Old Harriers and new choppers unleashed. Welcome aboard the Cavour aircraft carrier during “blue water ops”. January 27, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Aircraft Carriers.Tags: AW-101, Caio Duilio, Cavour, F-35, Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (550), Italian Navy, Joint Strike Fighter, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Marina Militare, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, NH-90, STOVL
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On Jan. 25, along with the ambassadors of NATO members, EU, Middle East and Mediterranean partners, The Aviationist has had the opportunity to visit the Cavour aircraft carrier during “blue water ops” off Civitavecchia port.
The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to showcase one of the most important assets of the Italian Defense, one of the few European aircraft carriers that is not only important for military operations, but it is also a versatile platform that made its operative debut during the Haiti relief mission.
The Cavour symbolizes “a variety of possible uses that make it cost-effective” said Adm. Luigi Binelli Mantelli, future Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy.
Along with the F-35 program, the Italian Navy flagship was recently targeted by potential budget cuts as a consequence of the country’s financial crisis. However, “the AV-8B will fly until 2020, when they will be replaced by the F-35B. The MoD Di Paola has confirmed the project will continue. We don’t know how many aircraft we will get. The Air Force will get the majority, but even the Italian Navy will receive its planes” Binelli Mantelli said.
According to the Admiral, the F-35, is mainly an Air Force project, since the service needs the plane for its future. However, the Navy has joined the program and the future STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, that was removed from probation one year earlier than expected, will serve as a force multiplier and complement the capabilities of the ship, capabilities that were showed to the ambassadors, diplomats and media during a tactical event involving the AV-8B+ Harrier (both single and double seat), AW-101 and NH-90 helicopters, the San Marco Regiment special forces and the Caio Duilio, a radar-evading Anti-Air Warfare destroyer.
Giovanni Maduli took the following images for The Aviationist.
Blue Angels’ almost crash: the risk of Controlled Flight Into Terrain during formation aerobatics May 29, 2011
Posted by David Cenciotti in Airshow, Aviation, Aviation Safety, Military Aviation.Tags: aerobatic, aerobatic team, airshow, Barrel Roll Break, Blue Angels, Blue Angels' almost crash, Capt. Greg McWherter, CDR Dave Koss, CFIT, Controlled Flight Into Terrain, F-18, formation aerobatics, Frecce Tricolori, Hornet, Lynchburg Regional Air Show, Military Aviation, NH-90, NH-90 crash, The Thunderbirds, US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron
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On May 22, 2011, the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron was performing at Lynchburg Regional Air Show, Va, when the diamond formation went too low at the end of the “Barrel Roll Break” maneuver. As a consequence of the lower-than-normal maneuver, the Blue Angels aborted the show and all F-18s landed safely. Noteworthy, neither on the preceeding day’s rehearsals, for unknown reasons, the maneuver ended as expected with the break (to see how the maneuver should be performed have a look at the team’s website and select Maneuver 28).
The following video shows both the May 21 and 22 maneuvers.
Following the incident, the Blue Angels announced a safety stand-down and cancelled their next performances (so far, until mid June) for more practice at their home base Pensacola, Florida, and, on May 27, team’s leader CDR Dave Koss resigned and was replaced for the duration of the season by Capt. Greg McWherter, who was the previous Blue Angels’ Commanding Officer.
The incident was obviously a Leader’s fault. He entered the loop too low causing the diamond four-ship formation almost to hit the ground as happened in 1982, when the whole Thunderbirds T-38 formation crashed killing all four pilots (even if in that case the cause of the crash was a mechanical malfunction with the #1 aircraft control stick).
Formation aerobatics requires specific qualifications, experience and training as it’s not easy to perform aerobatic maneuvers. When many aircraft (up to 9 elements) fly formation aerobatics, it is important not only to maintain the correct distance from one another, but also to maintain a very reactive flight attitude: who flies up front is required to anticipate wind gusts, turbulence, and the appropriate corrections, absorbing as much as one can the oscillations in order not to propagate them amongst the rest of the formation. Instrument flight is reduced to the minimum. The artificial horizon is utilised for no more than 20 or 30 seconds during the whole display, this being flown “visually”, looking out, maintaining one’s own position by sighting the specific reference points. For almost all the duration of the performance wingmen and slot pilots, have “only” to follow their leader, almost disregarding their position relative to the ground.
Formation leader is the role with greater responsibilities: he guides the whole team, ensuring flight safety, dictating timings and managing separations, opposition passes and rejoins. For this reason, formation leaders are the most experienced pilots flying in a team. However, even the most experienced pilots can do mistakes and when such errors occur during vertical maneuvers, consequences can be tragic.
In 2008 I was attending an airshow when a brand new NH90 helicopter of the Italian Army, piloted by an experienced crew, crashed into the Bracciano lake after entering a Fiesler maneuver at low altitude and, probably, suffering spacial disorientation caused by the surface of the water.
The above picture was taken on Jun. 1, 2008. For more info visit the NH90 crash page. Image is watermarked.
Who called the “Knock it off”?
After watching the footage of the Blue Angel’s almost crash, I’ve had the opportunity to discuss with blog’s visitors and Twitter followers, who might have called the “knock it off” (a radio call reserved for safety of flight issues used to cease maneuvering).
As already explained, the team Leader has the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the formation. Many teams (as the Frecce Tricolori) have a Commander who issues instructions from the ground to the pilots in the air to fine tune timings and distances in the various manoeuvres, supervising the display both from a technical and a flight safety perspective. However, in the Blue Angels the Flight Leader is also the Commanding Officer, hence, most probably, it was #1 who radioed the safety order to the rest of the formation. Nonetheless, there are some maneuvers in which other formation members have specific responsibility to cross check heights and distances and during the whole performance, and above all, #4 has a demonstration safety officer role, as he flies at the lowest position in the diamond, from where he has a overall view of the formation. Maybe #1 failed to recognize the dangerous situation and #4 called the safety breakout. Unfortunately it is impossible to determine it but it owuld be extremely interesting to know whether it was the Leader or the Slot or another team member to radio the “knock it off” as it would give us an idea of the formation’ situational awareness.
Even if it is not among his tasks, each formation member can radio a call for a safety issue but it is an extremely unlikely situation, unless the call is made to inform the rest of the formation of a failure involving a single aircraft. Unsolicited safety calls are extremely rare even if the could prevent a so-called “Controlled Flight Into Terrain” (CFIT) of the formation. Military aviation counts thousands episodes of CFIT with wingmen recognizing a potentially dangerous situation earlier than their flight leaders but delaying too much the call that would have saved both lives for extreme confidence in the flight leader and respect of hierarchy.
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Sarzana Luni airport May 19, 2010
Posted by David Cenciotti in Aviation, Italian Navy, Military Aviation.Tags: AB-212, AB-412CP, AW139, Capitanerie di Porto, Coast Guard, EH-101, Guardia Costiera, Helo Dunker, Italian Navy, Marina Militare, Maristaeli Luni, Merlin, Military Aviation, Naval Aviation, NH-90, Sarzana Luni
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The following images were taken by Matteo Marianeschi during a recent visit in Luni Sarzana, airport where the 1° Nucleo Aereo, 1° Sezione Volo Elicotteri of the Guardia Costiera (CP, Italian Coast Guard) and the Maristaeli Luni Sarzana with the Gruppi 1 and 5 of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) operate.
The local Guardia Costiera unit is equipped with 6 AB-412CP Koala that are employed by the Sezione Elicotteri for SAR (Search and Rescue), Port State Control e Maritime Navigation Safety, Fishing Control, Maritime Policing, Liaison and Transportation and Civil Protection (for fire fighting activities during Summer, by means of the bambi bucket system) duties. The alert take off is performed within 30 minutes during daylight hours and with 120 minutes at night on a 7/24/365 basis.
On the other side of the airport the 1° and 5° Gruppo of the Italian Navy operate with the EH-101 and the AB-212 helos. Noteworthy, all the new helicopters of the rotary wing component of the Marina are tested in Luni before being delivered to the front line operative units. Beginning on October 2010, crews, aircraft and maintenance personnel, will be deployed to Afghanistan even if no more information have been unveiled so far dealing with the exact number of people and helos involved in the mission.
Absolutely interesting is the building hosting the helo dunker for underwater escape training, a mock up of a helicopter cockpit (so far, the system is able to depict the AB-212 and SH-3D cockpit, even if an upgrade to reproduce the EH-101 and NH-90 ones has been requested) that is plunged into a pool, and then flipped over (if required). The system is used to train crews to escape an aircraft from an upside down position, in case of impact with the water. At least once a year all the flying crews of the Marina have to test their ability to fight their way clear of restraint and harness to surface, to maintain their currencies. The Sarzana’s helo dunker is one of the few available in Europe and it is also used by many NATO countries and Italian Armed Forces for their own crews.
Festa Esercito 06.05.10 – Tor di Quinto May 9, 2010
Posted by David Cenciotti in Aviation, Military Aviation.Tags: A-109, A-129, AB-205, AB-412, CH-47, Esercito Italiano, Italian Army, NH-90, Tor Di Quinto
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On May 6, 2010, the Esercito Italiano (EI, Italian Army) celebrated its 149th Anniversary at Rome with a ceremony at Tor di Quinto (TdQ) military hippodrome. For the ceremony, that was attended by many civil and military authorities, AB.412, AB.205, NH-90, A-129, A-109 and CH-47 helicopters deployed to Guidonia and Urbe performed a tactical event at TdQ whose rehearsals were performed on both May 3, 4 and 5 (and was not performed on May 6, most probably because of the bad weather). The following pictures were taken by Giovanni Maduli during the rehearsals. The full gallery of pictures taken during the rehearsals can be found here: http://lowpassage.com/2010/05/10/festa-esercito-060510-tor-di-quinto-rehearsals/
Armed Forces Day: departures from downtown Rome November 12, 2009
Posted by David Cenciotti in Armed Forces Day, Aviation, Italian Air Force, Italian Navy, Military Aviation.Tags: A-129, AB-412, Aeronautica Militare, AMI, Carabinieri, EH-101, Esercito Italiano, Guardia Costiera, Guardia di Finanza, ItAF, Italian Air Force, Italian Army, Italian Navy, Mangusta, Marina Militare, NH-90
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The following images, showing the departure of the helicopters attending the exhibition in Rome for the Armed Forces Day celebration, were taken by Giovanni Maduli on Nov. 11, 2009. All but the EH-101 of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy, ItNy), that experienced a failure, and the A109 of the Guardia di Finanza, that returned to its homebase via ground transportation, took off from the Circus Maximus; the ruins of Ancient Rome on the Palatine Hill provided a striking background to the pictures.
40 years of the 5° Gruppo Elicotteri – Sarzana Luni – 30.10.09 November 6, 2009
Posted by David Cenciotti in Italian Navy, Military Aviation.Tags: AB-212, AB-212ASW, EH-101, Harrier, Italian Navy, Marina Militare, NH-90, Sarzana Luni, SH-3D, TAV-8B
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On Sunday Oct. 30, 2009, Sarzana Luni airport hosted an interesting event to celebrate the 40 years of the 5° Gruppo Elicotteri of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy, ItNy). The event was attended by a few hundred visitors that found an interesting static display and no fences around the aircraft. Among the most interesting aircraft displayed at Luni, there were a high-visibility EH-101 (MMX605/PP6) and an NH-90 in Dutch Navy markings (CSX81697/N-088). Matteo Marianeschi was there and took the following pictures of both the local based helicopters and visitors.
November 9th – Florence Armed Forces Day November 20, 2008
Posted by David Cenciotti in Italian Air Force, Military Aviation.Tags: 46 Air Brigade, 46 Brigata Aerea, AB412, Aeronautica Militare, C-130J, Carabinieri, Esercito Italiano, Italian Air Force, Italian Army, NH-90, NH90, parachuters
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As I explained in a previous post (November 4th 2008 – 90th Anniversary of the end of WWI) between Nov 4 and Nov 9, the major Italian towns hosted the celebrations of the Armed Forces Day and the 90th anniversary of the end of WWI. Matteo Marianeschi went to Florence and took the following pictures of the static and air display conducted there on Nov 9.
November 4th 2008 – 90th Anniversary of the end of WWI November 18, 2008
Posted by David Cenciotti in Armed Forces Day, Aviation, Italian Air Force, Military Aviation.Tags: A106, A206, AB412, AB47, Aeronautica Militare, Agusta, aircraft carrier, Capitanerie di Porto, Carabinieri, Cavour, Esercito Italiano, Frecce Tricolori, ItAF, Italian AF, Italian Air Force, Italian Army, Marina Militare, MB339, NH-90
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Between Nov. 4 and Nov. 9, the most important Italian towns hosted the celebrations for Armed Forces day and the 90th Anniversary of the end of WWI. In particular, Rome Circus Maximus hosted an interesting static display of aircraft, helicopters and ground equipments of the Italian Armed Forces and Air Corps. Giovanni Maduli went there when the exhibition was being arranged and took the following interesting pictures of some of most important attendees. Among them, noteworthy, the Agusta A.106 of the Italian Navy (a light helicopter used for ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) platform for the Impavido-class destroyers of the Marina Militare; an A.206, an A-129 and an NH-90 of the Italian Army; and an MB339 PAN of the 313° Gruppo.
As part of the celebrations, the brand new Italian aircraft carrier Cavour was in Civitavecchia harbour. We visited it on Sunday Nov. 9th. A report on that visit will be published in the next weeks on this website.
Giornata Azzurra 2008 – pictures (part 1) May 26, 2008
Posted by David Cenciotti in Giornata Azzurra, Italian Air Force, Military Aviation.Tags: Aeronautica Militare, B.1B, B767, Boeing 767, c-130, C-27J, EH-101, Eurofighter, F-16, F-2000, Frecce Tricolori, Giornata Azzurra, M346, Mig-21, Mirage 2000, NF-5, NH-90, Open Day, Polish Air Force, Pratica di Mare, RSV, Team Orlik, Tornado, Turkish Air Force, Typhoon
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Blessed with good weather, this year’s edition of the Giornata Azzura was attended by more than 200.000 people on May 25. The two UAE Mirage 2000s and the accompanying C-130 were the most rare aircraft attending the show. The aircraft had arrived in the evening of May 23, even if there were rumors that the aircraft were scheduled for May 22, followed by the grey C-130. Pilots and military personnel were extremely polite, answered to all the questions made by the public and (unlike many others that sell their expensive Squadron’s memorabilia) offered the public a lot of presents (pins, stickers, etc), a sign of the prosperous Arab economics. Among the most photographed aircraft were the Romanian Air Force Mig-21 and AN-26 (arrived on May 23 after a stop in Istrana), the SH-3D in Special Colour scheme of the Belgian Air Force and the Turkish AF F-5 (that had arrived on May 22). The air display was focused on the tactical event that was described on a previous post on this site and that particularly interesting since it involved HH-3F, AB.212ICO, AMX, C-27J, C-130J, Tornado and F-2000 of the Italian Air Force in a simulated blitz to take an airport located at the border between two fighting countries. According to Pierfrancesco “Fats” Grassi, an F-16 driver of the 10th Gruppo, the Danish F-16 made one of the most technical display, not as “powerful” as the ones of the Belgian and Dutch Vipers, but probably more difficult. Other interesting displays were those of the Alenia M-346 , the AAR (Air to Air Refueling) demonstration of the KC-130J of the ItAF, the display of the CL-415 of the Protezione Civile, the Italian Army A-129s and Navy AV-8B and EH-101 ones, the one of the Italian Eurofighter, the Polish Team Orlik and the Patrouille de France and Frecce Tricolori. Unlike advertised, the B-1B did not perform the expected flyby, there was no B.767 used for the qualification of the ItAF pilots waiting for the delivery of the first KC-767 and there was no RAF Typhoon in static.
