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Found 22 results

  1. FSX Grumman X10F-1 Jaguar Review / Phase 1 Flight Test By PhrogPhlyer This article will document a Phase 1 flight test for the FSX Grumman X10-1F Jaguar. The model was developed by uenoshing and is available on FlightSim.com (download here). His eight years of development are immediately apparent in the high level of photo quality texturing and a detailed and functional VC (3D cockpit). My initial impression when flying was that this is an excellent example of the transitionary aircraft of the jet age. Early jet engines were very low powered compared to newer engines. These aircraft were slow and heavy. And their flight characteristics were similar to the later model propellor driven fighters. If you want to fly at Mach and near Mach speeds, this generation of jets is not for you. The XF-10F is a fun and very visually and functionally detailed aircraft. It belongs in the hangar of anyone who enjoys early jets. The aircraft, being very realistic when initially flow, made me wonder what its full range and capabilities were. This is when I decided to do a full Phase 1 fight test. I will be following a very abbreviated version of the Phase 1 process used for actual aircraft. Some sections have been removed since they either do not apply to this particular aircraft or are not well reproduced in FSX. I referred to Naval Fighters Number Twenty-Six, Grumman Swing-wing XF-10F-1 Jaguar by Ginter Books, and modeled this test program loosely around that actual flight tests. http://www.ginterbooks.com/NAVAL/NF26.htm The specific tasks performed, and observations made, are recorded on test cards, one for each area that is being investigated. PRE-FIGHT / CONTROLS CHECK LOW SPEED TAXI and GROUND HANDLING HIGH SPEED TAXI and GROUND HANDLING INFLIGHT TESTS AIRCRAFT DATA CHECKLISTS Test Flight Location Edwards Air Force Base in California was chosen for the location to perform the test flights for the XF-10. It has been the scene for so many test flight activities through the years, most notably the historic breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager flying in the Bell X-1 rocket plane. Edwards also offers a unique location, away from population centers, stable clear weather, and distinct visible landmarks along its 125 miles of ranges. These are depicted on the aviation Sectional Chart as Restricted Areas (R-2515, R-2524, and R-2502, and R-2502N. Time to get to work. As with every flight, pre-flight is an essential, and regulatorily required activity to ensure that the aircraft is physically safe to fly. Flight #: 1 -- PRE-FLIGHT / CONTROLS CHECK (1 hour) Objectives Validate Pre-flight Condition Ensure Control Functioning As with real aircraft, preflight is a critical activity to make sure that the aircraft is ready for flight. This is when you can look at areas you cannot while flying and verify that all controls and switches are working correctly. For simulator aircraft, you verify that movable features are functioning. PRE-FLIGHT Cockpit Switches Canopy Full Range Open/Close Pitot Extend/Retract Tailhook Extend/Retract CONTROL FUNCTIONING Ailerons - Free/Correct (Correct refers to ensuring that the control surfaces move in the correct direction they should with movement of the cockpit controls Horizontal Stabilizer - Free/Correct Rudder - Free/Correct Wing Retraction Angle - 13.5° minimum sweep Wing Retraction Angle - 42.5° maximum sweep Landing Flaps and Tail Bumper Spoilers Trim (observe full deflections on cockpit indicators) NOTES Controls smooth, no friction or binding felt, minimal force required Aircraft ready for ground handling and flight Flight #: 2 -- LOW SPEED TAXI and GROUND HANDLING (1 hour) Objectives: Validate Ground Handling and Taxi Characteristics Explore Steering and Braking Characteristics Especially for aircraft you have never flown, low speed taxi and ground handling test give you an initial feel for the responsiveness of the aircraft. It also allows you to determine ramp space needed to maneuver around other aircraft and into parking spots. RAMP BRAKING Release parking brake Increase power to start taxi Full brake Record brake action Strong TURN RADIUS Release parking brake Increase power to start taxi Full differential brake in turn direction Full brake and stop after 180 deg of turn Record nosewheel displacement/radius 11 feet LOW SPEED TAXI Release parking brake Increase power to start taxi ?15 KIAS Taxi per Ground Control directions from ramp to runway via taxiways Make small S-turns along taxiway Stop at approach to runway Record taxi characteristics Stable NOTES Aircraft is slow to accelerate from a full stop. Brakes are firm with no apparent fading with full brake application. Turn radius is tight with no lean into outboard gear shock absorber. Immediate response to rudder inputs (nosewheel) without any oversteering or lagging after rudder application. Flight #: 3 -- HIGH SPEED TAXI and GROUND HANDLING (2 hours) Objectives: Validate Ground Handling and Taxi Characteristics Explore Steering and Braking Characteristics High speed taxi gives the pilot an opportunity to become familiar with the aircraft's handling without actually getting airborne (or with very minor lift offs with immediate landings. Acceleration times and runway length requirements are determined during these tests. Keep in mind that runway length requirements should include the length needed to get to takeoff speed AND what is needed then bring the aircraft to a stop. Many pilots have attempted to take off from a short field without considering the second part, stopping distance, with other than optimal results. Edwards AFB Runway 4 - 12,000' x 200' TAXI 15 to 50 KIAS - Rolling Runway line-up Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Release Brakes Apply T/O power Start timer Record time to 15 KIAS (5) 25 KIAS (10) 50 KIAS (15) seconds Record distance 15 KIAS (100)' 25 KIAS (275)' 50 KIAS (575)' Reduce power to idle No brake, decelerate to ≤15 KIAS Taxi back for next test TAXI 15 to 50 KIAS -- Brake Full Power Runway line-up Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Full Brakes Apply T/O power 5 second then brake release Start timer Record time to 15 KIAS (7) 25 KIAS (12) 50 KIAS (20) seconds Record distance 15 KIAS (50)' 25 KIAS (115)' 50 KIAS (230)' Reduce power to idle No brake, decelerate ≤15 KIAS Taxi back for next test Aborted T/O & 50 KIAS Runway line-up Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Release Brakes Apply T/O power Accelerate to 50 KIAS Rapidly reduce power to idle Apply and hold full brakes Record braking characteristics, comment in notes (Strong) Taxi back for next test TAXI 50 to 100 KIAS Runway line-up Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Release Brakes Apply T/O power Start timer Time to 50 KIAS (20) 75 KIAS (30) 100 KIAS (48) Distance 50 KIAS (575)' 75 KIAS (1350)' 1000 KIAS (3425)' Reduce power to idle Roll to ≤15 KIAS Taxi back for next section TAXI 50 to 100 KIAS -- Brake Full Power Runway line-up Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Full Brakes Apply T/O power 5 seconds then release brakes Start timer Time to 50 KIAS (15) 75 KIAS (25) 100 KIAS (35) Distance 50 KIAS (230)' 75 KIAS (650)' 1000 KIAS (1550)' Reduce power to idle Mild brake decelerate to ≤15 KIAS Taxi back for next section Aborted T/O & 100 KIAS Runway line-up Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Release Brakes Apply T/O power Accelerate to 100 KIAS Rapidly reduce power to idle Apply and hold full brakes Record braking characteristics, comment in notes (Strong) Taxi back for next test Repeat all sections above with aft wing sweep. Note is any variance in acceleration times. NOTES With the power reduction at 50 KIASs aircraft Continued to accelerate to 60 KIASs before decelerating. 100 KIAS aborted T/O, 11 seconds to full stop. Tracked straight with no tendency to swerve left or right. Acceleration times for all repeated sections had the same time to speeds with forward or aft wing sweep. Approx. 50% ground roll reduction with brakes and full power applied for 5 seconds (95% engine rpm) before brake release. Flight #: 4 -- INFLIGHT TESTS (3 hours) Objectives: Validate Flight Handing Characteristics in Various Configurations Determine Maximum Level Flight Speeds Determine Stall Speeds Determine Maximum Obtainable Speed (dive) Determine Service Ceiling Takeoff and Climbout Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Release Brakes Apply T/O power At 120 KIASs smooth pull back until 10° nose high Hold pitch attitude to start climb Record speed at lift off from runway. (140) KIAS Retract Gear at 1,000' AGL (use radio altimeter) Do not change throttle setting, until passing 2000' AGL (use radio altimeter) Climb out at 160 KIASS Climb to 8,000' MSL and level off Slow Flight Verify wing forward sweep and mid-flaps Setup 50% RPM Check engine gauges Record Exhaust Temp (440) °C and Oil Press (31) psi At 8,000' trim for hands-off level flight Record TAS (120) KIASs Yaw with rudder left and right 5 degrees 360 degree clearing turns (10 degrees bank) 360 degree clearing turns (20 degrees bank) Decrease speed to 140 KIASs Apply full flaps Slowly decrease speed to 120 KIASS -- maintain altitude 360 degree clearing turns (20 degrees bank) Apply full flaps Slowly decrease speed to 100 KIASs -- maintain altitude 360 degree clearing turns at 20 degrees bank Cruise Flight Check engine instruments Increase throttle (85% RPM) Maintain stable level flight Record speed (180) KIASs Power-off Stall -- Forward Wing Sweep Check engine instruments Throttle (50% RPM) Slowly decrease speed to 120 KIASs Throttle to Idle -- maintain altitude until stall Decrease AOA (angle of attack) and increase throttle (50% RPM) Climb back to 8000' Record speed at stall (100) KIASs Power-off Stall -- Aft Wing Sweep Check engine instruments Throttle (50% RPM) Wings set to aft sweep Slowly decrease speed to 120 KIASs Throttle to Idle -- maintain altitude until stall Decrease AOA (angle of attack) and increase throttle (50% RPM) Climb back to 8000' Record speed at stall (110) KIASs Power-on Stall -- Forward Wing Sweep Set wings full forward Check engine instruments Throttle (Max RPM) Climb at 40° nose up Maintain attitude until stall Decrease AOA (angle of attack) and decrease throttle (50% RPM) Descend back to 8000' Record speed at stall (85) KIASs Power-off Stall -- Aft Wing Sweep Set wings full aft Check engine instruments Throttle (Max RPM) Climb at 40° nose up Maintain attitude until stall Decrease AOA (angle of attack) and decrease throttle (50% RPM) Descend back to 8000' Record speed at stall (85) KIASs With aft sweep, Rapid pitch up when high AOA is maintained with immediate wing and nose drop to spin entry. Normal spin recovery is immediate with minimal loss of altitude (less than 2500'). Landing Configuration Stall Check engine instruments Throttle (50% RPM) Wings set to full forward sweep Set full flaps Slowly decrease speed to 120 KIASs Landing gear down and locked Throttle to Idle -- maintain altitude until stall Decrease AOA (angle of attack) and increase throttle (max RPM) Climb back to 8000' Configure for cruise Record speed at stall (100) KIASs High Speed Level Flight Climb to and maintain 10,000' Wings forward sweep Establish max. cruise at 85% RPM Increase to full throttle Record speed (180) KIASs Wings to aft sweep Record speed (240) KIASs Service Ceiling -- Forward Wing Sweep Climb to and maintain 10,000' Nose up 20° and decelerate to 140 KIASs in the climb Increase power to maintain 140 KIASs When full power is reached, maintain airspeed above stall until reaching service ceiling Record initial rate of climb (2,500) fpm Record stabilized rate of climb (1,200) fpm Max altitude is obtained when aircraft is at full power above stall, and VSI reverses from climb to descent Record maximum altitude (20,990)' at (110) KIASs Service Ceiling -- Aft Wing Sweep Descend to and maintain 10,000' Nose up 20° and decelerate to 140 KIASs in the climb Increase power to maintain 140 KIASs When full power is reached, maintain airspeed above stall until reaching service ceiling Record initial rate of climb (4,500) fpm Record stabilized rate of climb (1,500) fpm Max altitude is obtained when aircraft is at full power above stall, and VSI reverses from climb to descent Record maximum altitude (21,650)' at (110) KIASs Maximum Speed - Dive At service ceiling nose down 45° Apply full power in the dive Approaching 6000' throttle back to minimum rpm Gentle back stick to stop decent and level off Power to 50% RPM Record max speed obtained (550) KIASs Landing Depart test range direct to Edwards AFB Contact Edwards Tower, Request the break for Rwy 4 Maneuver to lineup on runway heading direct for the runway, 160 KIASs; A break is an airport pattern entry procedure, mostly used by the military, to enter the pattern from over the runway to the downwind leg Break at the upwind numbers During the 180° turn to downwind configure the aircraft for landing (flop, chop, drop) Flop, 60° Chop, power reduced for pattern speed Drop, lower gear and flaps as required Fly pattern at 140 KIASS Position abeam the numbers, slow to 120 KIASs The military uses a 180° downwind to base to final pattern. This is different than the civil squared pattern with a defined base leg. At the 90 At the 45 Short final, Full flaps with tail bumper for landing Over the threshold, 110 KIASs Flare/round out (small bounce) Touchdown, 100 KIASs Not my best landing, but safely on the ground. Taxi back and "Grin" NOTES Generally, very stable handling. Responsive in pitch and roll allowing most aerobatic maneuvers. Nose drops on rapid roll during pattern break. Anticipate and/or add up trim during break line-up. Cross threshold at 110 KIASs to minimize floating during flare. Autopilot was not evaluated. Shipboard tail hook was not evaluated. Spoilers/speed brake was not evaluated. Performance Vr 120 KIAS VLO 140 KIAS Cruise 160 KIAS Cruise Speed Aft Flaps 220 KIAS Max Level Speed Fwd Flaps 180 KIAS Max Level Speed Aft Flaps 240 KIAS Max Speed Dive Aft Flaps 550 KIAS Pattern Speed 140 KIAS Vref 110 KIAS Landing Speed 100 KIAS Vso 85 KIAS Vs 100 KIAS Aircraft Data Length 54.43ft Height 16.24ft Width maximum sweep 36.65 ft Width minimum sweep 52.42 ft Retraction angle maximum sweep 42.5° Retraction angle minimum sweep 13.5° Wing Area maximum sweep 450 ft/sq Wing Area minimum sweep 467 ft/sq Empty weight 20.426 lb Maximum takeoff weight 35,450 lb Engine Westinghouse 40-WE-6 Normal thrust 6,700 lb Maximum thrust 7,400 lb Maximum speed 550 KIAS (633 mph) Range 1,670 mi Fuel Capacity (fuselage) 1,037 gallons in fuselage (3 locations) Fuel Capacity (Wings) 548 gallons in wings (2 locations) Fuel Capacity (Tanks) 600 gallons in tanks (2 locations) Fuel Capacity (Max) 2185 gal 14858 lb Definitions KIAS Knots Indicated Air Speed Vr Rotation speed. The speed at which the pilot begins to apply control inputs to cause the aircraft nose to pitch up, after which it will leave the ground. VLO Takeoff Speed. Speed that the aircraft lifts off from the runway with no further control inputs after rotation. Vx Speed that will allow for best angle of climb. Vy Speed that will allow for best rate of climb. Vref / Threshold Speed 110 KIASs (Landing reference speed or threshold crossing speed. Must be at least 1.3 VS0.) Landing Speed 100 KIASs Vso 85 KIAS (Stall speed or minimum flight speed in landing configuration.) Vs 100 KIAS (Stall speed or minimum flight speed.) Vfe 85 KIAS (Maximum flap extended speed.) Vno 111 KIAS (Maximum structural cruising speed or maximum speed for normal operations. Speed at which exceeding the limit load factor may cause permanent deformation of the aircraft structure.) Vne 149 KIAS (Never exceed speed.) Checklists STARTUP Set the fuel to your desired amount. Parking Brake -- SET Master battery -- ON. (Shift + 1 / Power control panel) Generator switch -- ON. (Shift + 1 / Power control panel) Avionics switch -- ON. (Shift + 1 / Power control panel) Fuel control switch -- ON. (Shift + 2 / Engine control panel) Engine start switch -- ON. (Shift + 2 / Engine control panel) TAXI Pitot -- EXTEND, Jettison -- OFF (There is a jettison switch on the front left edge of the VC's left console panel. When the switch is turned on, the nose pitot tube is retracted.) Brakes -- CHECK Instrument Cross-Check -- CHECK BEFORE TAKEOFF Brakes -- CHECK Nose Wheel -- STRAIGHT Brakes -- SET and HOLD Flight Controls -- FREE and CORRECT Communication/Navigation Radios - SET Flight Instruments - SET and CHECKED Fuel Quantities -- CHECKED Trim - SET for TAKEOFF Flaps - SET for TAKEOFF Canopy - CLOSED and LATCHED Seat - ADJUSTED/ LOCKED Departure Briefing - CLEARANCE / EMERG. PLAN Advisory/ Tower - CONTACT CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF Lights - AS REQUIRED Transponder -- ALTITUDE Brakes -- HOLD Traffic -- CHECK Throttle - 50% RPM Engine Gauges -- CHECK Throttle -- MAX RPM Throttle - 85% or HIGHER Brakes -- RELEASE Elevator Control - LIFT NOSE AT 110 KIAS Climb Speed - 140 KIAS Flaps - RETRACT IF APPLICABLE ENROUTE CLIMB Airspeed - 160 KIAS Throttle - FULL OPEN CRUISE Power - SET for CRUISE Trim - AS REQUIRED Landing Light - OFF Heading Indicator - CROSS-CHECK DESCENT ASOS/ATIS - OBTAIN Altimeter - SET Arrival Briefing - COMPLETE Power - AS REQUIRED Landing Light - ON Wing Flaps - AS REQUIRED BEFORE LANDING Seats, Belts and Shoulder Harnesses - ADJUST/LOCKED NORMAL LANDING Power - AS REQUIRED Airspeed - (mid up) 140 KIAS Wing Flaps - AS REQUIRED Airspeed - (full flaps) 120 KIAS Touchdown - MAIN WHEELS FIRST Brakes - APPLY AS NECESSARY GO AROUND (BALKED LANDING) Throttle - FULL OPEN Wing Flaps - RETRACT TO MID-FLAPS Climb Speed - 140 KIAS AFTER LANDING / CLEAR OF RUNWAY Wing Flaps - RETRACT TO MID-FLAPS Landing Light - OFF Transponder - STANDBY Taxi Clearance / Advisory - CONTACT SECURING AIRPLANE Radios & Electrical Equipment - OFF Pitot - RETRACT Throttle - IDLE Mixture - IDLE CUT-OFF Ignition - OFF Beacon - OFF Master Switch - OFF Flight Information - RECORD Wheel Chocks & Tie Downs - SECURE Post Flight Walk-Around - COMPLETE
  2. /images/notams/notams22/f19update.jpgF-19 is the designation for a hypothetical US fighter aircraft thathas never been officially acknowledged, and has engendered muchspeculation that it might refer to a type of aircraft whose existenceis still classified. Since the unification of the numbering system in 1962,U.S. fighters have been designated by consecutive numbers, beginningwith the F-1 Fury. F-13 was never assigned to a fighter due totriskaidekaphobia, though the designation had previously been used fora reconnaissance version of the B-29. After the F/A-18 Hornet, thenext announced aircraft was the YF-20 Tigershark. The USAF proposedthe F-19 designation for the fighter, but Northrop requested the"F-20" instead. The USAF finally approved the F-20 designation in1982. The truth behind this jump in numbers is Northrop pressed thedesignation "YF-20" as they wanted an even number, in order to standout from the Soviet odd-numbered designations. Despite this, thedesignations YF-17 and YF-23 were not skipped (although YF-20, YF-17and YF-23 all were prototypes and did not enter production phase). /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-2.jpgThe United States received the first Lockheed F-117 stealth fighterin 1982. During the decade many news articles discussed what theycalled the "F-19". The Testor Corporation produced a F-19 scalemodel. The company had decades of experience in producing highlydetailed models that pilots and aerospace engineers purchased, andused its sources in the United States military and defensecontractors. The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and other mediadiscussed the model after its January 1986 introduction; when the realstealth aircraft crashed in California in July 1986, news stories usedthe model to depict it. Representative Ron Wyden asked the chairman of Lockheed Corporationwhy an aircraft that Congressmen could not see was sold as modelaircraft. The publicity helped to make the model the best-sellingmodel aircraft of all time, but it did not really resemble the F-117,which no doubt pleased those working with the real, secretaircraft. The F-117 designation was publicly revealed with the actualaircraft in November 1988. /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-3.jpgFeaturesFmodFully animated 3D exterior model with gear, flaps, flight controlsWeapon bay door opening matches selected weaponFully animated 3D interior cockpit model: with stick, throttle, rudder pedals, switchesEjection seatMultiple liveries available separatelySASL plug-in driven avionics and automated systemsDefault auto flap control options can be switched off for full manual control if desiredUser flight manual4K textures1 modelNav light selectionGarmin 1000Pilot automaticEngine systemsComplete NAV systemOptimized for XP11 and XP12 /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-4.jpgPurchase pizzagalli.ch - Northrop Grumman F19 Stealth For X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 See other pizzagalli.ch aircraft for X-Plane
  3. /images/notams/notams22/iron0909.jpgThe logical successor & evolution to the F4F Wildcat, the Hellcat was the monstrous carrier-borne aircraft of the United States Navy in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. The Hellcat first appeared operationally in August 1943, proving its value immediately and taking part in some of the greatest air battles of the Pacific; from the Caroline Islands, to the Battle of the Philippines & many more. The aircraft was incredibly successful in battle, accounting for more than half of all airborne kills from the US Navy. The F6F claimed 5,156 total kills with an extraordinary kill ratio of 19:1, creating 307 Hellcat Pilot aces in the process. Featuring all-new ground handling physics developed in-house, custom thermodynamics modelling, cockpit shake effects, realistic water injection & automated flaps (a ground-breaking feature of the time), supercharger modelling and much, much more. The F6F Hellcat has been truly brought to life in MSFS! FeaturesGorgeous 3D Artwork, lovingly crafted over 6+ months to capture every fine detail of the real airframeProfessional Wwise 3D Sound Design, using professionally captured audio recordings from a real F6F Hellcat & R-2800 Double Wasp EngineUltra-realistic Flight Model, extensively tested & validated by real-world pilots with Warbird flying experience.Deep & realistic modelling of all aircraft engine & cockpit systems – pilots must fly as per real-world techniques & procedures to get the most out of the simExtensive integration of custom modelling that overrides default MSFS behaviour – Thermodynamics (heat & cooling modelling), ground handling, engine damage, water injection and much moreFull integration of the FlyingIron UI Tablet, featuring saveable user customisation options, settings, basic maintenance and live aircraft reportsDetailed engine damage modelling (optional)Collimated Gunsight can be swapped for integrated GNS530 GPSComprehensive user manual, complete with a large amount of reference tables, charts & proceduresSource
  4. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomc0922.jpgChangelog v1.0.3Emergency Sim Update 9 correction to HUD and displaysAdded Asobo special effects for G vapour, contrails etcNew liveries for both F-14A and F-14BNew coding for better visibility of wings and crew in multiplayer ( experimental )Afterburner textures and emissives improvedNew coding for wing-sweep manual over-ride, now slaved to Logo LightCockpit textures improved for greater resolutionAbout DC Designs F-14 TomcatDC Designs are proud to announce the F-14 A/B Tomcat package forMicrosoft Flight Simulator, bringing you two highly detailed MSFSmodels. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-1.jpgFully Native MSFS AircraftAll models have been coded with Microsoft Flight Simulator native 'Model Behaviors' animations and built to MSFS operational specifications to prevent issues with future simulator upgrades. All custom cockpit instruments and screens are coded in HTML for native, high-performance display in MSFS The Tomcats make use of the new simulator's features such as effects and sounds, fully reflective glass, native aerodynamic sound structures, the new 'Modern' aerodynamics system with the ability to provoke 'departure spins', and customised visibility controls for wheel chocks, covers, tie-down chains and GPU The Tomcats also contain custom-built and animated effects such as afterburners Full compressor-stall engine modelling and coding for the F-14A TF-30 engines Other features include authentic cockpit night lighting with brightness controls, which includes user-operated 'slime lights' for combat operations, and custom-coded manoeuvring flaps, slats and intake ramps, all based on aircraft airspeed and angle of attack Numerous external animations including canopy, crew ladders, tail hook and control surfaces The F-14 Tomcats are fully compliant with Virtual Reality headsets Full custom sound sets for both the TF-30-powered F-14A Tomcat and the GE-F110-powered F-14B Tomcat /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-3.jpgCockpitTruly 3D virtual cockpits featuring accurately modelled ejector seats, controls and detailed texturing All analogue instruments constructed in 3D with smooth animations Reflective rear-view mirrors 'Scratched canopy' glass effects, reflective glass, icing and rain effects Crew figures in the virtual cockpit are coded to disappear when you occupy their seats Front and rear cockpit positions included in both variants Fully customisable crew helmets, names, flight suit patches and even faces /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-2.jpgAircraft Systems3D modelled dials, ADI, 'whiskey' compass and other high-detail instruments designed to emulate the appearance of the real F-14 Tomcat Display screens with visual layouts based on the real aircraft's systems (within the confines of MSFS' current capability) Head-Up Display with authentic layout based on the real F-14A Custom-coded, user-controlled ordnance via the simulator Payload Manager, allowing for live mounting of weapons on hardpoints with active weight increase F-14 Tomcat systems include Direct Lift Control, CADC and basic ACLS The aircraft are compatible with the Hard Deck Simulations Aircraft Carrier Module /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-5.jpgPaint SchemesF-14A: VF-1 Wolfpack VF-41 Black Aces VF-84 Jolly Rogers VF-142 GhostridersF-14B: VF-143 Pukin' Dogs VF-32 Swordsmen VF-213 Black LionsA paint kit is also provided. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-4.jpgManualA full operations manual is included in the software and you canalso download ithere. DC Designs' F-14 Tomcat is designed to provide a top-qualityaircraft that is extremely detailed, yet less demanding to fly thantoday's most complex procedural simulators. Equipped with all requiredavionics, and with custom-coded animations and systems, the DC DesignsF-14 Tomcat is designed to be accessible to all users without the needfor intense study. Purchase Just Flight - DC Designs - F-14 A/B Tomcat for MSFS See other DC Designs aircraft for MSFS 2020
  5. /images/notams/notams22/heav0104/heaven-1.jpgIn 1936, the prototype XF3F-2 took to the air with a new WrightCyclone power plant, a top speed of 255 mph and a service ceiling of33,800 feet. The US Navy ordered 81 Grumman F3F-2 s in1937. Development problems in the design program for upcoming newmonoplane fighters led to an 'extension' of the useful career of theF3F and the production of the F3F-3 version for 1938. Apart from someminor aerodynamic improvements, these machines were practicallyidentical to the F3F-2. Affectionately nick-named "The Flying Barrel", pilots enjoyed theF3F-2 immensely reporting it as a 'joy to fly' being fast, immenselystrong and an agile performer. Snap rolls, tight turns and loops werecarried out with ease and the aeroplane could be put down in a perfectthree pointer at varying speeds and weight configurations.,/p> /images/notams/notams22/heav0104/heaven-3.jpgMany design features such as the complex action retractingundercarriage and 'tubby' fuselage would find their way into the newbreed of ship borne fighters, the legendary F4F Wildcats. A total of 140 F3Fs were still on squadron strength at the outbreakof hostilities and the rugged little fighters remained in service ascombat trainers, until as late as 1943. The "Flying Barrel" was not to see combat, being superceded by thenew generation of monoplane ship-board fighters, the Grumman F4FWildcat around the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1936, aspecial Grumman F3F-1 was built by the factory for Major Alford “ Alâ€Williams, head of aviation for Gulf Oil Company and well-knownaerobatic display pilot. The aeroplane was flown as a demonstrator forGulf Oil (and Grumman) and appeared at air-shows and military displaysall over the U.S. before WW2. Called "Gulfhawk II" and powered by a 1000 hp version of theCyclone, the aeroplane displayed its aerobatic capabilities, speed andstrength to great effect. So much so that the airframe was not retireduntil 1948 when Williams flew it on its final flight to Washington,after which it was to take its rightful place in the now SmithsonianNational Air and Space Museum. Gulfhawk II is included in this packageand would make an ideal starter for the Reno Races! The package includes a variety of colorful liveries from pre-warfighter squadrons /images/notams/notams22/heav0104/heaven-2.jpgFeaturesAll new hi-fidelity models with superb detail including modelled rivets and overlapping panels.Beautifully crafted exterior and interior models built over contemporary detailed plans and drawingsAuthentic cockpit detail includes many bespoke animations and effects.Full PBR materials and textures include realistic "pillowing" of metal surfaces.Animated authentic U.S. military pilot figureSpecially animated, realistic undercarriage operation.Choice of electric or cartridge start.Highly accurate flight dynamics and perfomance based on real flight tests.Specially authored WWise Hi-Fidelity sound package.Unique code to "iron" out poor simulator tail-dragger performance. /images/notams/notams22/heav0104/heaven-4.jpgLiveriesThe package includes a variety of colorful liveries from pre-war fighter squadrons: VF-6 BU1033 aboard “WASPâ€VF-6 BU0986 aboard “ENTERPRISEâ€VF-4 BU0810 aboard “LEXINGTON"VMF-2 BU0976 aboard “SARATOGAâ€US Navy fighter trainer from 1942BU0972 U.S.Army Air Corps"GulfHawk II" as flown by "Al" WilliamsSource
  6. /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-1.jpgF-19 is the designation for a hypothetical US fighter aircraft thathas never been officially acknowledged, and has engendered muchspeculation that it might refer to a type of aircraft whose existenceis still classified. Since the unification of the numbering system in 1962,U.S. fighters have been designated by consecutive numbers, beginningwith the F-1 Fury. F-13 was never assigned to a fighter due totriskaidekaphobia, though the designation had previously been used fora reconnaissance version of the B-29. After the F/A-18 Hornet, thenext announced aircraft was the YF-20 Tigershark. The USAF proposedthe F-19 designation for the fighter, but Northrop requested the"F-20" instead. The USAF finally approved the F-20 designation in1982. The truth behind this jump in numbers is Northrop pressed thedesignation "YF-20" as they wanted an even number, in order to standout from the Soviet odd-numbered designations. Despite this, thedesignations YF-17 and YF-23 were not skipped (although YF-20, YF-17and YF-23 all were prototypes and did not enter production phase). /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-2.jpgThe United States received the first Lockheed F-117 stealth fighterin 1982. During the decade many news articles discussed what theycalled the "F-19". The Testor Corporation produced a F-19 scalemodel. The company had decades of experience in producing highlydetailed models that pilots and aerospace engineers purchased, andused its sources in the United States military and defensecontractors. The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and other mediadiscussed the model after its January 1986 introduction; when the realstealth aircraft crashed in California in July 1986, news stories usedthe model to depict it. Representative Ron Wyden asked the chairman of Lockheed Corporationwhy an aircraft that Congressmen could not see was sold as modelaircraft. The publicity helped to make the model the best-sellingmodel aircraft of all time, but it did not really resemble the F-117,which no doubt pleased those working with the real, secretaircraft. The F-117 designation was publicly revealed with the actualaircraft in November 1988. /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-3.jpgFeaturesFmodFully animated 3D exterior model with gear, flaps, flight controlsWeapon bay door opening matches selected weaponFully animated 3D interior cockpit model: with stick, throttle, rudder pedals, switchesEjection seatMultiple liveries available separatelySASL plug-in driven avionics and automated systemsDefault auto flap control options can be switched off for full manual control if desiredUser flight manual4K textures1 modelNav light selectionGarmin 1000Pilot automaticEngine systemsComplete NAV systemOptimized for XP11 /images/notams/notams21/pizz1108/f19-4.jpgPurchase pizzagalli.ch - Northrop Grumman F19 Stealth For X-Plane See other pizzagalli.ch aircraft for X-Plane
  7. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomc0922.jpgDC Designs are proud to announce the F-14 A/B Tomcat package forMicrosoft Flight Simulator, bringing you two highly detailed MSFSmodels. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-1.jpgFully Native MSFS AircraftAll models have been coded with Microsoft Flight Simulator native 'Model Behaviors' animations and built to MSFS operational specifications to prevent issues with future simulator upgrades. All custom cockpit instruments and screens are coded in HTML for native, high-performance display in MSFS The Tomcats make use of the new simulator's features such as effects and sounds, fully reflective glass, native aerodynamic sound structures, the new 'Modern' aerodynamics system with the ability to provoke 'departure spins', and customised visibility controls for wheel chocks, covers, tie-down chains and GPU The Tomcats also contain custom-built and animated effects such as afterburners Full compressor-stall engine modelling and coding for the F-14A TF-30 engines Other features include authentic cockpit night lighting with brightness controls, which includes user-operated 'slime lights' for combat operations, and custom-coded manoeuvring flaps, slats and intake ramps, all based on aircraft airspeed and angle of attack Numerous external animations including canopy, crew ladders, tail hook and control surfaces The F-14 Tomcats are fully compliant with Virtual Reality headsets Full custom sound sets for both the TF-30-powered F-14A Tomcat and the GE-F110-powered F-14B Tomcat /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-3.jpgCockpitTruly 3D virtual cockpits featuring accurately modelled ejector seats, controls and detailed texturing All analogue instruments constructed in 3D with smooth animations Reflective rear-view mirrors 'Scratched canopy' glass effects, reflective glass, icing and rain effects Crew figures in the virtual cockpit are coded to disappear when you occupy their seats Front and rear cockpit positions included in both variants Fully customisable crew helmets, names, flight suit patches and even faces /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-2.jpgAircraft Systems3D modelled dials, ADI, 'whiskey' compass and other high-detail instruments designed to emulate the appearance of the real F-14 Tomcat Display screens with visual layouts based on the real aircraft's systems (within the confines of MSFS' current capability) Head-Up Display with authentic layout based on the real F-14A Custom-coded, user-controlled ordnance via the simulator Payload Manager, allowing for live mounting of weapons on hardpoints with active weight increase F-14 Tomcat systems include Direct Lift Control, CADC and basic ACLS The aircraft are compatible with the Hard Deck Simulations Aircraft Carrier Module /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-5.jpgPaint SchemesF-14A: VF-1 Wolfpack VF-41 Black Aces VF-84 Jolly Rogers VF-142 GhostridersF-14B: VF-143 Pukin' Dogs VF-32 Swordsmen VF-213 Black LionsA paint kit is also provided. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0922/tomcat-4.jpgManualA full operations manual is included in the software and you canalso download ithere. DC Designs' F-14 Tomcat is designed to provide a top-qualityaircraft that is extremely detailed, yet less demanding to fly thantoday's most complex procedural simulators. Equipped with all requiredavionics, and with custom-coded animations and systems, the DC DesignsF-14 Tomcat is designed to be accessible to all users without the needfor intense study. Purchase Just Flight - DC Designs - F-14 A/B Tomcat for MSFS
  8. /images/notams/notams21/tomc0804/tomcat-2.jpgNow then what do we have here? We'll be showing more and puttingthe product page live very soon so you can see more and read more. Inthe meantime enjoy these teasers. F-14 Tomcat for MSFS coming soon... /images/notams/notams21/tomc0804/tomcat-1.jpg /images/notams/notams21/tomc0804/tomcat-3.jpg /images/notams/notams21/tomc0804/tomcat-5.jpg /images/notams/notams21/tomc0804/tomcat-4.jpg /images/notams/notams21/tomc0804/tomcat-6.jpgThe Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American supersonic, twin-engine,two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcatwas developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimentalprogram after the collapse of the F-111B project. Source
  9. /images/notams/notams21/widg0729/widg0729.jpgThe G-44A is an American high-wing, twin-engine, amphibious lightaircraft produced by the Grumman Aerospace Corporation in the late1930s. Grumman envisioned a smaller version of its G-21 Goose, whichhad proven successful as a business transport aircraft. Called theWidgeon, the prototype of the aircraft first flew in July of 1940,intended for the civil market. World War II intervened, however, and the production aircraftentered service for the militaries of the United States andBritain. At the end of the conflict, Grumman revisited the civilianconcept for the airframe and released the G-44A Widgeon. The G-44A,with seating for six including the pilot, quickly became well-known asa reliable, durable machine eminently capable of operation from bothland and water, notably in austere and remote areas like those ofAlaska. /images/notams/notams21/widg0729/g44a-widgeon-1.jpgThe Widgeon is driven by two wing-mounted Ranger 6-440-C5six-cylinder engines that each produce 200 horsepower. The airplanehas a maximum speed of 160 miles per hour, a climb rate of 1,750 feetper minute, and a ceiling of 18,000 feet above sea level. A classic gem in the history of aviation, the Grumman G-44A Widgeonallows pilots to access the sky from either land or water, and do soconfidently. From inside the cockpit of the burly machine, aviatorscan launch into the heights from a modern airport, then touch down ona river deep in the backcountry, then leap again into the air from theshore. A go-anywhere craft, the Widgeon provides one of the rarestopportunities to be found in the world of aviation, one that combinespiloting with exploration. /images/notams/notams21/widg0729/g44a-widgeon-2.jpgThe Widgeon was originally designed for the civil market. It issmaller but otherwise similar to Grumman's earlier G-21 Goose, and wasproduced from 1941 to 1955. The aircraft was used during World War IIas a small patrol and utility machine by the United States Navy, USCoast Guard and by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The first prototype flew in 1940, and the first production aircraftwent to the United States Navy as an anti-submarine aircraft. Intotal, 276 were built by Grumman, including 176 for themilitary. During World War II, they served with the US Navy, CoastGuard, Civil Air Patrol and Army Air Force, as well as with theBritish Royal Navy, who gave it the service name Gosling. /images/notams/notams21/widg0729/g44a-widgeon-3.jpgFlysimware InformationAlmost all parts animated throughout the interior model. Withcustom coding we have accurate systems down to the smallestdetails. We have included Flysimware's GNS 530. Includes a popupwindows for a service hangar, aircraft options, startup procedures anda live payload manager. This is Flysimware's first model that wasdeveloped with 3DS MAX giving you full AO effects on all 3Dparts. Flysimware keeps improving the quality and overall systems foreach project. /images/notams/notams21/widg0729/g44a-widgeon-4.jpgFeaturesReal World operational Realistic flight dynamics 4K full PBR textures Interactive environment sounds produced through Wwise Custom coding for real World gauges and animations Garmin GTX327 / Garmin GMA 340 / Garmin GNS 530 Bendix ADF KR 87 / Bendix DME KN 62A High quality pilots Windshield rain visuals Full exterior icing visuals Parking mode / chocks / Tie Downs / Engine Plugs Full custom coded checklist with interactive copilotSoundsCustom engine sound set Interactive environment sounds produced through Wwise /images/notams/notams21/widg0729/g44a-widgeon-5.jpgPaint ThemesU.S. Navy V202 - Military U.S. Coast Guard V203 - Military U.S. Rescue - Military Italian Navy N141R - Military N24475 - CivilianPurchase Flysimware - Grumman G44A Widgeon for MSFS 2020
  10. /images/notams/notams21/pizz0708/pizz0708.jpgP-30 is a new project different from what currently exists. The plane hasthe wings reversed in the direction of advance, a technique very difficult tocarry out, because of the enormous stresses on the wings in supersonic mode.But today with composite materials, this has become possible. The 1980sGrumman X-29 (1984 to 1991 for the last flight) was designed to explore thispromising technique. /images/notams/notams21/pizz0708/p30-1.jpgIt's been 40 years already. The plane was a success, but I do not know the reasons for itsabandonment. The X-29 clearly inspired this P30. This is the reason why itsname is: Northrop Grumman P30. The Sukhoi SU-47 uses the same principles, but later, in 1997. thatairplane also was abandoned. For the pleasure of making and flying this P-30 aircraft, it is alsovertical takeoff, with orientable thrust vectors. /images/notams/notams21/pizz0708/p30-2.jpgFeaturesFMODFully animated 3D exterior model:GearFlapsFlight controlsThrust vectorsEasy transitions between vertical and conventional flight modesWeapon bay door opening matches selected weaponFully animated 3D interior cockpit model:Stick, throttle, rudder pedals, switchesEjection seatMultiple liveries available on the X-Plane.org freeware download managerSASL plug-in driven avionics and automated systemsDefault auto tilt, auto trim and auto flap control options can be switched off for full manual control if desiredFlight manualTexture 4K1 modelsNav light selectionGarmin 1000Pilot automaticEngine systemsComplete NAV system /images/notams/notams21/pizz0708/p30-3.jpg /images/notams/notams21/pizz0708/p30-4.jpgOptimized for X-Plane 11. Purchase pizzagalli.ch - Northrop Grumman P-30 For X-Plane See other pizzagalli.ch aircraft
  11. My mantra... Say the title a few times fast and you'll have the theme of this post. Some Oregon flying in the ever-delightful Goose. Best amphibian since Kermit the Frog. -- Bob
  12. Prepar3D Freeware Focus: A.F. Scrub By Nirosan Pragash /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-07.jpg In this freeware focus article, I willbe looking at three Prepar3D add-ons (also compatible with FSX),which I feel are well worth your time investigating. Before I talkabout each one specifically, I wanted to explain my reasons forwriting a freeware article based around Prepar3D, and not FSX. Unlike many of you reading this, I am a relatively new convert tothe world of flight simulations, having first experienced Microsoft'sFSX flight simulator about four years ago. Prior to that, I was aconsole only gamer (mostly Second World War first person shooters anddriving games), but after seeing a friend land at an airport I knowwell from vacations, I was hooked! FSX is a great simulator, and one which has served mewell. However, now that my computer hardware is up to scratch, I havefinally made the move to Prepar3D, and the changes (in places) isquite remarkable. For me personally, I think the biggest difference Ihave found between FSX and Prepar3D, is that Lockheed Martin'splatform seems to work a lot better from the off. Less tweaking meansI can enjoy my flying (and simulated training) more often. However,many of the aircraft I have purchased for FSX, are not compatible (orlicensed) for the latest release of the simulator (at present, version4), and so this has led me to look for freeware alternatives. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-05.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-06.jpg As my particular area of interest lies in military aviation, Idecided to look for aircraft that fell into this category. Modern jetsare okay, but I far prefer aircraft from World War 2, up to theVietnam war era if I'm honest. This was where aviation saw its biggesttechnological advances, so it provides a real interesting period for arelative newcomer like myself. Luckily for me, it didn't take too long at all to find what Iwanted, and so mentioned below are three military aircraft by thetalented A.F. Scrub which I feel represent some of the best militaryfreeware files available for Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D. Grumman F9F Panther /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-01.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-02.jpg Grumman F9F Panther The first aircraft on our list is the Grumman Panther. The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's firstsuccessful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman's first jetfighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armedwith four 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and could carry a wide assortment ofair-to-ground munitions. The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corpsin the Korean War. It was also the first jet aircraft used by the BlueAngels aerobatics demonstration team, from 1949 through to late 1954. This excellent model for Prepar3D and FSX includes three detailedliveries, with each one representing a particular aircraft fromhistory. All three are extremely pleasing to look at and are bothsharp and detailed (without going overboard). /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-03.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-04.jpg The sounds for the Grumman Panther are provided by Martin Schwankeand are in fact from the Red Arrows display team. Even though they arenot an exact match, they work exceedingly well, and provide a greatdeal of character to the aircraft. A particular feature of this model I really liked, was the openingnose cone (water rudder key by default). Little details like this makeall the difference, so a big thank you to A.F. Scrub for includingthis. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-05.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-06.jpg You can find this model in the file library:grumman_panther.zip Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-01.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-02.jpg Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger Our second model is the Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger, an aircraft nineyears younger than the Panther...but as you can see, significantlymore advanced! The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger is a supersonic, single-seatcarrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation duringthe 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, it was redesignatedas the F-11 Tiger under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraftdesignation system. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-03.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-04.jpg The F11F/F-11 was used by the Blue Angels flight team from1957-1969. Grumman Aircraft Corporation made 200 Tigers, with the lastaircraft being delivered to the U.S. Navy on 23 January 1959. As with the Grumman Panther, this is another well performing modelfrom A.F. Scrub, and one I enjoyed almost as much. It comes with twodistinct liveries: a US NAVY VF-21, and of course, the Blue Angelslivery as seen in the video above. Both are very nicely done andprovide a good likeness of their real-life counterparts. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-05.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-06.jpg The sounds for this particular model are from FS Sound Studio, anddo a fantastic job at bringing the roar of the engines to life! I useheadphones when flying as I tend to have the volume way up, and assuch, the engines sound incredible (I'll probably be deaf by the timeI reach 20)! /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-07.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-08.jpg You can find this model in the file library:grumman_f11_tiger.zip Ilyushin Il-4 /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-01.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-02.jpg Ilyushin Il-4 Our final aircraft is the Ilyushin Il-4, a twin engined Sovietbomber from the Second World War. Developed in 1936 from the IlyushinDB-3, over 5000 were built, with the aircraft seeing service with theSoviet Union, the Chinese Nationalist Air Force, Finnish Air Force,and Germany's Luftwaffe. Although the Ilyushin Il-4 was only a medium bomber, it had therange to be used on strategic missions and was used on severallong-range bombing raids against Berlin in 1941. Two liveries are included with this vintage model, and whilstseemingly dull at first sight, do a great job at showing off theutilitarian virtues of the aircraft. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-03.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-04.jpg Another area of the model I enjoyed, were the sound samples used toportray the Ilyushin's twin engines. Now, I'm not sure if these are anexact match to those of the real aircraft, but they were mostconvincing, and so good enough for me! /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-09.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-10.jpg Even though this aircraft is the last model to be mentioned in thisarticle, it is without doubt my favorite. There's just somethingabout the styling which I find interesting, and suffice to say, it'sthe one with the most flying hours! /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-07.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-08.jpg You can find this model in the file library:ilyushin_il4.zip So there you have it, three incredibly enjoyable aircraft fromA.F. Scrub, a genuinely talented freeware developer! I can honestlysay that each one of the aircraft mentioned above is well worthinvesting time in, with the added bonus that each one performs wellwith both Prepar3D and FSX. True, none of the above models are study level, but it's also truethat they weren't designed to be (for that you have expensive paywaremodels available). What these aircraft do offer however, is some goodold fashioned fun; just right for when you want to put that studyingbook away! Nirosan Pragash Browse other A.F. Scrub aircraft Read our interview with A.F. Scrub
  13. /images/notams/notams18/aero0704.jpgBristol Bulldog MkIIAThe Bristol Bulldog was originally designated Type 105. It was anadvanced aircraft for its day and the prototype first flew on17th. May 1927 with excellent reports. Deliveries began in 1929 andthe MkIIA soon followed with many improvements including a larger tailarea for better spin recovery. Amazing FeaturesAll-new HF modelling with super detail. All panels, rivets and even the fabric lacing has been reproduced in 3D. Ribbed wings, polished alloy panels and cowlings- it's all there in super detail!12 authentic period liveries illustrate RAF squadrons of the day and international operators like Sweden and Estonia.Highly detailed, Bristol Jupiter radial engine complete with working valve gear!All rigging, turnbuckles, levers and wires faithfully reproduced.Working brake levers, pedals and wires.Opening ammunition boxes with detailed ammunition inside. /images/notams/notams18/aero0704.pngGrumman F3F-2The Grumman F3F-2 is an aviation legend and very close to ourhearts as it was one of the first simulations we built over 14 yearsago. This is the re-incarnation of that first product with a moderntwist. All the bells and whistles of today's generation of simulationtechnology, combined with the classic style of the "Flying Barrel"bring a fresh, new look to classic warbird flying in FSX,SE andP3DV2. Packed with unique features, this one will delight the vintagewarbird enthusiast. Hi-Fidelity ModelsAll new hi-fidelity models with superb detail including modeled rivets and overlapping panels.Beautifully detailed 9-cylinder Wright Cyclone engine.Brilliant stereo sound pack includes the "stutter-start"of the big Cyclone radial.Many unique animations include vibrating exhausts and authentic gear retraction.Full, animated cockpit in exterior model.Cockpit sounds such as switches, knobs and levers.Sunsplinter effects on Perspex. Purchase Aeroplane Heaven - Bristol Bulldog MKIIA and Grumman F3F-2 Bundle
  14. Feature: On Albatross Wings Part 2 Flying the Bahamas in a Grumman HU-16E By Joe Thompson We left our Albatross inbound to Nassau from Andros Island in the Bahamas. Since leaving New Providence Island early that morning she has already made stops on Eleuthera, Great Abaco, and Grand Bahama Island. From Grand Bahama she traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida and then back to the Bahamas and Andros Island. Let's greet her now as she rolls into her spot at Nassau International Airport and see what the remainder of the day has to offer. Colin Parker heard them call inbound to the Nassau Tower on the portable transceiver he kept on his desk. He yelled out his door to Hanna and alerted her. "Hanna let Willy know their inbound and have him break out those snack trays." It was a little before 14:00 and he knew that the crews work day was now going to stretch well into late evening with additional runs that had been booked since their departure earlier that morning. He also knew from past experience they had probably only eaten junk food on their brief turnarounds, so he took the liberty to order some snack trays from Scooter's favorite local restaurant, 'The Compass Point' on Love Beach, only a few minutes from the airport. Captain Putnam was good friends with the head chef there and when Colin called and asked if they could put together some trays for Scooter and his crew, they were only too pleased to comply. Soon Willy, one of the mechanics from the back, appeared in the doorway carrying, in one hand, a large paper bag containing the food and a small ice cooler in the other hand. The Styrofoam trays contained an assortment of local delicacies: conch fritters, shrimp cooked in a coconut sauce, large pieces of pan roasted grouper; tempura coated lobster bits, stone crab cakes, and fried plantains. Smaller sealed cups contained several curries, along with mango and Creole sauces and pickled cucumbers. Soft drinks filled the cooler. Colin knew Rueben loved this type food also, but he wasn't sure about Cassie's tastes, so he made sure that a couple big, juicy burgers and french-fries were included too. In a matter of minutes the big Albatross taxied up to the front of the Mercator hanger, wheeled around to face east and shutdown her engines. The crew disembarked and walked into the office. Colin greeted them with a foreboding pronouncement. "Hope you guys didn't have any dinner plans tonight?" "What the hell does that mean?" Scooter said half jokingly. "Well we've had several add-on's (additional demands for flights added to the days flight schedule) since you left this morning. It still looks the same down to Exuma (Great Exuma Island) but instead of returning, we have stops on San Salvador, Mayaguana and Provo before you come home." ('Provo' is the local name for Providenciales Island, an island of the Turks & Caicos Islands, which are a British Overseas Territory, located southeast of the Bahamas and north of Hispaniola). "Provo, all the way down there? Are you kidding?" barked Rueben. "Afraid not. The airport director down there called me a little while ago and said that their standby VOR transmitter crapped out this morning. They can't fix it and they have to get it to a repair facility in Chicago tomorrow. You guys are going to fly it back up here, then it's going out on the first UPS flight tomorrow morning. Call us inbound when you start your descent back to Nassau tonight. Oh, Yeh, we weren't sure if you had eaten anything substantial today, so your friends over at 'The Compass' prepared some snack boxes for you. There over there in the bag," Colin pointed to the food by the door. "That cooler is for you guys too." "Thanks gang", Scooter said. "I think we have everything we need. Cassie, grab that paperwork off Hanna's desk please. Come on Rueben let's roll." Rueben was standing at Hanna's desk calling his wife to alert her that he would be late tonight. Cassie and Scooter were single and this really didn't interfere with anything except perhaps for Putnam's previous plans to relax with a couple glasses of good merlot, some music cassettes, and a good book. Cassie, on the other hand, was actually thrilled at the schedule change. It meant more flying for her in the big Albatross and the more the better. Now her afternoon schedule looked like this: N16MC LEG DEPT ETD DEST ETA LOAD WT CT* RMKS 7 NAS 1430 ATC 1510 C 3,000 2 8 ATC 1530 GGT 1600 C 1,200 2 9 GGT 1625 ZSA 1700 C 2,800 2 10 ZSA 1730 MYG 1825 C 3,500 2 11 MYG 1845 PLS 1915 4P+C 2,000 2 IFR 12 PLS 1945 NAS 2200 C 5,000 2 IFR The IFR (Instrument Flight Rule) notes for the last two lines indicated that the crew would have to file IFR flight plans for those two legs. Most flying in the Bahamas is done utilizing Visual Flight Rules (VFR) but VFR is prohibited in the Bahamas at night, therefore the line notations. They taxied away from their Nassau hanger at 14:30 and blocked in at Arthur's Town (ATC/MYCA) on Cat Island forty-six minutes later. The flight had taken them southeast from New Providence Island, over Ship Channel Cay at the northern end of the Exuma Chain, out across the north portion of Exuma Sound and over the southern tip of Eleuthera to Cat Island. After a brief turnaround they were off again, this time now headed in a south-southwesterly direction, back across Exuma Sound to Great Exuma Island. The flight was twenty-seven minutes long and as they shutdown on the Exuma ramp (GGT/MYEF) Scooter noted that they had 514 gallons of fuel remaining. At 16:25 they left Exuma and headed to the east enroute San Salvador Island, 80 nm away. This segment would take about thirty minutes. They crossed Exuma Sound for the third time in less than two hours. Halfway to their destination a small, lonely looking island popped into view ahead of the aircraft. A larger island could be seen in the distance at their 2 o'clock position. "That's Conception Island dead ahead and Rum Cay is over there," barked Scooter in Cassie's headset. "Anyone live down there?" she asked because of the sizes of the islands. "Some folks on Rum but Conception is uninhabited. It's a Bahamian National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary. Green Turtles breed there. Nice place to visit with a boat." Not many minutes later they were on final to land at Cockburn Town (ZSJ/MYSM), San Salvador Island. Then they were parked and the aircraft was strangely silent. Rueben had already gotten the cargo off and was in the shack that served as a terminal, making sure he got the correct cargo for the next stop. Scooter and Cassie sat in the hushed cockpit, the center pedestal canted upward at a forty-five degree angle. Scooter had flipped up his right armrest and was now dangling his legs off the right side of his seat, so he faced Cassie. "This is where it all began back in 1492. This is where old Chris' Columbus came ashore and in no time at all decimated the entire native population of the Bahamas. Funny how people lose sight of those minor details when they put guys like that on a historical pedestal." Scooter rested his left arm on the glareshield in front of him. "Initially the Arawaks or Taino's, depending on what so-called expert you read, populated the Caribbean Basin from Venezuela all the way through the Bahamas. They were a very gentle and peace loving group which made them easy pickin's for the Spaniards when they arrived. The Caribs, on the other hand were a savage group of cannibals who basically ate their way up the Windward Islands and were making their move on Puerto Rico when Columbus stumbled onto the new world at San Salvador." "I take it history is a pastime of yours?" Cass asked matter-of-factly. "Yeh. I always enjoy learning the history of where I happened to live and the history of the Bahamas and the Caribbean is quite a read!" Scooter replied. "The Indians living in the Bahamas, Arawaka or what-have you were known by the name Lucayans" "So that's where the town Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island gets it name," she said, more as a statement than a question, "When Columbus arrived, the Indians living on the Caribbean Islands had been here for roughly 5,000 years. Most had come from the delta area around the Orinoco River in South America." Scooter chuckled to himself, as if he had just thought of something funny or at least ironic. "Did you ever see that movie with Peter O'Toole called 'Murphy's War.' He flies a Grumman Duck around the Orinoco delta looking for a German U-Boat during World War Two. Guess I thought about it because we're talking about the river and here we sit in a Grumman amphib" Not waiting for Cassie to respond he continued his trek through history. "When Columbus got here (San Salvador) there were an estimated 300,000 Indians in the Bahamas. In 1550, less than sixty years later, the 'civilized Europeans' had reduced that number down to 500." Scooter almost spit out the words 'civilized Europeans.' "Hell, they're still arguing over where Columbus landed. Most of the heavy thinkers vote for here (San Salvador) but there are some who still contend it was Cat Island or Grand Turk, which isn't even part of the Bahamas. This island wasn't called San Salvador, which means 'Holy Savior', until the late 1920's. Before that it was Watling's Island, named after a pirate. Kinda funny don't you think?" Before Cassie could respond Rueben stuck his head through the cockpit door and informed them they were ready to go. Scooter swung his legs around and planted his feet on the rudder pedals as he snapped the armrest down and slipped on his headset. Ten minutes later the island of San Salvador or Watling's or whatever you called it was becoming smaller and smaller behind 'One Six Mike Charlie' as she headed southeastward to Mayaguana (MYG/MYMM). This leg was 130 nm long. It looked like they would arrive on Mayaguana around 18:30 local. The sun's westward slide towards the horizon seemed to accelerate. Deep shadows invaded the cockpit now. The once deep blue water below them now looked rusty brown and more foreboding. Just before flying over Samana Cay, Rueben asked if anyone was hungry. They all said yes, so Rueben opened each snack box like it was a Christmas present and told his crewmates what the choices were. He then served them on the paper plates that had been included in the food sack. A couple of small cups of dipping sauce were placed on the center pedestal, within easy reach of everyone. They had to be repositioned occasionally due to the engine vibrations. "So Captain, what's the story behind 'The Compass?'" Cassie asked. Scooter told her how he had become close friends with several of the staff there and that they occasionally sailed together on the weekends. He also told her he ate there at least three times a week so that explained their enthusiasm for preparing the food for Scooter and his crew when they were asked. "Have you eaten there yet" he asked, wiping some mango sauce off his chin. "Not yet, but I will now that I know about the place." Rueben dove into the conversation at this point with, "One of the best damn restaurants in all of Nassau or anyplace else in the Bahamas for that matter. Make sure you go the first time with the boss here. You'll get first class treatment and then they'll remember you later. That's what my wife and I did and we really love the place." By the time they were ready to letdown near Mayaguana, a good portion of the roasted grouper, half the conch fritters and crab cakes and all of the spiny lobster bits had been consumed. But contrary to Colin's trepidations about Cassie's taste' for local fare, the hamburgers remained in the bottom of the sack, untouched. The Mayaguana stop was brief. Cargo off, new boxes loaded, paperwork reviewed and signed, and a IFR flight plan filed. Since VFR (Visual Flight Rule) controlled flight is prohibited in the Bahamas at night, the crew would fly the last two legs under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). At 18:45 they departed for the 55 nm transit to Provo -- Providenciales - in the Caicos Islands (PLS/MBPV). A half hour later they were sitting in the chocks at Provo and night had fallen. It was moonless and the weather forecast indicated that it was looking a little ragged back up the island chain for their return to Nassau. After loading the aircraft and filing their flight plan, the two pilots boarded the aircraft. Rueben remained on the tarmac manning his normal fire guard station for engine start. It was inky black out and Rueben held a flashlight in his hand to acknowledge signals from the cockpit. As Cassie put one foot up on the seat platform and prepared to hoist herself into the seat Scooter ask, "You wanta' fly the return leg back?" Cassie was pleasantly shocked because since she was the new kid on the block and the customary swapping of Pilot Flying (PF) and Pilot Not Flying (PNF) duties on each leg was not firmly established yet. Scooter had flown most of the legs this day to give her the opportunity to see the area first before she had to fly approaches to the myriad of island airfields they serviced. She had fully expected Scooter to fly this last leg back home too. "You betcha!" she exclaimed, trying to control the glee in her voice, the smile on her face was masked by the nights shadows. "OK, then it's your aircraft." Scooter stuck his head out his open vent window and informed Rueben that Cassie was the PF for this segment so he would know to follow her hand signals during engine start. Mercator's Flight Department had sent Cassie a large box containing manuals and operational material after she had been hired. The UPS package she got in Anchorage had contained, among other things, a Grumman Albatross Operators Manual, along with a copy of the Coast Guard's HU-16E Standardization Manual (CG-373) known by many simply as the 'STAN MAN.' The Grumman aircraft manual told you all you wanted to know about the aircraft however it did not spell out the specific procedures a crew would follow during the various flight regimens. Airlines flying identical aircraft fly them, procedurally, in a slightly different manner. Different checklists are used with slight variances in where the emphasis is placed during the various flight phases. Since Scooter was one of the first pilots Mercator had hired to fly their new acquisition, he convinced them that the Coast Guard Manual for the HU-16 was the one to adopt and use. They did and it was now the major guide for flying the 'Goat'. The manual even listed certain words that were to be used in the cockpit to alleviate ambiguity or confusion with other similar sounding words. This is especially critical in a high noise environment like the flightdeck of an HU-16. 'Wheels Up' would be used instead of 'Gear Up', 'Manifold' was used instead of 'MAP', and 'R-P-M' instead of 'Prop' during power changes. The engines were referred to as 'Left' or 'Right' not 'One' or 'Two' and 'Maximum Power' was used instead of 'Takeoff Power.' It all made sense, but it took time to digest. The box also contained several packets of charts, both aeronautical and nautical, along with a notebook, embossed with the company name and logo, and bearing large lettering that proclaimed 'Caribbean Division.' It also had a label on the cover with her name, pilot number, and her hub assignment. (The STAN MAN had an identical label and it made Cassie feel part of the team before she even arrived for her first day of work.) The notebook was divided into sections for each island that Mercator serviced out of Nassau. The sections contained airport diagrams, approach plates and other field data. Cassie found herself pouring over this treasure trove of information night and day until she got to Nassau. Her studying continued even after she had reported for work. After leaving Anchorage, she had to make a stop in Panama City, Florida for a 5 day 'Open Water Survival Course.' This proved to be more than a little stressful for the girl from Mankato, Minnesota who did not consider herself a very good swimmer. But the course was a Mercator requirement for all crews where more than 75% of their hub trips were over water. This meant that crews from the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and several South Pacific bases attended this course. She struggled with the swimming, as did several of the other attendees, but they all made it through. She was proud of the fact that it had taught her to be much more confident in an open water situation. After reporting for work in Nassau, she attended two more weeks of classes covering hub and aircraft familiarization. She supplemented what she got formally in the classroom with her own late night forays in the aircraft. Without a simulator to practice in, and no procedural training device available (an instrument panel mockup of a particular aircraft where all the switches and dials can be manipulated but the gauges don't operate), she improvised. Most nights the 'Goat' would be parked on the Nassau ramp in front of the hanger. She would alert the night shift mechanics in the hanger what she was doing, then go out to the aircraft and sit in the cockpit and use it as a procedural trainer. With her manuals spread out on the glareshield and seat beside her she would call out the various checklist items, simultaneously placing her hand on the corresponding item in the cockpit. She did this over and over until she had the procedures and cockpit flow patterns down pat. She was especially mindful of the specially marked 'memory items' on the checklists. The majority of an aircraft checklist is not meant to be committed to memory but there are certain items, especially those involving an emergency that must be memorized. When an emergency situation occurs such as an engine fire, the crew doesn't have the luxury of time to pull out their checklists and casually stroll through it. Immediate and correct action could mean the difference between life and death. Cassie felt confident she was ready for anything in a 'Goat.' Her diligence had paid off in big dividends because Cassie knew her way around the 'Goat's' cockpit almost as well as the old timers. Her work ethic was a trait she learned from her father and it didn't take long for the station manager to learn about it. Colin, naturally, mentioned it to Scooter and Rueben. Soon everyone at the Nassau base started looking at the petite new hire in a different way. This girl was a hard worker and true professional. She was going to be a great addition to the Mercator family. Cassie repositioned her seat to give her slightly more leverage on the rudder pedals, now that she was going to be the pilot flying. "PARKING BRAKE............................... SET" "LANDING GEAR HANDLE................... DOWN" "DROP TANK JETTISON...................... OFF" "BATTERY........................................... ON" Cassie made sure the Voltmeter Selector switch was in the BUS position and that the battery voltage was reading 24 volts. "INVERTERS....................................... #1 ON, #2 & #3 OFF" "INVERTER SELECTOR....................... NORMAL" After running through almost forty checklist items, she and Scooter were closing out the BEFORE STARTING ENGINE section using the 'Challenge and Reply' system familiar to countless numbers of aviators worldwide. Sometimes a 'Challenge' would require multiply actions before a 'Reply' was given. Coast Guard 'Goat's' sported a gadget on the left rear corner of the pedestal that looked like a rolodex on steroids. This was the checklist. Mercator had forsaken this device and each crewmember had a laminated card that allowed them more freedom of movement while conducting the checks. "MIXTURES......................................... IDLE CUTOFF" "SUPERCHARGER.............................. LOW AND LOCKED" "GUST LOCKS..................................... OFF" "THROTTLES" -- Cassie cracked the throttles to a position that corresponded to about 1,000 RPM then responded "SET" "MANIFOLD PRESSURE.................. NOTED" It was time to crank up the big Wright radials. This was a choreographed dance between pilot, copilot, and the fire guard standing outside on the dark tarmac. "RIGHT ENGINE" -- Cassie indicated to Rueben they were ready to start the right engine and he gave her the all clear signal. She depressed the right starter switch as the prop swung through twelve blades of arc. Then she switched on the ignition and fuel boost pump. The engine sputtered to life. She immediately reset the right throttle to give them 1,000 RPM, ensuring she didn't exceed 1,400 RPM during the start. Then Scooter called out the next item: "HYDRAULIC PRESSURE" Cassie lowered the flaps to their full down position and confirmed that the main hydraulic system pressure rose to the appropriate level and then returned to zero. She then reached up and turned the Rudder Boost on and pushed her left and right rudder pedals in and out to walk the rudder back and forth, while simultaneously checking the hydraulic pressure fluctuation range. Then she raised the flaps and continued to walk the rudder several more times. The system checked out and she reached over her head once again and secured the Rudder Boost. Scooter called - "VACUUM PRESSURE" and Cassie responded -- "CHECKED." Then the left engine was started and the Fuel Boost Pumps were secured to confirm a drop in fuel pressure. The #2 inverter was placed online and the radios checked. About this time Rueben climbed into his seat and reported that the Gear Locks, Pitot Cover, Squat Bar and Ladder had all been removed and stowed. Upon hearing this Cassie asked, "Ready for Taxi?" and Rueben and Scooter responded in unison, "Ready." About 40 minutes later the Albatross was level at FL160. Cassie toggled the prop switches to give her 2,300 RPM, then tapped the throttles back a little to get 34" of manifold pressure. The air speed indicator needle settled down on 150 kts indicated. Then cowl flaps and oil coolers were reset as was the Carb Heat and finally, Cassie set the mixture controls, one at a time. It was time to relax a little and monitor the gauges and their navigation and keep and eye on any possible traffic conflicts. Radar coverage in this area was non-existent. And it was notorious as a preferred drug smugglers route flying loads up from South America. Since those aircraft flew without any lights, it was extremely prudent for crews to stay alert. Everyone, including Rueben, kept a sharp watch. Since starting with Mercator, Scooter had spotted 'exhaust stack flames' late at night, on two occasions. He reported those to the Bahamas Defense Force who passed the info on to the Coast Guard and learned later that one was a guy with an electrical problem but the other was a smuggler. The trip back from Providenciales was slow and monotonous. The night was extremely dark and the only thing that was keep the crew company was the loud, incessant din of the engines. An occasional radio call from sector controllers also filled the time. "So Cass' who inspired you to go into aviation. Earhart, Cochran, Wagstaff?" rattling off a short list of famous female aviators he was familiar with. "Actually, it was my Uncle Charlie in Anchorage." Between sector calls Cassie filled in her new Captain and Rueben on her path to the cockpit of this particular Mercator aircraft. "How about you Captain?" she asked, as she scanned the darkness outside the windscreen. She was still using the more formal address not yet completely comfortable calling a man twice her age 'Scooter.' "Jacques Cousteau. I was an oceanography nut growing up. Got my degree in it at the Coast Guard Academy, then spent a year aboard a medium endurance cutter on the Grand Banks counting foreign trawlers. We use to carry a deployed helo for FishPat's (Fisheries Patrols). The pilots that went with us seemed to have it a whole lot better than I did standing my eight hours of bridge watch everyday and then a pretty full plate of paperwork too. I concluded it would be more exciting flying over the banks as an 'airdale' than sailing on them as a sailor, so after my obligatory year at sea, I applied for flight training and was accepted." Cassie asked why he had to wait a year to go to flight school. "Guys out of Annapolis (U.S. Naval Academy) or the Air Force Academy can go directly to flight school but not in the Coast Guard. Their policy is you have to spend a year aboard a cutter prior to applying for flight training. It makes you appreciate the flying more that way", he said with a chuckle in the microphone. Cassie, feeling that the old Navy Chief had been excluded from their conversation, directed a question to Rueben, who was standing in the aisle between the two pilots resting his arms on their seat backs. "What about you Rueben?" "Roy Rogers, but since the cowboy profession was kinda dying out and the draft was hot on my heels during Viet Nam, I joined the Navy and here I am today, a proud product of your United States Navy!" They all had a chuckle at that response. As they flew just to the east of Great Exuma Island, Rueben leaned over Cassie's seat momentarily and glanced at the GPS screen. They were abeam the southern end of Andros Island, though it was invisible in the inky darkness that surrounded them. Rueben straightened up and said, "Scooter, tell Cass' about the flare case you guys had off Andros back in the seventies." "What happened Captain?" "In the mid 1970's I was flying 'Goats' out of Coast Guard Air Station Miami out of Opa Locka Airport. Well, one night BASRA (Bahamian Air Sea Rescue Association - pronounced baz-rah - a volunteer organization) calls Miami RCC (Rescue Coordination Center) and asked for aircraft assistance on several reported red flares seen off the southeastern tip of Andros, down in the Tongue of the Ocean. AUTEC was unable to fly that night for some reason. Anyhow, I was on the OPS desk that evening at the Airsta so I alerted the duty 'Goat' crew and after a briefing they launched and headed out." "What time was this?" Cassie asked. "About one in the morning." "Our resident hot stick pilot, Commander Crawford, was the AC (Aircraft Commander -- the military equivalent to Pilot in Command) that evening and his CP (co-pilot) was a very junior aviator fresh out of Pensacola. This guy Crawford thought he was God's gift to aviation. Well they poured the coals to her and got down to the search area in a little over an hour. About two hours into the search Crawford blurts out he thinks he saw something. Now you gotta' keep in mind this was a moonless night, black as a well digger's &%#$ out there. There are no reference lights on the southern half of Andros to speak of. So Crawford bends the plane around in a steep turn and tells everyone he is departing the 1,000 foot altitude they had established as their hard deck (the altitude they would not go below) and was going lower to get a closer look. He instructs the entire crew, including his CP, to keep a sharp eye out from their respective stations as he makes a low pass over the area." "Don't tell me!" Cassie blurted out. "Yep, you got the drift I think." Scooter said. "That numb nuts flew the aircraft right into the water. Good thing they were only looping along at around 110-120 kts at the time. They hit the water in a slight nose high attitude, which was a good thing for them. Needless to say, the jolt brought them all to their senses and they aborted the mission and returned to Miami." At this point Rueben chimed in, "God I love to hear about idiots like this, especially when I don't have to fly with them." "They got back around daybreak and we launched another plane to look them over prior to landing. Their gear was OK and nothing was hanging down to impede a landing so the decision was made to land. After they taxied in, we all walked out to the aircraft and the sight was unbelievable. The whole %#$&. - excuse my English -- underside of the hull from the nose gear doors back to the step (the area where the pronounced Vee hull cuts off in line with the main gear) looked just like an old washboard. Man you talk about mangled!" "What happened to the crew?" Cassie asked. "Well old Commander Crawford had his AC designation yanked and the entire air station went on a safety stand down for 2 days, so we could have our butts professionally chewed on by our CO (Commanding Officer). The CP learned a valuable lesson too. He told me later he knew he should have been watching the gauges while everyone else was gawking out the windows but since Crawford was such an 'Attila the Hun' type, he just followed orders instead of speaking up." "Any questions?" Rueben said softly, over Cassie's left shoulder. "No," Cassie said. "but it does go to show that luck can only keep a fool out of harms way for so long before it catches up with them. It also reinforces some wisdom my uncle use to drum into me. He said that no matter how senior and experienced your Captain was, if he screwed something up, then the most junior copilot in the world had better speak up and point out the error because if he didn't, he would arrive at the accident scene at the same time as the Captain. Uncle Charlie also told me that seniority and experience were not the same things." Scooter nodded, "Your Uncle Charlie sounds like a pretty savvy guy. If you ever catch me doing something stupid, let me know, loud and clear. That's if you can beat old Rueben here to the punch first!" They all chuckled. "I will Captain." About 60 nm south of Nassau the lumbering Albatross started down. Cassie set up for the descent and at 15,000 feet she shifted the supercharger from high to low blower and locked it in place. Scooter called Mercator Base and reported their position giving them an ETA and asked Colin to tell the guys in the maintenance shop that they had no gripes on the aircraft to report. Nassau was reporting moderate winds out of the southeast with 'scattered' clouds at fifteen hundred and eighteen hundred feet and thunderstorms in the area. The scattered cloud report turned out to be slightly in error. Nassau was using runway 14, as usual, and as Cassie and the crew neared the south shore of New Providence Island they started to encounter moderate buffeting from the local storm. Large licks of brilliant lightening appeared out of nowhere that illuminated every cranny of the darkened cockpit, followed by loud claps of thunder and then the cockpit would go dark again. All of them felt the need to haul down a little tighter on their shoulder harnesses. The ground only occasionally peeked through a very small hole in the seemingly solid cloud layer below, the same cloud layer that had been reported as scattered. "Sure looks like a hellva' lot thicker than 'scattered' to me, " Scooter remarked, peering out his side window. Everyone went through their final cockpit checks and as they passed through three thousand feet they started to break out of the solid clouds. They were now just west of the downtown area of Nassau, over Cable Beach, with Lake Killarney and the airport off their left wing. Discovery Island passed down the right side and they leveled off at two thousand feet; Cassie called for 15 degrees of flaps. She then rolled the aircraft into a left back and called for more flaps. On her command Scooter extended the landing gear. Just then a sudden wind gust lifted them in their seats and just as quickly dropped them back down. Cassie, with her arm extended to the throttle levers on the overhead, rolled the aircraft left once again and when she leveled the wings she was perfectly aligned with runway centerline. Rueben tapped Scooter twice gently on the shoulder in acknowledgment of this. Cassie was too busy to notice. A gentle screech of rubber and they were on the runway. They rolled all the way down to the far end the runway to the turnoff for Million Air FBO. The Mercator hanger stood silently in the far corner of the ramp, its signage lit against the stormy night sky, lights where still on in the offices. Cassie swung the aircraft around in front of the hanger and applied the brakes for the last time that day. Rueben had opened the main door on the taxi in and was already out of the aircraft, installing the chocks and squat bar. Cassie set 1,000 RPM and allowed the engines to run for 30 seconds to scavenge residual oil from the engine cylinders and send it back to the oil tank before shutdown. She finally pulled the mixture levers to their idle cutoff positions and the big radials coughed and wound down until they were silent. Ignition switches were secured and the gyros caged. Radios, vent switches, inverters, lights, battery and voltmeter switches were all secured. The aircraft fell eerily silent and dark. Scooter swung the center pedestal up and locked it in place. He slid out of his seat and grabbed his kit bag from behind his seat and made his way through the cockpit door, ducking his head to clear the overhead coaming. Cassie followed and as she exited the cockpit, she retrieved Rueben's flight bag and the snack bag from the jump seat behind Scooter's. In a few moments Cassie was standing next to her Captain at the foot of the aircraft ladder. Rueben came around from the tail of the aircraft, saw his gear and the paper bag at Cassie' feet and said "Thanks kid!" Scooter stood silent for a few seconds and then said, "It was a good day gang." This was high praise from a guy who held compliments to a minimum. "Cassie you did a great job today and that approach and landing was super. I'm really glad to have you on our team." "Thanks Scooter", Cassie said, using her Captain's nickname for the first time. It didn't go unnoticed by either of the guys. Then Rueben chimed in with, "You done good kid." "I really appreciate the feedback guys. I'll do my best to keep us out of the weeds," she said with a warm smile on her face. As they all walked inside to finish their paperwork Rueben, holding his gear bag in one hand and a rumpled paper sack in the other asked, "Anyone want these burgers we have left, if not I'm taking them home for Jake?" "Who is Jake?" Cassie asked. "My cat. Only eats 'human' food. You couldn't get a can of cat food down his throat if you hog tied him." It was late. In the distance a clap of thunder rolled through the heavens followed a few seconds later by another lick of blue-white lightening. It had been a very long day, exactly as the magazine ad had promised so many months before in the snack bar on Kodiak Island. Credits And Reference Links AIRCRAFT Grumman HU-16 Albatross by Greg Pepper and Michael Verlin. Mercator livery design and repaint by the author. PANEL Original by Ken Mitchell. Panel modifications by the author. SCENERY Bahamas -- by fs-freeflow @ http://fs-freeflow.com/ Florida -- by fs-freeflow @ http://fs-freeflow.com/ Nassau Airport -- by imagineSimulation (payware) @ http://www.imaginesim.com/mynn01.htm. Mercator Nassau Hanger modifications by the author. Marsh Harbor Airport-- by FlightSim Brasil @ http://paginas.terra.com.br/informatica/flightsimbrasil/index.htm West Palm Beach Airport -- by William Morgan (FRF Studio) City of West Palm Beach -- by Toni Hiltunen Water Textures -- by Ed Truthan Joe Thompson joe308@zianet.com ceo@flymercator.com
  15. Feature: On Albatross Wings Part 1 Flying the Bahamas in a Grumman HU-16E By Joe Thompson Part One -- Following a Dream from Mankato to Marsh Harbour The Grumman Aircraft Corporations has a long and proud history of supplying the aviation world with some of the finest amphibious aircraft that have ever flown. Grumman aircraft sporting waterfowl names like Duck, Goose, Widgeon, and Mallard have flown all over the world. The largest, an aircraft that has probably seen more varied military service than any other aircraft except perhaps the DC-3/C-47 and C-130, was the Grumman SA-16/HU-16 Albatross. This story follows an ex-Coast Guard pilot and his crew as they fly their HU-16E around the Bahamas from their base in Nassau. It's almost time to shove off so hurry on out to the aircraft. The advertisement in the aviation trade magazine read: "First Officer Wanted: Low pay & long hours, must be willing to relocate to overseas base. Requires: Commercial w/Instrument, Multiengine Land & Sea, minimum 1,200 hrs -- 100 instrument (no simulator), current medical & passport, experience in Grumman Goose, Mallard, or Albatross preferred, 4 yr college degree required. Fax resume to Mercator Airlines Attn: Human Resource Dept. -- FltCrews, Position: NAS 723." The young woman took another bite of her crab sandwich and then a sip from her mug of Root Beer. She had left Anchorage that morning flying a Grumman Goose and after a couple stops on the Kenai Peninsula she was now in the snack bar at Kodiak Airport enjoying a little respite before returning to her home base in Anchorage. "Leaves a lot to your imagination," she said to herself...and as she rose to leave, almost in a full voice, "maybe I'll just fire in a resume when I get home just for grins." A month later, after submitting her resume, Cassie Larson was pleasantly surprised by a phone call from the Mercator Human Resource (HR) Department in Phoenix, informing her she had been selected for additional screening. She was savvy enough to know that it was a no-no to try to pry additional information out of them over the phone at this early juncture of the process, so she stifled her urge to ask: what, where, how much, and when type questions. The company provided her with a round trip ticket to Phoenix and very nice hotel accommodations near Sky Harbor Airport and Mercator's corporate offices. After a drug screen and a ream of background paperwork, she took several straightforward, computer based timed quizzes to test her aviation expertise with a few mind bender questions thrown in to keep the applicants honest: What is VDP and how do you compute it for distance and timing? What is the formula to compute the hydroplaning speed for an aircraft? What three factors affect hydroplaning? What are the effects of landing on a narrow runway? What affects landing distance the most, Gross Weight or Speed? After the tests she was interviewed by three HR personnel. One was a manager: 'What do you know about Mercator?' and 'Why do you want to fly for us?' A psychologist asked questions like, 'Do you ever hear voices?' and 'Has anyone in your family ever had a mental illness?' The third interviewer was a rather stately looking gentleman in his sixties Cassie guessed. He was a pilot who asked questions such as, 'What aircraft do you have the most time in?' and 'Describe a time when you were stressed in the cockpit?' then the old standard interview question, 'What would you do if you were a new FO and you smelled alcohol on your Captain's breath?' She must have done pretty well because she went back to the hotel that night and around 11:00 PM got a call offering her a job. She was elated, immediately accepted, then called her parents to tell them the good news. The next day saw more paperwork and a complete briefing on the new hire position. When she heard what the aircraft was and where the position would take her she almost fell off her chair. From the wilds of Alaska to the balmy, idyllic waters of the Caribbean; tell me this isn't a dream she thought to herself. She flew back to Anchorage to close out one phase of her life and to start a new one. That was 5 months ago. Now Cassie stood at the Mercator Flight Operations counter at Nassau International Airport on New Providence Island in The Bahamas. She was indeed a Mercator new-hire First Officer flying their Grumman HU-16E Albatross out of Nassau. As she reviewed the paperwork spread out before her she thought to herself -- this sure isn't Alaska! She inspected the cargo manifest, the aircraft Weight & Balance Sheet, a dispatch form, and several NOTAMs and weather forecasts stapled to the flight release. She wasn't nervous or intimidated by her newly acquired position flying the Albatross around the Bahamas, Greater Antilles and Florida. At over 20,000 lbs empty the Albatross was by far the heaviest aircraft she had ever flown. Not only did it weigh a lot more than a 5,500 lbs Goose, it was twice as large as one too. Cassie was in her mid-twenties and stood only 5 foot 5 inches. If she weighed 110 lbs she was lucky. Her eyes were a deep blue and her hair was short and blonde, which gave away her Norwegian ancestry. She was from Mankato, Minnesota, 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis. As an only child she had been granted a lot of leeway in her upbringing. That latitude had help foster Cassie's drive and determination. From the age of ten she had only wanted to be one thing - a professional pilot. Her father sold farm machinery in Mankato but she had an uncle, her father's brother, who owned a seaplane FBO (Fixed Based Operation) in Anchorage, Alaska. She spent most of her summers during junior and senior high schools with her Uncle Charlie, working as a 'line rat' at his FBO. The smell of AVGAS and the sounds of the aircraft flying in and out of the Lake Hood Seaplane Base (LHD/PALH) next to Anchorage International Airport were intoxicating to Cassie. While her girlfriends were on a summer shopping trip to the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis, having their nails done and exploring all the shopping opportunities, Cassie was up in Alaska, wearing an oversized and tattered jumpsuit with grime under her nails, grease on her cheeks and smelling of AVGAS instead of Chanel. She wouldn't trade places with her friends for all the free pedicures at the mall. She begged rides on anything that flew and eventually got her private license with a seaplane endorsement before she graduated from high school. Then she was off to Purdue University. Four years later she graduated cum laude with a degree in Aviation & Airway Science. Along the way she acquired her commercial license with her multiengine and instrument tickets too. Then it was back to Uncle Charlie's, to gain experience in the real world of professional piloting. She flew hunters, fisherman, and anyone else who needed to get somewhere in Alaska. Normally she flew float equipped aircraft like a Cessna 180 or Cessna 206 and, on occasion, a DeHavilland Beaver. Like most float operations in Alaska, as the hard freeze of winter set in, the floats where replaced with tundra tires. She especially liked flying a Grumman Goose that a friend of her Uncle's kept at the FBO. It was loud and smelly but the sight of those big radials, hanging down from the wings just in your peripheral vision as you sat in the cockpit, was a real rush. Cassie stood at a long Plexiglas covered table in Mercator's Nassau Operations Center. A window mounted air conditioner noisily pumped out cold air and a large ceiling fan turned slowly above the room, stirring the chilled air. Under the Plexiglas were navigation charts of the entire Caribbean basin from the shores of Venezuela, all the way up to Bermuda. On these charts were heavily inked track lines and distances marked from airport to airport, along with other essential data, like the location of all the known crash sites. It was too easy to spot one from the air and then make a fool of yourself reporting wreckage that was decades old. In one corner sat the office manager, Hanna Wellington. Standing in the doorway to his private office was the station manger, Colin Parker. Hanna was a Bahamian and Colin was an expatriate British citizen who had lived in the islands most of his life. Both spoke with a precise and proper British accent. Hanna and Colin kept the paperwork flowing and handled the charter bookings while everyone else either flew or fixed the airplanes. She had started her day with a trip to the coffee pot, then a look at the daily trip sheets and any maintenance items for her aircraft. Two metal clipboards hung above the counter. Both were stenciled in large black block letters. One was marked N3003MC and the other N16MC. 'Three Zero Zero Three Mike Charlie' was a Beechcraft King Air 300. It was primarily used for the weekly 'Pouch Run' -- a U.S. Department of State contract flight from Nassau to various Caribbean capitals, shuttling diplomatic material between embassies and the U.S. Interest Section in Havana. It also handled VIP inter-island transport and occasionally a MEDEVAC to Miami. 'One Six Mike Charlie' was a Grumman HU-16E Albatross and was used for on-demand passenger and cargo charters. On rare occasions, when the aircraft was available, it also flew Search and Rescue (SAR) missions in support of BASRA (Bahamian Air Sea Rescue Association -- pronounced baz-rah). Today's trip sheet for the Albatross looked pretty typical, with the following entries: LEG DEPT ETD DEST ETA LOAD WT CT RMKS 1 NAS 0700 GHB 0745 6P+C 1,945 2 HAZMAT: SCUBA TANKS 2 GHB 0815 MHH 0900 NL -- 2 3 MHH 0930 FPO 1005 5P+C 1.395 2 4 FPO 1025 PBI 1110 NL -- 2 AUTEC TERM 5 PBI 1150 ASD 1315 6P+C 3,400 2 6 ASD 1340 NAS 1400 NL -- 2 7 NAS 1430 ATC 1510 C 3,000 2 8 ATC 1530 NAS 1610 C 1,200 2 To the uninitiated it didn't make a lot of sense but to Cassie it was her day planner. This one told her that she and her fellow crew members in Crew Team # 2 would depart Nassau at 07:00 local with 6 passengers, apparently scuba divers from the looks of the remarks notation, and some cargo with a total weight of 1,945 lbs and fly eastward to Governor's Harbour (GHB) on Eleuthera Island. They would then fly to Marsh Harbour (MHH) on Great Abaco without a load (no load -- NL). At Marsh Harbour they would pick up 5 passengers and some cargo and then proceed to Freeport, (FPO), Grand Bahama Island. Leg four was a little out of the ordinary. They were going to West Palm Beach Airport in Florida to pick up 6 Navy and civilian contract personnel, their test equipment and then fly them to the U.S. Navy's Undersea Test & Evaluation Center on Andros Island. Known simply by its initials as AUTEC (pronounced: ah-tec), the sophisticated test facility is the undersea equivalent to Area 51 in the Nevada desert. The facility, located on the east side of Andros Island, is used primarily for the testing of advanced undersea acoustic detection and weapons systems. Its three test ranges are located in an area east and southeast of Andros Island known as the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO). The facility has its own assigned aircraft, a couple BE-1900's and several helo's used on the ranges. The fixed-wings run scheduled flights between Andros and West Palm Beach, where additional AUTEC administrative offices are located. However, occasionally they contract out a flight to a civilian airline like Mercator because of non-availability of aircraft. This was the case today. From Andros Town Airport (ASD) they would return to Nassau, load up with cargo and fly over to Arthur's Town (ATC) on Cat Island, drop that load, pick up 1,200 lbs of new freight and head back to Nassau for the last flight of the day. If all went well they were looking at being done before 17:00 Local. Out on the Mercator ramp, which is adjacent to the upscale Million Air FBO, just off the approach end of Nassau International's runway 32, sat the big, imposing HU-16E. At over 25 feet tall and almost 63 feet in length, it was a very large twin engine aircraft. The wingspan was even more impressive though at 96 feet 8 inches -- wider than a classic model Boeing 737 -- but it didn't start out that way. The Albatross was built by Grumman Aircraft Corporation at their Bethpage, Long Island, New York plant between 1947 and the early 60's. No aircraft other than, possibly the C-130 Hercules and C-47/DC-3, has seen as much widespread military service as the Albatross. They are unique in that they were initially designed as a private aircraft platform, but were bought in large numbers by the military. During its illustrious career the aircraft has been flown by over two dozen military services around the world in a variety of mission roles from search and rescue, personnel and cargo transport, training, and even anti-submarine warfare. Numerous civilian operators have also flown the Albatross, such as the U.S. Dept. of Interior, the Malaysian government, Smithsonian Institution, Pan American World Airways, Antilles Airboat, Chalks International, and now Mercator. Grumman has long been associated with amphibious aircraft sporting the waterfowl names. The JF-1 Duck was produced in 1933 followed by the Goose in 1937 which, in turn, was preceded by the slightly smaller Widgeon, which first flew in 1940. In 1946, immediately following World War Two, Grumman introduced the Mallard. Two years before, early 1944, Grumman had commenced the design of the G-64, which was intended to be a replacement for the Goose. It eventually evolved into the Albatross, an aircraft twice the size of the Goose. On 1 October 1947 the first prototype, known then as the XJR2F-1 Pelican, flew from the Bethpage Facility. The base model -- the SA-16A - had a wingspan of 80 feet. In 1955 Grumman commenced a modification program to increase the aircrafts overall performance. One of the major renovations was the deletion of the leading edge slats, increasing the size of the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces, adding a 30 inch extension to each wing tip and also inserting a 70 inch plug outboard of each engine nacelle, thereby increasing overall wingspan by 200 inches. These became know as the "B" models. It weighed slightly over 22,000 lbs empty and was powered by two supercharged 1,425 hp Wright 1820-76 air cooled nine cylinder engines. With a stiff tailwind it could reach speeds in the low 200's and had a service ceiling of over 23,000 feet, though it was found more often far below those lofty heights. If you topped off the internal & external fuel tanks with over 1,500 gallons of petrol, she would take you over 3,000 nm's. In fact the U.S. Coast Guard set several world records with the aircraft; nonstop from Kodiak, Alaska to Pensacola, Florida, a distance of 3,104 nm and also several altitude records, one with a 1,000 kg. payload to an altitude of 29,475 feet. The aircraft has gone through numerous operational designations in its career. The major change was in 1956 when a unified U.S. military designation system was instituted. U.S. Air Force Albatrosses became HU-16 A's & B's, the Navy's were HU-16 C's & D's and Coast Guards models were HU-16 E's. Unlike the official moniker used by Grumman and most other aviators associated with the SA-16/HU-16 -- 'Albatross' - the Coast Guard referred to their aircraft as 'Goat's.' No one knows for sure how this nickname became so entrenched in CG aviation. Some have speculated that it was due to the original designation which was UF-2G -- giving rise to 'Goat' instead of the 'G' designator. Other's however, believed it was because the aircraft climbed like a mountain goat, steady and slow. Still others thought it was because the aircraft smelled pretty awful. It reeked with the smell of sweat, AVGAS, engine oil and hydraulic fluid and it wasn't very pleasant, kinda' like a goat! The Coast Guard phased out the last of their 'Goats' in the late 1970's and early 80's. Mercator's Albatross was an ex Coast Guard airframe that had been mothballed in the desert at the U.S. Air Force's Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Center (AMARC) at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona, commonly referred to as 'The Boneyard.' After a pristine restoration, she was put into service at Mercator's Nassau base. Not only was she a very reliable aircraft but the public relations she generated for the company was incalculable. She invariably drew a crowd at any ramp she was parked on. Mercator had even placed her on static display at several air shows when her schedule permitted. And any morning when she pulled off her spot in Nassau, the crews of the Gulfstreams, Lear's, and Bombardiers' parked at the neighboring FBO would gather on the ramp to get a glimpse of her as she taxied out. As Cassie stood reviewing the aircrafts maintenance sheets, the front door opened accompanied by a rush of cold air seeking to escape the confines of the office. In walked Captain Oscar "Scooter" Putnam. He greeted everyone in unison. "Good morning gang." "Good morning Scooter", said Colin. The word 'Scooter' sounded comical spoken with a refined, British accent such as Colin's. "Good morning Captain Putnam." Hanna preferred a more formal address. He preferred 'Scooter' to Oscar, or Captain, or anything else people threw at him. He acquired the name years ago while attending Naval Flight Training in Pensacola. One morning one of his instructors saw him pull into the squadron parking lot on his standard mode of transport at the time, a Vespa motor scooter. He had been called 'Scooter' ever since. Putnam was a 1971 graduated of the Coast Guard Academy. In late 1973, after graduating from Naval Flight Training, he was sent to the Coast Guard Air Station in Miami. There he flew the HU-16E for almost five years. He truly loved the old birds but eventually the Coast Guard had to phase the aircraft out of service. After a political fight over the interim replacement, the Coast Guard finally selected the Air Force C-131A Samaritan's. These aircraft, a derivative of the civilian Convair 240, had been in storage in an Arizona boneyard for years. Scooter wasn't fond of this aircraft, so when he was offered a job flying Mallard's for Chalks International in Miami he took it. After resigning his service commission he never looked back. A couple years later he grabbed one of the first pilot slots with Mercator when they opened their Bahamian base in Nassau. Scooter was moving up. He tossed his gear bag by Hanna's desk, then acknowledged his new First Officer as she stood at the flight planning table. "Morn'in Cass -- you ready to go flying?" "Yes sir." "Good, looks like another wonderful day in paradise." He looked over the paperwork too, pulled the crew copies off the clipboard, asked Colin if there was anything additional he needed to know and then walked out with Cassie in trail. "See you guys later today" he called over his shoulder as he exited the doorway, accompanied by Cassie and another rush of cold air. "Have a safe one Captain," shouted Hanna as the glass door slammed shut. Rueben Witt had retired from the Navy after a career that spanned over 25 years. He had been a Senior Chief Aviation Machinist and flew as a crewmember in a variety of aircraft. His last military aircrew position was aboard a Grumman HU-16C while stationed at the Naval Base in Guantanamo (GITMO) Bay, Cuba. When the last Albatross left GITMO, in August of 1976, Rueben felt it was time to retire. He immediately landed a nice job working on Grumman Mallards for Chalks International Airlines at Dodge Island in Biscayne Bay, Miami. Scooter Putnam flew them and Rueben maintained them and the two became good friends at Chalks. When Mercator opened up their hub several years later, Rueben, along with Scooter Putnam, was one of the first to get hired. He and his wife jumped at the opportunity to live and work in the Bahamas. He was ecstatic that once again he would crewing in the Albatross. (Due to security concerns after the 9/11 attacks, Chalks shifted their operations from Dodge Island to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport. In Dec. 2005, a Chalks Mallard enroute to Bimini made an unscheduled stop at Watson Island, in the Port of Miami. On takeoff the aircraft crashed at the entrance to the port killing all 20 people aboard. This was the first fatal crash of a Chalks aircraft since the company started operations in 1917.) Rueben was the third member of the crew of 'One Six Mike Charlie.' In that capacity he served as flight engineer, mechanic, loadmaster and cabin attendant, all rolled into one. Rueben heard the office door slam shut and glanced up to see his captain and the new FO walking towards the aircraft. He was high up on the fuselage, conducting his customary and extensive first-flight of the day preflight checks. The passengers for the short hop to Governor's Harbour, all scuba divers from Atlanta, stood anxiously just outside the Mercator Ops office. There was a long line of their personal gear piled on the tarmac. "Good Morning gang," Scooter called over to the passengers as he exited the office. "We'll be ready to go in a few minutes." Scooter had learned early in his civilian career that you didn't discuss the safety of the aircraft in front of the paying passengers, so he held in check his urge now to ask Rueben how the 'Goat' looked this morning. He would do that out of customer earshot. "Morn'in Senior Chief, thanks for the fresh air." The Captain motioned towards the top of the cockpit. Scooter would have customarily addressed a Coast Guard or Navy Senior Chief in this manner when he was in the service. Old habits were hard to break. The reference to the fresh air was because Rueben had opened both escape hatches over the cockpit prior to beginning his extensive preflight checks. This provided some much needed fresh air to the flightdeck before their first flight. The aircraft was a sight to behold. For a twin engined propeller aircraft it was extremely large and imposing. A high wing spar was adopted to keep engines, wings, and props out of the brunt of the water spray during water operations. It also opened up the interior for cargo space. Mercator, as the Coast Guard did in the late 1970's, limited water operations to emergency use only because of the age of the wings and airframe. Massive main tires folded out and down from their respective wheel wells, located into the sides of the fuselage. These tires were exposed to the elements when retracted because there were no main gear doors. The twin nose gear wheels were exposed too because the wheel well, though sealed off from the hull, was not watertight itself. In the cockpit, if you glanced down at the deck between the two pilot seats, you saw a small, circular window. This was a viewing port into the nose wheel well. In flight it was dark but sitting on the ground you saw the outside light up through this opening. Just forward of this viewing port, under the cockpits main instrument panel is the door that allows entry into the nose (bow) compartment of the aircraft. Once inside you can open up the hatch in the overhead and emerge from the aircraft, just in front of the cockpit windscreen. This was used by crewmembers when there was a need to pick up a mooring buoy line to secure the aircraft, while afloat. If you stood alongside the aircraft and studied the fuselage, those familiar with a boat hull would recognize the Vee hull of the HU-16's fuselage bottom with its distinct 'step.' This 'step' is a discontinuity along the bottom of the fuselage, right in line with the main gear tires. This stepped hull, first invented by Glenn Curtiss, is necessary for water takeoffs. The sharp discontinuity causes cavitation of the water. The resulting turbulence breaks the suction of the water that would otherwise try to prevent the aircraft from lifting off. At the aft limit of the hull was a metal tail stand commonly referred to as a 'squat bar.' This prevented the aircraft from sitting on its tail during a loading operation that improperly placed the aircrafts CG (center of gravity) behind the main gear. This bar is removed during preflight and stowed inside the cabin. Entry into the aircraft is gained by climbing an aluminum ladder up to the main fuselage entry door. And just like entering a boat, you step down into the cabin. The height of the door off the ground is dictated by the need to be above the waterline when the aircraft is waterborne. In reality, it's a Dutch-Door design, spilt horizontally into an upper and lower half. This design was used because when the aircraft is operated on the water in higher sea states, there has to be a means to open the door without allowing water into the hull. This is done by keeping the lower half of the door secured and opening only the upper half. Many 'landlubbers' refer to the door as a hatch when, in fact, it's a door. On a ship, an opening through a bulkhead (a vertical wall) is a door and any opening through a deck (the horizontal divisions in a ship -- like a floor in a building) is a hatch. Therefore you gain entry into an Albatross through a door, but the openings above the pilot and copilots seats as well as the opening in the nose (bow) of the aircraft are hatches. The supercharged Wright engines that power the Albatross are similar to the engines you find on the T-28 Trojan and the B-17 bomber. On the bottom of each large engine nacelle can be seen a pair of large, flapper type doors. Just behind these is an additional, single flapper door. The front doors are the cowl flaps and are used to regulate the exit of the airflow that keeps the engines cool. The wider the opening, the more air is drawn across the engine and the cooler the cylinders operate. However the internal workings of the engine itself are cooled by oil and this aft opening is the exit for the air that flows across the oil cooler. The amount of cooling air that passes through is controlled by these cooler flaps. Unlike most constant speed propellers, the props on an Albatross are electrically controlled and hydraulically actuated, independent of engine oil. The prop governor RPM is set by toggle switches, not propeller control levers customarily found in aircraft. When waterborne, the rudder is ineffective. Since no water rudder is installed, the only means of directional control is differential engine power. When at idle, the best way to control aircraft direction is to move one or the other props in or out of reverse. There is no beta range so you're either going forward or aft, demanding a pilot's constant attention. Several minutes later the passengers were all buckled in and Rueben was manning the fire bottle in preparation for engine start. Scooter cranked over the Wrights and as each caught and roared to life they belched a plume of bluish gray smoke. Cockpit checks were completed; Rueben completed his tarmac chores then boarded the 'Goat.' Nassau ground cleared them to the active runway via a couple taxiways. Throttles were pushed up to get the big aircraft moving off her overnight resting spot and several minutes later they turned onto the active runway. The landing lights were switched on. With a final glance around the cockpit, the Captain declared he was setting "Maximum Power" as he had done hundreds upon hundreds of times before. It was always an adrenalin rush. Less than five minutes later they were over the east end of New Providence Island pointed eastward towards the island of Eleuthera. Large, billowy clouds pockmarked the area. "Too bad there're clouds in the area. Right down below you there is Rose Island. That's the spot where the Vulcan Bomber in the James Bond movie "Thunderball" was sunk." In reality, the movie company made a steel framed replica and covered it with fiberglass for the underwater scenes. All that is left of the site now is the frame itself, although it remains a very popular dive site with thousands of divers that come to the Bahamas each year, like the group in the back right now. As the engines droned on and they passed Bar Bay Settlement, the western most spit of land on Eleuthera, Scooter passed more local information to his new FO. "Eleuthera was originally called Ciguateo until it was renamed by the first white inhabitants who were religious separatists from Bermuda. That was back in the mid 1600's and the group called themselves the Eleutherian Adventurers. 'Eleuthera' is the Greek word for freedom." Just at that moment they heard a blind call on the frequency from an aircraft announcing his departure from Governors Harbour (GHB/MYEM), their destination. Cassie and Scooter configured the aircraft for the approach and soon they were crossing over the beach by James Point for the landing. After a quick one-eighty turn on the runway they taxied back to the ramp and disembarked their first load for the day. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet. A half hour later they left the Governor's Harbour ramp enroute the active. Soon they were abeam the northeast tip of Eleuthera, passing Harbour Island, and the enchantingly named enclave of Spanish Wells. They were headed to Marsh Harbour (MHH/MYAM) on Great Abaco Island, 85 nm to the north. The flight would be over the blue waters of the Northeast Providence Channel. This shipping lane angles to the northeast, from Nassau (thus its name) and forms the watery boundary between the islands of Eleuthera and Abaco, where it spills out into the Atlantic Ocean. Turquoise colored areas that marked shallow water soon slipped behind as they climbed to altitude. Forty-five minutes later they shutdown the engines at Marsh Harbour. Scooter climbed out of his seat and went inside the small terminal to call Colin back in Nassau to check on any schedule changes. A couple minutes later he retook his cockpit seat and announced that no changes had been made so far. Next stop Freeport. The aircraft was loaded with freight and five passengers and at 09:30 they were underway again. After departing Marsh Harbour to the west you fly over a large mangrove swamp area (they don't call the place Marsh Harbour for nothing). This area, known as 'The Marls,' is strewn with countless small and mostly un-named cays (a cay -- pronounced 'key' in the Bahamas -- is the name of a low island or reef, normally made of sand or coral). All are uninhabited, if you don't count the hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes that reside there. The area has a reputation as a world class bone fishing spot and attracts sports anglers from around the world. Between Great Abaco Island, which is oriented north-south and Grand Bahama Island, which is oriented east-west, lies the magnificent Bahama Bank and once out over the bank N18MC leveled off at 6,500 feet for the transit to Freeport. Off the left wing could be seen Mores Island, small and isolated. A short while later a small speck appeared just off the aircrafts nose. This was Red Shark Cay with the massive Grand Bahama Island just beyond, seemingly suspended in mid-air just above the tropical waters. At Freeport (FPO/MYGF) they all got out of the aircraft to stretch their legs and get some fresh air. Though thousands of air crews have cherished their association with the Albatross, it is considered by many as the most uncomfortable aircraft they have ever flown; slow, extremely noisy, and with a high vibration level. Any excuse to slip out of your seat and stretch your legs is welcomed. However the respite was short lived and all too soon the crew was back aboard, except for Rueben, who took his customary position on the tarmac for startup. After takeoff, they banked to the left to fly towards West End where they would begin their transit over the Gulf Stream to West Palm Beach. Less than an hour later, after a courtesy chat with the U.S. Custom Patrol Officer on duty at the AUTEC Terminal on the south side of the field at West Palm Beach (PBI/KPBI), Cassie walked the 6 passengers out to the aircraft. while Rueben supervised the loading of their equipment. Scooter reemerged from the building a few minutes later, boarded the aircraft and started the engines. Rueben pulled the chocks, removed the squat bar and after boarding pulled the ladder in. After a brief taxi to the active, still runway 27 Right, they were cleared for takeoff. Scooter lined up on the runway. With a final glance at the panel to ensure that nothing was blinking at him he declared he was setting "Maximum Power." He pushed both spring loaded propeller control switches forward briefly until the prop gauges read 2,700 RPM and then advanced the throttles until the Manifold Pressure (MAP) gauge indicated 51.5" for both engines. The engines roared to a deafening crescendo, even through their headsets. Cassie's left hand was poised just behind Scooters right hand, as it hung from the overhead throttle levers. At 82 kts indicated airspeed (KIAS), Scooter eased the forward pressure he had been exerting on the control yoke and the nosewheel broke ground. He maintained this attitude until 90 KIAS when Cassie called "Rotate" and the big aircraft left the runway. With a good positive rate of climb Scooter called, "Wheels Up." Momentarily you could hear the loud thud as the gear retracted into the gear wells. At 105 KIAS the Captain announced "Set 1st Power" and the young First Officer now assumed control of the aircraft's power settings, inching the throttles back, then toggling the propeller switches to give them the correct setting. She then declared, "R-P-M Twenty-five hundred, manifold forty-six decimal five." The roar outside changed noticeably to a less snarling tone. They continued their climb to the west as the tower controller cleared them for a downwind departure. Scooter simultaneously rolled the yoke smoothly to the left, applying some backpressure to maintain the correct climb attitude and fed in some left rudder. He rolled out on a southerly heading for a few seconds, then resumed the left bank to put them on an easterly heading to fly downwind of the departure runway. When the air speed indicator rose to 120 KIAS, Scooter commanded, "Set 2nd Power." Cassie adjusted the throttle for 38" MAP and toggled the prop switches once again to give them 2,300 RPM. She then reached over and turned on the autopilot, switched off the landing lights then retracted them into their underwing housings. After readjusting the oil cooler and cowl flap openings, she made sure the toggle switches were in the "OFF" position. They crossed the long narrow strip of water that is the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) just inside the coastline. As the VOR needle started to creep towards the center of the CDI (Course Deviation Indicator) gauge, Scooter rolled the aircraft into a shallow, right bank to intercept their outbound airway -- Bravo Romeo Five Four Victor (BR54V). Cassie was still very busy. Now she reached up to the overhead panel and secured the Rudder Boost. (Hydraulically controlled rudder boost is used to relieve excessive pedal forces if an engine is lost during takeoff or landing. It is normally secured in flight.) She then secured the fuel pumps while Rueben shut down the auxiliary power unit (APU). Most of the 'heavy lifting' was now complete. They only needed to heed the various radio calls and climb to their cruise altitude. The thin sliver of darkish green water near the Florida coast now gave way to a deep blue, wide ribbon as far as the eye could see. This was the infamous Gulf Stream, that comes out of the Gulf of Mexico and is squeezed through the narrow Florida Straits between the Florida Keys and Cuba. Then it turns north and is further compressed between South Florida and the Bahamas. As it continues its northward journey, it eventually widens off Cape Hatteras and flows northward, then eastward, across the Atlantic to Europe. 'One Six Mike Charlie' eventually leveled off at 11,000 feet. Scooter reset the power to give them 150 KIAS. The oil cooler and cowl flaps were closed and the carb heat reset, then both mixture controls were adjusted. The Gulf Stream is bigger than the combined flow of the Mississippi, the Nile, the Congo, the Amazon, the Volga, the Yangtze and many other major rivers of the world. The best technical estimate is that one hundred thousand million tons of warm salt water flow between Florida and the Bahamas every hour. At 235 gallons per ton, you have 235 x 1,010 gallons per hour flowing between two and five miles per hour northward. This flow has been estimated to be about twenty times greater than all the fresh water in the world flowing into the oceans of the world from rain, rivers, and melting ice. Depending on the wind speed and direction the Gulf Stream's current can approach speeds in excess of 6-8 kts. With a southerly wind the surface swells are normally less but the velocity increases. When the wind is out of the north wave height is greater, but the current speed is lessened. Contrary to popular opinion, the axis of the current, which contains the fastest moving water, is not always in the middle of the stream. The axis can meander from its western wall (boundary) just off the coast of Florida to the eastern wall just to the west of Bimini), affected by a myriad of environmental factors. All in all, it's not a place one wants to be in a disabled boat or a ditched aircraft or life raft. Cassie, looking off her right shoulder, asked, "Why is there a south bound line of ships close to the coast, but out here [near the center of the Florida Straits] they all appear headed north?" "Ships take advantage of the [Gulf] streams current. There's less current closer to the beach so southbound traffic hug the shoreline. Northbound they want the maximum current push so that's why you see those ships farther out," Scooter replied. "November one six Mike Charlie, Miami Center, switch and answer on One-Three-Three decimal Four." Cassie responded. "Thirty-three decimal Four, One Six Mike Charlie, Roger, out." Cassie pushed the swap button on the COMMS radio, making the new sector frequency, which she had programmed into the radio prior to takeoff, the active frequency. Then she called Miami Center. Rueben slipped out of his seat after they reached cruising altitude and went aft to check on the passenegers. In a few moments he reappeared. "Hey, boss, we have a couple squids (a slang term for anyone in the Navy) back aft that want to take a look up here, any problem?" "Heck no", Scooter replied, "bring'em on up." This was pre-9/11. Cockpit security was not the issue it is today. A few minutes later a couple sailors appear on the flightdeck. Rueben maneuvered around and told one guy to slip into the right jump seat and the other to take the left jump seat directly behind Scooter. They took turns asking various questions about aircraft performance, endurance, how fast, how high, how long, how hard to fly . Scooter and Rueben professionally answered them all. Cassie sat quietly in her seat, showing deference to the seniority of her fellow crewmates in the Q&A (Question & Answer) session that took place. An Albatross flightdeck has several differences that make it unique. First, to gain entrance to the cockpit you have to step over a raised coaming, (the edge plate surrounding a door or a hatch on a ship) and into the cockpit. The door itself is oval in shape, the same shape as a watertight door on a ship. Once in the cockpit, you notice that the crew seats are mounted on platforms above the metal deck. Standing between the pilot and co-pilot seats, you find that the metal platforms on which the seats are secured is about as high as your kneecap. This gives you, more or less, eye to eye contact with seated crewmembers as you stand between the two seats. The center pedestal is also different. It is hinged on the forward edge, where it connects to the lower main instrument panel. It can be raised and locked in an upright position, similar to a drawbridge, to facilitate entry/egress to the left or right seats, or the small access door below it that leads to the aircrafts bow compartment. Another non-standard arrangement on the flightdeck, and quite noticeable, is the throttle quadrant. Unlike most aircraft that have their power control levers pointed upward from the center console, the Albatross has its power levers pointed downward from the overhead. To make it even more intriguing is the fact that it is minus the standard set of propeller control levers. Albatross propeller RPM is controlled by a pair of spring loaded toggle switches. When you look up at the overhead panel you see, from left to right: a large knob to adjust throttle friction, a smaller stalked lever to shift the supercharger, two large throttle levers, then the mixture control levers followed by two prop control toggle switches and finally the flap handle. Also very prominent are two large, red handles that control fuel tank selection. To a Grumman pilot flying a Goose, Mallard, Widgeon or even the naval S-2 Tracker (used so predominantly in an ASW role years ago) the overhead power control arrangement would be all too familiar. Several minutes later the cockpit was empty again except for the Mercator crew and some occasional radio chatter. Miami Center called again with another frequency change and Cassie complied once again. Soon the dark blue color of the Gulf Stream was met by a large turquoise area which marked the shallow water north of the Bimini Islands. A tiny speck of dark coloration appeared just off the right nose and Scooter pointed out Great Isaac Island, an uninhabited cay about halfway between Bimini and Pinder Point, the southwestern tip of Grand Bahama Island. This is where the Northwest Providence Channel spills out into the Atlantic to be captured and whisked northward by the Gulf Stream. "Great Isaac," declared Scooter as he pointed over the instrument panel to guide Cassie's line of sight to the dark spot off the nose. "This is a good position check because it lies almost directly under this airway. Looks like that wind has picked up a little more out of the south since she's [the island] going to pass down our starboard side." Scooter adjusted the heading bug and the aircraft's autopilot dutifully followed his directions. At Carey Intersection, 54 nm northwest of Nassau VOR, with Chub Cay 20 nm's ahead, they made a shallow right bank to depart the airway. For here they took up a more southerly track that would fly them down into the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO), the deep-ocean basin that borders the eastern side of Andros Island. (This strangely shaped underwater basin is approximately 100 nautical miles long by 15 miles wide and varies in depth down to 6,000 feet.) Before long, the rock outcroppings of Joulter Cays came into view off the right nose followed by Andros Island itself, the largest of the 700 some odd Bahamian Islands. They passed Morgan's Bluff and then came up on Nicholls Town. Scooter started their descent and simultaneously radioed his station manager telling him they were letting down for Andros Town Airport (ADS/MYAF) and "expect to be on deck in about 10 minutes." Colin now knew when to expect them back in Nassau for the afternoon runs. Cassie closed out with Miami Center and was reviewing the data card she had for the airport. Rueben started the APU and passed through the cabin ensuring everything and everyone was secured. A few minutes later they banked to the west, dirtied up the aircraft, reset the power and landed at the small airport. Several U.S. Navy vehicles could be seen parked at the small shack that served as an airport terminal. At 13:45, after disembarking passengers and cargo 'One Six Mike Charlie' was airborne again for the brief flight back to Nassau. In Part 2 our Albatross crew will get a change of schedule. Make sure you join us back out on the Nassau ramp when they get ready to fly the second half of their adventure. Joe Thompson joe308@zianet.com ceo@flymercator.com
  16. Why Not Model? Grumman A-6 Intruder By Evan Levesque (31 August 2005) It has been almost ten years since the greatest attack asset ever built for the United States Navy thundered off carrier decks forever. In 1997, the last of the Grumman A-6 Intruders in service were retired after two wars and 34 years with the fleet. Since there is currently no good FS2004 model of the Intruder it's hoped that this article might inspire one of the many talented designers to create one. The A-6A Intruder was the result of a late 1950's need for a jet-powered replacement for the aging Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. The result was a design proposal from Grumman named G-128. The design was only beautiful to those who flew it, those BN's who rode it into battle, and those of us who admired the last true attack jet this country's Navy has had. The plane was manned by a crew of two, a pilot who flew the aircraft, and a Bombardier/Navigator (BN) who operated the radar, computer, and other weapons systems. Sitting side by side, with the pilot on the left, and the BN on the right, allowed for an unusual level of crew coordination to be possible, usually only found on the Air Force's strategic bombers. At the heart of the A-6A's all-weather attack capability was the rotary drum computer, and the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE). It was this computer which usually dropped the bombs in the A-6's. The computer, when it could get a ground lock, would compute how the bombs would fall, depending on the type of ordnance, and automatically drop them as long as the pilot held the commit trigger on the stick down. If the computer failed, or the pilot wanted to manually drop the bombs, he'd hit the pickle button on the stick. The airframe was of typical metal construction. The mid-set wings were swept back at a 25-degree angle and were fitted with full span leading edge slats and full-span trailing edge fowler flaps. These high lift devices, paired with the already broad wing, gave a 'dirty' stall speed of 98 knots, with a comfortable carrier approach speed of about 118 knots. At the extreme tips of the swept wings were speed brakes. The wingtips were hinged to open upwards and downwards into the slipstream to provide drag to slow down, or to allow high power settings during carrier approaches. These were designed and fitted after the original speed brakes, behind the engine exhausts, were found to stall the horizontal stabilizer at any speed or angle of attack they were deployed at. In the original prototypes, the tailpipes pivoted downward to increase the short-field performance, but it was found that they weren't effective enough to justify the weight penalty they presented. On the top of the nose, forward of the cockpit, there was a fixed in-flight refueling probe for use with the Navy's hose and drogue system of refueling. Two Pratt & Whitney J52 turbojets were fed through large cheek-mounted intakes and exhausted through two short tailpipes just aft of the wing trailing edge. The bomber had five weapons stations total, with the possibility of fitting a Multiple Ejector Rack (MER) capable of holding up to six 500 lb bombs, usually with snakeye fins. With all five pylons filled with bombs, the aircraft could carry thirty of the Mk. 82 Snakeye. Usually however, the centerline station was reserved for a 2000-pound belly tank, leaving four free for weapons. The A-6 could carry many different types of weapons throughout its career, but it was most often used with Snakeyes of different weights and the famous Rockeye cluster bomb. Laser guided bombs and the anti-ship missile harpoon could also be carried. The Grumman A-6A Intruder joined the Navy in 1963, flying off the decks of aircraft carriers. The jet's first action would be seen in a small country in Southeast Asia in a raging civil war between a communist north and a democratic south. Flying from carriers in the Tonkin Gulf, Intruders began to pound power plants, roads, bridges and anything else they were allowed to, usually at night and alone. The aircraft carried no defensive weapons and did not have a gun. As the Navy's only all-weather attack plane, the Intruder saw a lot of action over Vietnam. Unfortunately, due to the newness and complexity of the DIANE system, the Intruders faced significant 'down time' when the aircraft's systems had problems, which precluded its use until fixed. During the war in Vietnam, two new A-6 variants were produced. The A-6B was a dedicated SAM suppression aircraft, which fired the famous Shrike, and lesser-known Standard Anti-Radiation Missile (STARM) against radars and SAM sites, which made up Vietnam's air defenses. The A-6C TRIM was an Intruder that was modified to spot and bomb targets traveling up and down the Ho Chi Minh trail. The TRIM pod (Trails/Roads Interdiction Multisensor), a predecessor to the TRAM pod found on late-model A-6E's, was a system, which allowed the A-6C to spot vehicles on the Ho Chi Minh trail. Few of these were ever produced, but they did lead the way to an important addition to the A-6's systems; the TRAM pod, which we'll discuss in a moment. The KA-6D was a dedicated fleet tanker aircraft. The definitive attack version of the Intruder was the A-6E that entered service in 1970. The E model replaced the A-6A's rotary drum computer with a solid-state computer that was much more reliable, and this eased many of the maintenance problems faced by A-6 squadrons. Many of the avionics were also changed and enhanced, leading to a much more capable airplane. The TRAM modification to the Intruder added a small round turret under the nose, forward of the nose gear. This was the external part of the Target Recognition and Attack Multisensor, which would allow the A-6 to continue to be useful in the battlefield until its retirement. After the A-6E's experience in the Persian Gulf War, the Navy contracted Boeing to re-wing the Intruders with new, composite wings to prolong their service life. This was part of the A-6E SWIF mod, which reshaped the wing slightly, added Automatic Carrier Landing capabilities to the jet, and revamped the avionics. Almost immediately after the gulf war, however, the Intruder began to face retirement. The A-6E aircraft were being flown to Davis-Monthan almost as fast as they could be re-winged. By 1997, the last Intruder had been retired. The last ball call by an A-6 was recorded as being this: "505, Intruder Ball, 6.0, FAG's have the con" (FAG's=Fighter/Attack Guy's) Some notes about the cockpit picture. The landing gear handle (lower left) is in the "Emergency Extension" position because the knob is rotated 90 degrees and pulled out from its normal position. The plastic in front of the instruments is because this picture came from a museum bird. Normally, there would be a hood shielding the radar scope and other displays on the BN's side of the cockpit from extraneous light, but that is missing on this aircraft. Grumman tried to update the Intruder again for the Navy by the A-6F mod which would re-wing the airplane, again revamp the avionics to the latest standard, and replace the loud, gas-guzzling J52 turbojets with newer more efficient turbofan engines, and add two more wing pylons for a total of seven. This proposal was turned down due to cost, so Grumman offered the A-6G, which was the same as the F, except with the same J52's. Once again they were turned down. The Intruder was gone. There is no replacement for the Intruder. Its bombing capabilities were partially picked up by the F-14D, but the ability to haul large bombloads over long distances is now a ability which today's carriers don't have, even more so after the complete retirement of the F-14 Tomcat in 2007. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is in no way a suitable replacement for any aircraft on today's carriers. They lack the range, speed, capability and load carrying ability of the F-14, A-6, or even the first generation F/A-18 Hornet. The carrier's now need more gas aloft in the form of S-3 tankers, or Air Force tankers. The Carrier Air Wings which protected our country in the 1960's and 1970's were the best there were or ever will be, and I'm proud to have been a part of them flying in (or rather jumping out of) the world's best helicopters; the SH-2 Seasprite, and the SH-3. The Phantoms, Intruders, Skyhawks and Crusaders, Corsair II's, Skywarriors, Vigilanties and Hawkeyes were all designed with one goal in mind and at that goal they excelled. To use the an old expression, the Carrier Battle Groups of the 1960's and 1970's could truly kick ass and take names, and now I fear that this capability is gone with the retirement of the last two true Navy airplanes; the F-14 Tomcat, and the A-6 Intruder. Want to Fly A Virtual Intruder? While there is no FS2004 model available, flightsimmers using FS2002 and earlier have a variety of Intruders to fly, easily downloadable from our file library. To view available A-6's: Click here For those wishing to try the Intruder's replacement, there are also a number of good Super Hornets available. To view available F/A-18Es: Click here Flightsimmers also have a variety of Tomcats to fly, easily downloadable from our file library. To view available F-14s: Click here Evan Levesque evanlevesque@msn.com
  17. Grumman F-14: A Navy Legend Retires By Evan Levesque (17 August 2004) Anyone who hasn't seen the movie Top Gun has missed what are probably the best opening 60 seconds of any aviation film made before, or since. The Top Gun Anthem echoes through the steam and mist of a carrier in the morning. Aircraft start up, and the deck crews begin their dance. The F-14, the movie's star, taxis onto the cat, and is shot off the deck...and into history. The 1986 blockbuster brought the F-14 into the public spotlight, and for a while, every boy and girl in America wanted to be a Naval Aviator flying the Tomcat. From then, captured in America's hearts and minds, the F-14 carried on its legacy of being the best interceptor in the history of the United States Navy, competing with the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom. From beginnings during the desperate days of the Vietnam War, to becoming a symbol of the Navy, the F-14 remains to be the public's idea of a fighter, and now, it is going extinct. The aircraft that American kids (including myself) grew up around, those aircraft that we wished someday to fly, are being retired, the A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair, A-4 Skyhawk and now the F-14 Tomcat are passing into history, and leaving gaps in the Carrier Battle Groups that are going to be very hard to fill. 1971: The Vietnam War is raging; Apollo 14 and 15 land on the moon; and Grumman unveils a large, swing-wing fighter that is bound to change America's carrier decks forever. The F-14 was designed from the outset as a large, carrier-borne interceptor to replace McDonnell's F-4 Phantom that had proved itself over the hostile skies of Vietnam. Using the same crew of two, Grumman's initial design used two problematic Pratt & Whitney engines that were mounted far apart in tunnels underneath the aircraft's fuselage (in later models, Grumman opted for the GE engines). In the space between the two engines, JDAM's, missiles, or ECM gear could be carried. The swing-wings were fitted with full-span single slotted flaps that were deployed on landing and takeoff. For roll control, Grumman used the same spoiler system as was utilized on the A-6A Intruder attack platform. The main landing gear were mounted on the flanks of the air intake ducts, A-6 style, and used the same basic retraction geometry, moving forward, and then rotating 90 degrees to lie horizontally in the wing box. The nose was a twin-wheeled unit that was (unusually for a carrier based fighter) fitted with nosewheel steering, it retracted forwards. For carrier ops, the Tomcat was fitted with the nose tow bar system pioneered by Grumman's A-6. (As you should be seeing, the F-14 and the A-6, although the two couldn't be more different, used similar systems and design principles.) Instead of using a bridle and hooks, like the F-4, the F-14 had a hinged bar on the nosewheel strut, shaped like a T on the end. This was placed in the catapult shuttle, and a hold back bolt was attached to the back of the nosewheel strut. When the fighter was at full power, and the catapult began its forward travel, the hold back bolt snapped in half, and the aircraft was flung off the deck and into the air. On the back end, a long tailhook was mounted underneath the beavertail that housed ECM equipment and a fuel dump pipe. A crew of two was seated beneath a long, two-piece bubble canopy that sat high above the fuselage, giving almost unlimited visibility. The twin tail fins were seated far apart and protruded straight up, and were fitted with rudders. Grumman also decided, using lessons learned in Vietnam, to nestle a M61 Vulcan cannon on the left side of the nose. The F-14 was continually updated to meet the needs of the US Navy after its conception in 1971. Here is a short list: Designation Type Role F-14A Tomcat Basic Production Version Carrier-borne Interceptor F-14B Tomcat Fighter/Bomber (also christened 'Bombcat') Carrier-borne Interceptor/Ground Attack F-14C Tomcat Re-engined Tomcat with GE F-110 engines (modified from existing 'A' model airframes) Carrier-borne Interceptor F-14D Super Tomcat Definitive Tomcat with F-110 engines, improved avionics, multi-role capability. Carrier-born Interceptor The F-14D was the definitive Tomcat version. Its F-110 engines could be jam accelerated at high angles of attack, and it was the only version of the Tomcat that didn't have to use afterburner during cat launches (from the factory, soon F-14B's and C's received engine upgrades that allowed them to takeoff without full AB). The F-14D was also the first that was fitted with an under nose sensor package that allowed it to track and kill targets more efficiently. There are almost no A models left on US carrier decks due to replacement by the B, C, and D models. The Grumman F-14 excels at long range, carrier borne interception. Designing a fighter with the high speeds necessary and still have acceptable slow speed characteristics meant that the wing had to be relatively straight, or VG (variable geometry). The full-span single slotted flaps and leading edge slats reduce carrier landing speed to 125 knots compared to the 145 knots of the F-4. One major gripe that carrier pilots noted about the aircraft was the fact that the engines had quite a long lag time for the compressors to spool up. Grumman solved this problem by placing a thumb-operated switch on the stick, which operated the spoilers on the wings. This way, the pilot could approach with higher power settings and maintain the 'ball' by using the spoiler system. This eased pilot workload on the approach many times over. F-14D Specifications: Role: Long-range fighter/bomber Manufacturer: Grumman Aircraft Powerplant: 2 General Electric F-110 Turbofans with 27,800 lb wet thrust Wingspan: 64' 1.5" (wings fully spread) Height: 16' Length: 62' 8" Top Speed: 2.4 Mach (1544 mph ) Max takeoff weight (full ordnance load): 74,000 lb Combat Radius: 403 nm Crew: 1 pilot, 1 RIO The New Guy It is a simple fact; the Tomcat is a dying breed. The US Navy only operates about 200 Tomcats as of 2004. So, this begs the question: 'What's the replacement?' The answer might surprise you...the F/A-18 Hornet. Not the same Hornet that has proved itself over and over again in combat, but a new version, the "Super Hornet" E and F models. Although the F/A-18E, and F may be great aircraft in their own rights, they are no match for the abilities of the Grumman F-14. I believe that the original F/A-18's, the A, B, C, and D models, are great aircraft and compliment the F-14 in the fleet interceptor/fighter role very well, however I doubt the ability of the Super Hornet to take over the F-14's role on carrier decks. The F-14 and the F/A-18E were born from different philosophies, and their performance shows that. First, the Tomcat is a big, heavy, two-place fighter. The Super Hornet is a small, lightweight, single seat fighter. The Tomcat has a variable geometry wing that can adapt itself to almost any flight regime, while the Hornet uses a fixed geometry straight wing. The straight wing is excellent for slow speed, carrier performance, and fuel conservation, however, to be used as a fighter wing, painful compromises must be made. All flight characteristics must be built into one wing planform. To go supersonic with a straight wing, it must be low aspect ratio, and be razor thin...thus, slow speed operations (carrier ops and dogfighting) will suffer. Also, the Super Hornet ran into a problem with weight...it tries to use a fixed geometry wing to lift bomb loads like the Tomcat. The (comparatively) small wing can't lift all that weight with an acceptable wing loading. The original Hornet, which was used as a lightweight, fighter/bomber, was very successful with that wing, but the Super Hornet can't work with the same wing and still meet the supersonic and ordnance load requirements as well as the Tomcat's VG wing can. Farewell to an American Legend Tomcats hold a spot not only on US carrier decks, but also in the heart and soul of America. Whenever trouble arises, the US carriers will be deployed and the brave young men that are in the military will be called upon to fight America's enemies. Losing the Tomcat means losing the ability of two excellent aircraft. It means losing the fighting capabilities of the F-14, and also losing the all-weather bombing ability of the A-6E Intruder, which the F-14D was designed to accept after the retirement of the venerable Intruder. No longer will the USN have the ability of power projection. Also, with the loss of the Grumman Tomcat, there will not be a Grumman fighter on America's carrier decks, something that hasn't happened since the 1930's. The legend carried on by the Wildcat, Hellcat, Tigercat, Bearcat, Panther, Cougar, Tiger and Tomcat has finally ended. The F-14 carried the legend of American fighting aircraft that rolled out of the Bethpage plant of the "Grumman Iron Works". As they say though, all good things must come to an end. Now on a sleepy evening when you hear the high-pitched scream of jet engines in the distance, and strains of the Top Gun Anthem run through you head, remember the best and last of the dogfighters...the mighty Tomcat. Want to Fly A Virtual Tomcat? Flightsimmers have a variety of Tomcats to fly, easily downloadable from our file library. To view available F-14s: Click here For those wishing to try the Tomcat's replacement, there are also a number of good Super Hornets available. To view available F/A-18Es: Click here Evan Levesque evanlevesque@msn.com
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