This impressive video was shot years ago from the cockpit on an A-6 Intruder about to land on USS Carl Vinson in the Indian Ocean.
A night carrier trap landing is always a challenging task, even more so if a generator failure occurs during the approach.
Here’s how the author explains what is shown in the footage:
“The dimly lit ship is barely a speck in the night at about three miles (time 1:22). Warning tones are (1) radar altimeter (set to 1200′ and 375′) and (2) a rapid warning tone from the radar altimeter due to a generator failure. LSO [Landing Signal Officer] calls for “Wing lights,” which were lost due to the electrical malfunction (unknown to LSO). Expeditious emergency procedures for an electrical failure to regain lost electrical buses were completed while performing demanding tasks involved in landing a jet aboard the pitching deck of an aircraft carrier at night.”
H/T to our reader “brightlight” for the heads-up
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Stunning footage from U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet strike-fighter aviation community.
This year’s West Coast Hornet Ball video is simply amazing.
Produced by LT Joseph “C-Rock” Stephens, an Instructor WSO with the VFA-122 Flying Eagles, Hornet Ball 2015 features clips from most of the squadrons based at NAS Lemoore as well as the 4 forward deployed squadrons in Japan: VFA-102, VFA-27, VFA-115, and VFA-195.
This cool video filmed with GoPro cameras, shows launches and recoveries aboard the 38,000-ton, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle.
The footage not only lets you observe blue water operations of French Navy aircraft from the privileged eye of flight deck operators, but also brings you inside the cockpit of a Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (also shown firing an AS-30 missile) as well as aboard a Dassault Rafale M for a high-speed, ultra low-level flight.
As the footage shows, the French aircraft carrier uses the same kind of catapult of the American flattops, although the Super Étendards are launched with a wire attached to the bottom of the fuselage instead of a cat shuttle attached to the nose gear (which actually is the same way the F-4 Phantoms were launched from an aircraft carrier). That’s why, in the past French Rafale combat aircraft have operated from USS Trumanand F/A-18E Super Hornet and C-2A COD (Carrier On Board Delivery) planes have operated from Charles De Gaulle demonstrating interoperability between allied navies.
On Sep. 25, the venerable T-2 took its final flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, ending a 56-year career.
Developed to be used from early flight training right on to carrier indoctrination, the first single engine North American T2J-1 (later designated T-2A) was delivered to the Navy in July 1959.
After 217 T-2As were produced, it was decided that a twin engine version of this trainer would have been more appropriate for the purpose and 97 T-2Bs equipped with two Pratt and Whitney J60 engines were delivered beginning in 1965. The final major version of the Buckeye, the T-2C powered by two General Electric J85s was introduced in 1968 and, overall 231 examples were produced since then. The Buckeye was also sold to Venezuela (that acquired 12 T-2Ds) and to Greece (which bought 40 T-2Es).
The T-2 served the Navy as a two-seat intermediate carrier-capable jet trainer from 1959 until 2008, when it was replaced by the T-45 Goshawk. Three T-2s were retained by Air Test & Evaluation Squadron 20 as chase aircraft for aircraft and weapons testing and they will now be replaced by C-38 Courier business jets.
In the following video you can see a T-2 performing an OFC (Out of Control Flight) training sortie, aimed to provide the student with the fundamental knowledge necessary to recognize, analyse and recover from the loss of aerodynamic control of the aircraft.
You may like warbirds or not, but this video is awesome.
The Vought F4U Corsair is probably one of the most famous American fighter planes ever.
More than 12,500 examples of this aircraft were manufactured by Vought beginning in 1940, with final delivery of 1953, in what is known as the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history.
The Corsair, designed to operate from the flight deck of U.S. aircraft carriers, saw service during the WWII, during which it initially mainly operated from land bases in the hands of U.S. Marine pilots because of issues with carrier landings: once these were solved, the F4U became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of the conflict.
The Corsair flew also during the Korean War.
As mentioned before, it is one of the most famous warbirds ever: even my son knows this plane very well as its fame was boosted amoung younger generations by its participation in the Disney movie “Planes” that features a Corsair named “Skipper” among the leading characters.
