small world

[old2soon]

      micky ds this a m before church munched my sausage biscuit and struck up a conversation with who I Already KNEW was a Driver-18 wheels. Gittin to where I need to bail in order to make Services on time. And he mentions-I was an AME 2 on The USS Ranger 1974  1978! I was and AME 3 on The USS Yorktown!  And both of us were struck by How land locked Missouri is and 2 Former AMEs should meet in such a small town! Both of us wanted to talk more but he had a delivery 2moro and I Needed to git to Church.  So Indeed a Small World!  And got my chuckle fer the day as well!  RIDE SAFE.

[carolinarider09]

Yes, sometimes it seems like a small world.  I posted a picture, on another site, that I took back in 1972 or so while we were doing missile tests in Cape Canaveral.  It was posted on Facebook where there was a USS Patrick Henry group.  Three or four of the people in the photo recognized others. 

I was impressed.  Long time ago but you don't forget easily.   

[old2soon]

      YES-2 3 or 4 years or more That Change your Life FOREVER. And truth be told I Know I will NEVER be on an operating flight deck again.  But while I was on that flight deck as Dangerous at it was I had a Good Time!  RIDE SAFE.

[carolinarider09]

Yes, maybe a good time is not the words I would use but it was fun, educating, sobering, sometimes absorbing, and sometimes I wondered WTF......

Would I do it again knowing what I know now YES!.   Why?  Because the experience cannot be equaled anywhere else. 

Regarding the Flight Ops.  I remember watching flight ops from the island when I was on the USS Wasp.  A vary dangerous place (the flight deck).  Requires attention to detail and standards of operation.  I called it a "choreography of discipline". 

[scooperhsd]

It's a ballet in dangerous circumstances that is unforgiving of any mistakes made.

[carolinarider09]

It's a ballet in dangerous circumstances that is unforgiving of any mistakes made.

An excellent description. 

[old2soon]

    And I was amongst props helicopter rotors and jet intakes and jet exhausts. And once in awhile jest fer yuks and giggles some ordanace would detach on recovery.  I did NOT observe this but a target tug-older S 2-still don't understand How but the dang thing Was gonna land-recover on the York Boat-either the tail hook bolt broke or the tail hook frame failed But the dang thing dribbled off the bow and went fer a swim!  Crew egressed safely but the S 2 sank. And a Lot of times when I was a plane captain and this also occured on the S 2s in the other Squadron they'd come back with salt stains on the lower fuselage. The P Cs were sposed to wipe em down with turco while waiting on the next hop. P Cs were responsible for refueling refilling the oil tanks refill the fresh water and make SURE before launch that that coffee thermos was FULL and HOT! Anybody puked They cleaned it up. THAT was the Skippers S O P!  One of the first Butter Bars-Ensign-I dealt with managed to toss his lunch and he made a Very Bad Mistake-He was flying with the Skipper. NOT sure but he may have tossed his cookies a time or two more!  Good Memories. RIDE SAFE.

[RP#62]

I always liked this one:



-RP

[scooperhsd]

I always liked this one:



-RP

And when you combine them.....

[old2soon]

     A LOT of tests were run/performed on Naval Pilots during day and night traps-landing/recovery on an Aircraft Carrier. What was discovered is The FACT that on day traps Pilots heart rates did NOT increase by very much. Night traps on the other hand showed a remarkable spike in heart rates on the Same Pilots during the night traps. And Mechanical problems Could rear their ugly heads anytime But Mechanics and the Q C types tried Very Hard to Eliminate those problems. Ever tried to find hydraulic oil at night with a red lensed flash light? Hydraulic oil/fluid has a very didtinct odor and feels different from say engine oil. But then the trick shot was Finding WHERE the fluid was coming from!  More than once I'd heard Better SAFE than Sorry! While I was in The Navy any bird I'd worked on or P Cd on Never went in! To this very day I still find the Fact that I was Personally responsible for the well being of multi million dollar Aircraft some what overpowering! RIDE SAFE.

[carolinarider09]

I considered posting this several times and finally decided its ok. 

I only spent one year on the USS Wasp (CVS-13) as an Electronics Tech.  The flight deck is a choreography of talent and very dangerous.  As is Flight Ops. As is flying at night.   

While in the North Atlantic we lost one S-2 on a night op.  When the plane left the Cat, apparently a life raft stored on the outside of the fuselage got out and was wrapped around the tail surfaces.  I was in CIC when decisions were being made.  The pilot suggested the crew parachute out and then he would attempt to ditch the plane at sea.  The crew decided they would stay with the aircraft.  The pilot did ditch the plane but only he survived. 

After the North Atlantic run we went to Pensacola, FL to do some training on carrier ops.  The planes were jets (I forget the actual type but we were limited in what we could launch on the Wasp because we had hydraulic Cats).  On one Cat shot the jet being launched had a flame out (we were told) and fell into the ocean directly in the carriers path.  Again no survivors.   The cat did not fail. 

Carrier flight ops is a dangerous choreography of talent. 

Sailor Rest Your Oars. We have the watch.

[Mooskee]

I was an AQ, cross trained as an AT in the Navy working mostly on A4s, &A6s. I only did 4 years and got out in 1977. I was recently swapping sea stories with a retired Chief that was one of my carb clients. He told a story about maintenance and mentioned A-799, a code we used when we found nothing wrong. (Often the pilot or BN operated the equipment incorrectly.) It has been 45 years, and I still knew the meaning of that code. The job really changes you for life.

[carolinarider09]

 

[old2soon]

      Anytime/Everytime I've experienced an earthquake my time at sea and Still having decnt balance has kept me-so far-from goimg down. And from my Very First day on a Ship I had my "sea legs"! Flying Other than staight and level NEVER Bothered me. 
       And as to the O P-in my local grocery store yesterday met yet Another Former A M E!  How'd we end up here in land locked Missouri? 
       Far as that Changed Forever-I Still do certain things I was Trained for in The Navy. And I'll have been out 54 year come Feb. 2022. And at times I shudder to think What my Life could have been had I Not been Drafted then Enlisted. I WAS headed down the Wrong Roads. Thank you GOD and Thank You United States Navy. RIDE SAFE.

[scooperhsd]

Those aircrew can't do their jobs without those maintainers doing THEIR jobs. Any aircrew that says otherwise is a fool at best, a pretender at worst.

[old2soon]

Those aircrew can't do their jobs without those maintainers doing THEIR jobs. Any aircrew that says otherwise is a fool at best, a pretender at worst.

        Yup those birds become pretty much dust collectors with out the mechanics and techs and ordanance types and a host of other specialists. Just Learning my responsibilities on the Grumman S 2 Ds and Es was Not a 1 day 1 night deal. Fuel tanks engine oil tanks hydraulic oil tank 4 seats with ther own parachutes 1 man life raft and a bunch of other "stuff" including Clean the Windows! And Pilots and Air Crew ALWAYS left chit behind. And when the bird was respotted I had to be there to ride brakes. First couple times on a respot I could have SWORN I was headed for the drink. Every square Inch on a Carrier IS Needed. The tug driver the spotters and me on brakes bout 6 or 7 guys just to move 1 aircraft! TEAM WORK. Can Not SURVIVE with out it. Having each others back With Out QUESTION!  If our cages were as well maintained as we maintained those aircraft you'd only need one cage your entire life and driving career providing you don;t crash it. RIDE SAFE.

[old2soon]

I considered posting this several times and finally decided its ok. 

I only spent one year on the USS Wasp (CVS-13) as an Electronics Tech.  The flight deck is a choreography of talent and very dangerous.  As is Flight Ops. As is flying at night.   

While in the North Atlantic we lost one S-2 on a night op.  When the plane left the Cat, apparently a life raft stored on the outside of the fuselage got out and was wrapped around the tail surfaces.  I was in CIC when decisions were being made.  The pilot suggested the crew parachute out and then he would attempt to ditch the plane at sea.  The crew decided they would stay with the aircraft.  The pilot did ditch the plane but only he survived. 

After the North Atlantic run we went to Pensacola, FL to do some training on carrier ops.  The planes were jets (I forget the actual type but we were limited in what we could launch on the Wasp because we had hydraulic Cats).  On one Cat shot the jet being launched had a flame out (we were told) and fell into the ocean directly in the carriers path.  Again no survivors.   The cat did not fail. 

Carrier flight ops is a dangerous choreography of talent. 

Sailor Rest Your Oars. We have the watch.

        O K dusting off whats left of my grey matter here. On the top of the fuselage of the S 2 aft of the crew compartment and forward of the vertical stbilizer is a depression with a hatch cover that holds the 4 man life raft and survivival equipment Needed should you ditch the bird. First one I worked on had stainless steel safety wire holding the latch closed. W T H over? I was green But I looked it up ONLY a light weight copper safety wire was to be used. Fixed. Also noticed parachute cord to hold the raft near the A/C as it sank! Again-W T H over? There was supposed to be a very light cord attached to the parachute cord on the A/C side. Fixed. And both squadrons were Immediately instructed to look and repair those items in their Squadrons. Out of 22 S 2s-11 per Squadron-including my bird 18 were rigged wrong. So the one you heard abot very feasible what transpired. And on the exposure side after ditching-dusting off More grey matter-Should the combined air water temp be below 120 degrees F poopy suits were required. Poopy suit-a bright orange rubberized full coverage suit with no way to relieve ones self while flying-even the excess of coffee.  Hence the term-poopy suit. AND the person doin the nasty stuff cleaned up his own mess. And boys and girls-All this I relate is 50s 60s tech. RIDE SAFE.

[carolinarider09]

I seem to have problems finding some pictures I took when I was on the Wasp.  Here is one I just found.  

I was assigned to the Mess Deck as a Master At Arms when I first got on board (Nuke ETs only stayed on board for a year so we got sent to the places they did not really have to rely on us for tech stuff).

While in the Mess Decks meet some of the guys the flew and the crew of the C.O.D. (Carrier Onboard Delivery) aircraft.  They invited me and another Master At Arms to take a fight.  Got a Cat shot, an arrested landing and a view of the see sea and the Wasp was we got ready to land.  

[old2soon]

     Your pic reminded me of my 1st flight and 1st recovery on Yorktown. Coming in joining the pattern and looking out the small window of the S 2 I could cover the entire Ship with my thumb!  And we're gonna land on dat?    Which we did and I managed to do a few more times and Loved launching off a carrier. Recovery Good too specially with No Bingo field-no fuel to go Anywhere BUT the Carrier. RIDE SAFE.