC
 
PRB said:
... If you mean the plane lands and takes off "by itself", I would say no, they are no more out of that loop than FA-18C pilots...
Click to expand...

When the Hornet is launched, the pilot is a passenger, he does not touch anything (other than the grab handle on the canopy!).
I wondered if the landings are automatic too, it is entirely feasible.
 
Wing_Z said:
When the Hornet is launched, the pilot is a passenger, he does not touch anything (other than the grab handle on the canopy!).
I wondered if the landings are automatic too, it is entirely feasible.
Click to expand...

It is true the pilot doesn't touch the control stick during the cat shot. It has something to do with the flight control system, but I don't remember what, exactly, it is. It's true of all Hornets, "regular" and "super." And, the pilot does have to grab the stick as soon as it's wheels off the deck, so in that sense, it isn't really anymore automatic than the other planes, because S-3 (for example) pilots don't mess with the control stick until the plane gets off the edge of the ship either...

All navy planes have Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS), through which the ship tracks the plane's approach with it's SPIN-42 radar system, and can transmit course corrections directly to the plane's automatic pilot system, and actually "fly" the plane to touchdown without the pilot touching the controls. This system has been around for some time. However, the system disengages a few seconds before actual touchdown, and the pilot has to take over from there. It's used only is very (very) bad weather situations.

TARPSBird said:
The squadron's Airframes guys probably weren't too thrilled either with him coming down hard on that starboard main mount. :d
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Grumman Iron Works, baby!
 
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