Pilots that are proficient at carrier operations, have my complete respect. They are the best in the world in my opinion. I’ve been a pilot for 30yrs and this is the equivalent of me landing my twin Baron in the trunk of my wife’s Camry, while she’s headed to a sale ! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
I flew all models of the A7 except for the Air Force's A7D. The first A7's were introduce into the fleet in mid-1966. I deployed in an A7A squadron aboard the USS Oriskany (CVA-34). I had landed both reciprocating and jet A/C . It was a generally a very stable A/C. The Oriskany was a very tough ship to land aboard in rough weather due to the "nose" down attitude which caused the fantail to move horizontally as well as the normal pitch and roll experienced on other carriers. It is great to see the training film - brought back lots of memories (mostly good).
I was on the Nimitz in 75-79 in an A7E squadron, it's great to run across a video with so many A-7s in it, all the videos from back in the day seem to be about the phantoms.
Hi Mike...You missed all the fun..The F8 was not stable coming aboard, Pitch control in the early birds was interesting..If you got just a tad behind, or a little slow, or a little fast... BUT off the cat gangbusters! I was a marine type using the Ti, Midway, and Bon homme R.. We were fill ins when the navy birds had no parts..Art Krause
My Dad was in VF-194 from 1964-67 and worked on the F8E. Did 2 cruises... Bonnie Dick in '65-'66 and the Tico in '66-'67. He has some great 8mm videos of flight ops. By all accounts the F8 was a beast to land but a dream to fly.
Thank you for your service Mr. Riley. My Dad served aboard the Oriskany, and was there during the fire. He passed away a month ago today and was buried at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery with full military honors. I know he is finally up there with his shipmates.
We operated the magnificent A-7P in the Portuguese Air Force between 1981 and 1999. They were basically refurbished A-7As retaining the TF-30, with improved avionics and camouflaged like the Ds. I miss them a lot, with all their roar and smoke. We lost a good number, maybe some 11 or more out of 40 but it was impossible to isolate one single cause. On the contrary, there were a dozen of different causes involved, as with the Luftwaffe F-104G. Still, pilots liked the aircraft a lot. I knew a few. But I must admit that in 29 years operating the F-16 we just lost two, one to flight control malfunctioning in the flight check after the MLU (ejected) and another in a stupid stunt at low level. (did not ⚰ ) To some extent, maybe the A-7 was a handful to some pilots, used to the light and basic F-86F and Fiat G-91...
The A-7s here are from VA-125, my squadron from 70-73. I was an AMH3 assigned to either the Air Frames shop or the flight line troubleshooters. I like troubleshooters the best but on land. I hated being a final checker on the cat. Exciting but too dangerous.
I watched the whole film. Now I know how to land my ultra light on my bass boat. All kidding aside. Everyone who had anything to do with that are amazing human beings.
As far as I know all first carrier landings are solo. By the time they reach the boat, they've already made countless practice carrier approaches to their home runway. Which has a section painted to the specs of a carrier deck, complete with a meatball.
I have an uncle that flew A7 Corsair in the Navy from late 60's to early 70's . I 'm a helicopter mechanic , aviation is a very interesting career. I work at a Hospital for the medical company helicopter. Just started doing this , the last 12 years I spent in Alaska working on different jobs involving helicopter support. Started at American airlines worked there till after 9/11 , transitioned to helicopters working for the Army , Fort Rucker Alabama. Been an A&P for 25 years exactly on the 29 of July 2021 . THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE !!!!!!!!!
Off Topic here but during my 5 years on the Enterprise.. we had many "Airshows" for guests on our ship. The first time I watched one.... all the planes and copters flew by doing their thing, (like F-14s flying by at much faster than sound and making a sharp turn at our bow). But the one plane that blew me away.. The E2C Hawkeye.. hmmm plane with radar dish on top comes flying by... kinda plain jane... turns and starts going straight up.. and I mean straight up like a rocket.. but not fast.. I am thinking .. hmm not bad.. that is a lot of horsepower... but.... gee.. is this guy ever leveling out??? Hmm.. surely now.. .MY GOD how much extra HP does it have... to my amazement... they pilots kept going in a flat out straight climb till the disappeared into the very, very high clouds.. HOLY CRAP! Absolutely Amazing! My Airdale friends told me the E2C Hawkeyes have the same Turbo Prop Engines as the very large P3 Orions. Hats off to the Hawkeyes, this Nuke has loved them ever since.
This video brought back memories. I was a IC2 working on the Meatball system back in the 70's. We had a station in the Air Tower as well as we changed the glide slope for each aircraft. I had a great time on the USS Independence. Our TV cameras in the flight deck did not like the pounding they took. They were similar to the cameras at TV stations from the 60's. Pilots were some great fly'ers.
@@jimschmidt510 Hello Jim ,, and thank you for your service. I didnt see PriFly until, Late 72 and 4 years latter. I was on a LHA latter on, but nothing beats a carrier launch and recovery. Nothing taken away from AV-8 harriers, there just a different launch and recovery cycle. Slower,,
Hey, thanks for the reply. I came to Indy as a private pilot, first working on the flight deck as a blue shirt for two months before the pri-fly job opened. I was with the aircrews in spirit the whole time. My chance of a lifetime came in Oct '70 with a ride in an A-3 tanker. Wow!
There was a story I heard about the HMCS Bonaventure, a Canadian CV. The story goes that a Grumman Tracker was taking off but either the steam catapult failed or the engines on the aircraft did and the Tracker stalled and fell into the water ahead of the Bonny. The pilot and co-pilot managed to escape but the Bonny ran them over and they bounced along under the hull until they reached the propellers. The Pilot saw the props and quickly ducked into a ball and managed to miss the blades, the co-pilot didn't and had his legs chopped off. Both pilot and co-pilot survived. Again this is just a story an old sailor told me at a Naval Museum in BC.
I worked “ gear” on the Midway from 73-75 . We had one “two block” with an A -6 and luckily the cable did not snap . Freaked me out though . Later I transferred to the Constellation , which was in Bremerton going through overhaul . By the time we went back to sea I was promoted and moved into the division office . I never went back on deck or in the gear operation compartments . Was discharged and never looked back .
Seems to me in about 1966 the take off was modified to stop the splash right in front of the ship. The aircraft on the front catapults turn a few degrees on launch to avoid a splash if the ships path. Before that i have seen 2 pilots ejecting and hit the flight deck. No chance to stay on the deck they would just blow right off the fantail, even when the deck crew tries to catch them. The helicopter picks them up. Crusaders are AWESOME.
In an era of high-bypass turbofans, it is surprising how much black exhaust is emitted from turbojets like the old J57 used in the Vought F-8 Crusader.
Those birds had an issue lunching their turbines. ADJ, AIMD aboard Enterprise WESPAC '74-'75. Those engines also had no inlet stators, the first thing you see are rotating blades.
I was in jrMCROTC in high school 45 years ago and we had a full bird Col as Commander, he was an aviator, made ace on one outing protecting his carrier flying a corsair aka ensign killer. Anyway, we saw many films produced by DOD and many of clips from this I watched with fascination. A few years later while in the Army there was a post wide requirement to take the FAST (flight aviation standards test) al Ft Bragg and I was one of 2 soldiers in my Brigade to pass. It seems they were short on helicopter pilots and I was so excited BUT things happened and I declined, the things that happened is another story for another time, I just know that I deeply regret my decision.
I remember at ABH-A school we saw all the flight deck awareness videos and the one that really scared the shit out of me was the "snapback" vids where the arresting wire breaks. You could see the guy's topple in half as they were cut in half by the wire. Or the leg fly off to the side. This was scary thaughts also the "ramp strikes" where the jet is too low and crashes into the "round down" at the aft of the angle. They don't call it the most dangerous work space in the world for nothing! Smooth sailing to all my AB brothers and sisters!! "Flight quarters, flight quarters!!
The flight deck is sooooo dangerous. A little variation either way on so many systems and the next thing you know the deck becomes an inferno. Our sailors do a great job preventing that.
I was an 18yo in 1980, on the USS Forrestal. We called it the ForrestFire. Anyways, my first time on the flight deck I was terrified. There were F-4 Fathoms on the FID back then. A carrier flight deck gets very small with a bunch of screaming, turning airplanes. You have to have eyes in all areas of your front and back!
NAS Jax, AO school 1968, ran the projector in the classes and I threaded many of these films into that 16mm machine. Saw quite a bit of them and the ordnance goof ups were fun to watch, especially the ones from China Lake. I was on one of the de-arm gun crews for the A-7 and once pointed seaward, I had to disconnect the air supply line from each cannon. Crawling under the aircraft was a bitch for me since I am 6'4" and you had to get it done quickly as there was always another one coming behind the one you just did. My squadron was A-6's, how I was ever tagged to do this is still a mystery. 70-71 Med cruise on the JFK
I was a sub sailor- had an XO who was an Aviation Boatswain's Mate before he went to Annapolis- he said the most dangerous working environment in the military was the flight deck of an aircraft carrier- at least one death per deployment...
The A7's that mostly appear in this video.. were very hard to land on a Carrier. I was stationed on the Uss Enterprise in 83-88. The A7s were unbelievable unstable on landing! the Pilot who pulled it off were gods!. When you watched an F-14 or the newest FA-18 land.. it was very Stable, (along with the E2C Hawkeye and the S-3 Viking. The A-7, ... very difficult! I was on the Fantail one night on the Enterprise.. (We were not supposed to be there during flight ops .. because of the danger)... an A-7 was landing and missed.. Amazingly.. the flight crew did their jobs and he was rescued! During the time I was stationed on the Enterprise, I was the XJA phone talker who tracked all battle damage on board of the ship during drills or actual battle damage. It was a great job.. .but it was not easy to make it from your bed on the 2nd deck to the O11 level in a few minutes.. (13 stories...).
How did you sleep if your bunk was near the catapalt. I heard stories from friends that were in the Navy about guys going slightly bonkers due to the noise of the launching and not being able to nod off. ( they could have been feeding me a tall tale but most of their stories were on the mark)
The early A7's were custom to "swap ends" on takeoff. They don't even look like fighters, when I was a kid I built the model about the say time you were serving (not trying to make you feel old). As a kid I never seen it as a "fighter" , but I seen the F4 as one, and only the AF ended up putting an internal gun in her. Thanks for serving Squids! US ARMY 12-B
Paleo Man, my rack wasn't near a catapult so noise wasn't a problem but what I did notice while laying down was that when the cat pistons (two bolted together, 1,200 lbs each) came to a stop it sent a ripple through the ship that would go bow-to-stern and back to the bow. I could feel it passing both directions.
I was on the Saratoga in the Med during the summer of 1980. An Admiral based in Naples decided he wanted to get some flight time, so he took an A-7 from one of our squadrons. When he came back to land, he hit the deck so hard he collapsed the landing gear.
I have a lot of pain relief on board right now but I can't help thinking that an aircraft that looks like its surprised if you look at it front on will always be a handful to operate. Look at the A7 front on, its jaw has dropped in surprise. Lol
@@jhollie8196 "SAS TEMPER!....SAS TEMPER!....SAS TEMPER!" Never sure what that meant, but learned to make a hole & get the hell out of yalls way when I heard it on the 1MC👍
@@billhudson1923 😆. Been awhile since I’ve heard that. It sounded the alarm that someone was trying to access the weapons storage area that was classified. When that sounded, it was the most critical alarm that we responded to and did not mess around. We were in the PI in 79 when a Filipino yard bird set off that alarm and the lights were out. We heard a hatch open and lucky for him the lights came back on. Those lights saved his life. The sailors would throw water on the mess decks next to our guard shack when that alarm went off. Running from our berthing area and hit the mess deck with water, we would slide on our 6! Such good memories and good times.
Saw a deal on TV about the P-51 Mustang. When WWII ended, you could buy surplus ones for a buck. Price jumped to $1500 after the Korean War. Oh, for the love of a Time Machine!
50k in the 80's would be like what? $150k today? Still, not a bad deal as long as you don't "auger in" those beauties! I guess until the Allison's were replaced with Merlin's, performance at high altitude sucked. Now, there's Allison's for the taking. Watch some of these RU-vid "Tractor Pull" videos. I cringe every time I see an "Old Alice" grenading during a pull. I stuck one in a 1955 Chevy Nomad model I'd built back around 1971. My Brother donated it from his P-38 Lightning kit. Wrong scale but it came out nice! Tilt body, etc.Pop quiz, kids!: What was the most produced combat aircraft of WWII? It's a tough one and NO CHEATING!
Yes, if you make an error, you can go into the drink! It's NOT easy for these super-fast fighter jets to slow down enough to land exactly and hook a cable. If they are not right "on the ball" (the "meat-ball on the port side of the carrier) lined up with the green lights, they won't tail-hook properly and they'll have to "bolter" which means take right off again (the aircraft is at speed anyway so you just add power and lift off). They make about 32 passes on ground in training, then do it in the dead of night, and then go on to become part of the fleet and go to the carriers and "ball-fly" on them. You have to be right ON the center line and ball-fly at an angle to line up just right. It's not easy to do at night! There are usually 4 arresting wires on the carrier. Landing on the first one (too low is bad) or the 4th one (too late) is not good. You want the 2nd or 3rd wire, preferably the 3rd.. It's that precise! When catapulted in takeoff, It takes about 3 seconds to go the 300 feet and takes off at 115 to 125 mph. An airport runway is about 16 times longer than the carrier deck. The optimal landing area is about 90 feet wide, and you must get it down right on the center line. This is where you either make it happen or get a DQ (did not qualify)! We really hand it to these carrier pilots, it is NOT nearly as easy as it looks! Imagine trying to return to a carrier after you've been shot at over enemy territory and have problems! Horrors! But it's what they have to do, an air base may be too far away for them to make it there! It's difficult to imagine the fear they must feel in that situation. Bravo, pilots, and keep safe!
This video needs to be remastered. It's blurry and the sound is muddled. I've seen it a couple of times but now it looks and sounds as if the projector is falling.
VA-12 Clinchers - Ubangi Ubetcha - NAS Cecil Field, FL...About 1985 or 1986 AT shop (after some A7 training at VA-174). Had to pump up the radios to pressurize them. lol. The primary maintenance activity for the Aviation Electronics Technician? Solvent to clean all of the hydraulic fluid from antenna lines, wave guides, and cannon plugs. I've inadvertently inhaled a metrodome's worth of Tri-chlor and zinc chromate. I could probably still fill out a VIDS MAF for corrosion control. Then, A6s at Oceana in Virginia Beach where we combined with the AQs. N 036490 W 076020. A good time was had by all.
@@carlosborbolla1204 We chewed some of the same dirt. I was in VA-36, an instructor at VA-42 (after C school at NAS Memphis) from about 89 to 92, then VA-65 when I got out.
Anybody notice the Hero, at very end of video, in and surrounded by flames pulling the pilot out of the wreckage? He even takes his helmet off to get to him
At 5:22 an older version of the A-3D (Skywarrior), No. 10 with large black radome, is shown taking fatal nosedive off angled deck during botched recovery. Date, carrier, and squadron not given. Due to poor quality of video, logo behind cockpit and tail identification also uncertain. Now wonder if this wasn't the A-3(D?) whose remains showcased in Bermuda Triangle documentary recently shown on TV? I served as an AE-3, c. 1967-68 in the Tonkin Gulf, when VAH-4 was then flying the KA-3B tanker version, having sloped or angled radome, and by necessity, without twin 20mm canon mounts on tail (like version shown here.) Appears to me this accident may have occurred sometime during early ops, c. 1955-63, perhaps even during Cuban missile crisis/blockade in the Atlantic. Without ejection seats and ditching like this, the three-man A3 crew in those days mockingly referred to designation of the A3-D as 'all three dead.' The open cockpit hatch (required on take-offs, recoveries) would only flood the plane, making its descent into Davy Jones Locker all the faster.
Hey Guys! Thanks for all the responses on my last post. The A-7s must be very Maneuverable and appear to be unstable on landing on a carrier.. When we watched them land.. it seemed like they were all over the place. Based on your responses... Me and my shipmates were wrong with our observations. (We watched them land.. and they seemed to be all over the place, but you pilots are telling us.. NO they were easy to land on a carrier. I stand corrected.. and I want to point out .. I do not have a favorite plane on Carriers.. (hey I was a Nuke... and I am still a Nuke!.. I work at a commercial Nuclear Power Plant as an Operator. (To the Navy Nukes... You start a Non Licensed Operator.. (Basically standing watch in the plant and hanging tagouts.. (Operating Valves, Racking Breakers etc). ) Then if you want, you go to Licensed Class and make the big bucks.. after that you go to Senior Licensed Class and become a Supervisor..(If you want). Only get a job at a plant where Getting a License is an option.. Some require you to do that after a period of time. I wont get into it here but that is not a good idea... you need people in the field who have done that job for several decades to keep things safe. Sorry for the Nuke Diversion.. I do love the planes on carriers.. the A-7s seemed to be the hard ones to land!
sluggo,I submit that the people correcting You are either 1)speaking 2nd or 3rd hand or 2)Naval fighter pilots whom have balls of brass which,in stormy weather and they clang together,causes lightning to shoot from their ass. Naval Pilots are a different breed. Sure,they do things any fighter/jet pilot does,but like Ginger Rogers to Fred Astaire,they do it from a landing/takeoff platform smaller than some subdivision streets. My Uncle was a SERE instructor for many years and said that the Naval Pilots were the one's LEAST bothered by the course. Sure they got tired,dirty,muddy,etc but they THRIVED in that atmosphere. Just a different group of humans.
My squadron VR-24 out of Sigonella Sicily on the C-2 (COD) served in the gulf war in the early 1990s. I was an aircraft mechanic, whats called an AMS. Let me tell ya its really something else landing on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. The ship litteraly looks like a dot a couple miles out. The naval pilots in the US Navy are the best in the world ! Its hard to believe how great our American pilots are at there jobs. True American hero's ! I myself had the honor of landind on the USS Forestall in the Mediterranean ocean on her last mission during the gulf war in the early 1990s. I served my country with honor ! My whole squadron served with honor ! It was sad when VR-24 was decommissioned in 1992 and all the personnel was reassigned to different squadrons. The Navy didnt just decommission our squadron, they broke up a family. So sad to say but on 9/11 our commanding officer of VR-24. Commander Punches was promoted to full bird captain and was serving in the Pentagon lost his life when one of the hijacked airplanes struck the pentagon. Mr. Puches was a great man and served his country with honor and lost his life in the process. He was more than our CO. He was like a father figure to his sailors and will be greatly missed. Rest in piece Mr. Punches ! You have been properly relieved. Now go fly high with the angels ! A true ! American hero !
I always wondered if the canopy of an aircraft, could be jettisoned without completely ejecting. Thanks! Looks like the pilot at 5:04 ejected a little too soon. But what do I know, there could have been something seriously wrong with the aircraft...?
The pilot had lost control of roll, and ejecting at a high bank angle is very dangerous. He ejected inside the envelope still probably, but not by too much. It was a good decision because either the aircraft started working correctly, or he would be sideways and ejecting could result in death or severe bodily injury.
The calm “524 to tower: I’ve lost my brakes” radio calls were obviously made in the recording studio. In the real world…in 2004 I was watching night flight ops from the Flag Bridge on CVN-74. They had the Boss/LSO radio circuit on. An EA-6B trapped. He raised the hook and goosed the power to get out of the wires, then discovered he had no hydraulics…no nose wheel steering and no brakes. He was obviously going over the side. The radio call that night was a rather excited and urgent “NO BRAKES! NO BRAKES!” followed by the crew ejecting. All OK…including the German NFO exchange officer.
I have only done a carrier landing while playing "Over G Fighters" (dumb name great game) and yeah, every time I try to judge the landing by feel or looking at the deck I either crash or miss the carrier completely.
Right here!! I grew up in Key West from the late 60's to the 80's and for years lived half a mile from the end of the Boca Chica Naval Air Station runway and watched the F-4s (and everything else) take off right over our house, kick in the after-burners on those twin jets and shake the whole house and rattle the windows like you wouldn't believe. I can't even count the sonic booms I heard during those years. Saw the Blue Angels there when they flew Phantoms and even got to sit in the pilot seat of one. One bad-ass plane! Plus my father was an Electricians Mate and worked on the flight-line so I was right up front watching air-ops quite a bit. A great time and place to be a kid and a hell of a show, especially at night.
My older brother and late-father have a combined 50 years Naval Aviation. While Dad was stationed at Alameda NAS, we'd hear the F-4's breaking the sound barrier quite a bit: "ba-BOOM!" Cooler than shit, man! I was the "Black Sheep" (not VMF 214-Swashbucklers) and went Army Aviation (rotary wing) out at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1973-1974. I was a 52B20, generator mechanic but had a chance to ride in a CH-54. Today, Erickson Sky Crane has a fleet of them for wildfires and I always wondered if one of them was one I flew in. I was then sent to Giebelstadt Air Base in Bavaria, one of two bases where that fat pig Goering played with his (experimental) Me163 & Me262's back in the day. We were Air Defense Artillery. Were to shoot down enemy aircraft with the MIM-72A/M48 Chaparral (AIM-9 Sidewinders) & M163 Vulcan (20mm @ 50 rounds per second) Dad was electronics in Orion sub-hunters. Brother was radial and later jet engine mechanic. Mirimar, Millington, Tennessee, Falon, Nevada, Point Mugu, etc. I was born in the Sea Bee hospital at Port Hueneme back in '54.
go to daviddaveinternational@gmail.com for more including an F4-H promotional model my Dad got back in the late-50's/early 60's. Heard it's quite valuable.
'bout 56 people, probably kids playing on the computer who have no interest in military aviation. Me? I thought it was great even without my late rather and brother having a combined 50 years Navy Aviation history/experience. You should have known.
Did 3 hot pad duties between 67 and 71 we had F4s and loved when we sent them in the air they went 2 beside each other full afterburner and when they lift off the ground picked up enought speed where they turned straight up , great show.
One of the worst mishaps I saw on a deployment involved A7. During a tight turn while approaching for a landing, the wing literally tore off and the jet spiraled out of control. Unfortunately, the pilot had no sense of direction to time his ejection and ejected right into the sea. A very sad day
Fortunately, modern onboard computers work out the correct angle of approach, airspeed etc. now. Not that the pilot doesn't have to know his stuff; he does, it just makes life a little easier.
Seems like it would take years of non-carrier flying to get good enough to control your airspeed and attitude to the degree required (in all weather and light conditions too). Crazy.
9:53 LOL no problem. All I have to do to set up my landing is be at the right point in space, going the right speed, and pointing the right direction. For a moving runway.
I got 55 bucks a month extra for flight deck pay in 1970. Not enough pay billets to go around so we rotated among the AO guys in the shop on a monthly basis. We still went up on the roof, extra pay or not. I think we all missed two payments on the cruise. The roof is a busy place for sure
@FooBar Maximus Reread Jay's post, hoss. He doesn't claim to be a naval aviator. He claims to be a veteran that served on the Forrestal and also to be a pilot. He doesn't specifically claim to have flown on and off the carrier. Moreover, if he was doing so, he would probably mention his squadron or air wing rather than the carrier so he was probably ship's company and became a pilot as a civilian. Then again, he called a carrier a "boat" and we know that boats go under the water so...
Fun Fact #5230: All these jets hit the deck with the engine(s) "WFO". (wide fucking open) 1:47 is a perfect example why. Not many believe that I'm sure.
"Where do we get such men? They leave this ship and they do their job. Then they must find this speck lost somewhere on the sea. When they find it, they have to land on its pitching deck. Where do we get such men?"- Rear Admiral George Tarrant in "The Bridges at Toko-Ri"
My dad flew A-4s in the Navy and was a flight instructor so he had to keep current on his carrier landings. He did the *_MINIMUM_* necessary because he said they were terrifying. 5 per month or something. When I was just out of college, in 1993 I saw on Discovery's brand new website, that NASA had chosen a guy about my age, to captain the shuttle. IIRC, he had two Ph.D.s in like Aeronautics and Mechanical engineering. I'd just finished my second Bachelor's. He was also something like a Captain in the Navy. What made my dad put down his paper when I told him about the guy was that he had over *_2,000 NIGHT_* carrier landings. Dad went pale and said, "You're SHITTING me." "I shit you not."
Crazy thing is that he actually survived. Helmet went into the engine and pilot shut it down before the young sailor got sucked through. Definitely a sphincter factor of 10+.
@@4fanintexas Actually, he hung on the inlet guide vanes. I saw his news interview the next day and he was grinning like a pig in slop. He said it caught him by surprise but he wasn't freaked out because he knew those vanes would stop him. He was a little banged up and lost some skin, but he didn't break any bones and said that he looked forward to winning bar bets because he had the video to back up his wild claim about getting sucked into a jet engine...
You got to go with what your given but im so glad i wasnt in A-7 squadron , F-18's all the way and much easier on the crew , AO 1984/1988 VFA-131 Wildcats Cecil Field fla .
So........Still Google`ng "What do Carriers have"? It only took you 3 minutes for your backlash before. I wasn`t being a "SmartAss".....Just making an observation......Too bad you took it wrong.
I beg to differ - SLUFs were quite sturdy, and the Echo version had a very good safety record in terms of mechanical reliability: they just weren't terribly forgiving of pilot error in landings with crosswinds - that is, until the ACLS system was introduced in the C and E models (given that, I would guess that this film only included As and Bs - the few that I could tell definitely were pre-Echo). With the addition of the ACLS, the Echo was known to dent the actual flight deck with the tailhooks because they hit the exact same spot every time in a mode 1 approach - a firmware update actually programmed in a small pseudo-random error - or that's how the scuttlebutt tale went, anyways ... Given what it was designed for, the SLUF performed quite well in the hands of a good pilot - it wasn't fast, but it sure was slow, and a highly accurate bomber - and the Corsair's terrain-following mode was quite impressive: by "gully-hiding", Corsairs have been known to take down F-14 Tomcats and F-15 Eagles :-)
