I
actually did do some flying when I could fit it in
between sessions on the tennis courts!
The first item that had to be accomplished was to
renew my instrument card.
|
VA-45 Blackbirds
TA4F Skyhawk
Instrument Training
|
|
April, 1970
I
flew seven TA4F instrument flights (14.2
hours) from April 10th through April 20th to
renew my instrument card.
Because I had sufficient flight hours, it
was a Special Instrument Card.
|
VA-174Hellrazors
A7 Corsair
Fleet Replacement Training
|
|
May, 1970
First I was required to complete the
required ground training; swim
requalification including the Dilbert
Dunker,
high altitude pressure chamber, and
ejection seat training. Then, I was
required to complete A7 systems ground
training
including simulator training.
After I completed this training and
successfully passed a blindfold cockpit
check,
I was ready to fly.
|
VA-174's
hangar is the double hangar in
the center of the image. The
hangar to the left was the Fleet
Replacement Squadron Hangar.
The
hangar to the right was
VA-45's hangar and the FRAMP
(Fleet Replacement Aircraft
Maintenance Program) space
where the training of
A7 maintenance personnel
took place.
|
I flew five flights in May (8.8 hours);
one in the A7A, two in the A7B, and
finally three in the A7E.
These were all solo flights of course as
the Navy hadn't produced the two seat
A7C version until 1975 or so.
|
This is what
it looked like flying to
Cecil
for
landing at Runway 18.
We would fly about halfway up
the runway in an echelon
formation and break one
aircraft at a
time to the
downwind leg for
landing.
Sometimes, the
more experienced fleet
squadrons would
execute what is called a
"fan break"
where all four
aircraft in an
echelon
formation would
break simultaneously and get
their interval
on the
downwind leg
by varying the
amount of G
the pilot used
in the break. The lead
pilot would
use more G
than each
pilot in
succession.
|
June, 1970
I flew
only four
flights in
June (7.9
hours); all in
the A7E
July,
1970
I flew
seven A7E
flights in
July (18.7
hours); two
night flights
(5.2 night
hours)
and three
cross country
flights (an
out and back
to MCAS Yuma.
|
I
began attending Happy Hour at the Rocket 17 Bar at the
Bachelor Officers Quarters at Cecil regularly on
Friday nights. I was accompanied by Possum there
often. He was the Operations Officer at VA-174. One
night when we were leaving the Rocket 17, I asked him
how much money he had in his pocket.
His reply: a quarter. (More on this later)
By the way, about this time I learned that I was being
promoted early to Lieutenant Commander.
|
August, 1970
Those 16
flights in
May, June, and
July and three
flights in
August (August
3rd, 17th, and
20th)
were all
intended to
get us ready
to deploy to
MCAS Yuma
Arizona
Weapons
Training.
I had 41.1 A7
flight hours
before my Yuma
Detachment.
MCAS
Yuma Weapons
Detachment
August and
September,
1970
|
You need
all of that long runway
at MCAS
Yuma when the
temperature is
hot.
|
I flew an
A7E from Cecil
to Yuma on
August 22nd
(3.8 flight
hours).
I flew 12
weapons
flights at
Yuma from
August 24th to
August 31st
(11.7 flight
hours).
I flew 14
weapons
flights at
Yuma from
September 1st
through
September 10th
(18.3 flight
hours).
These Weapons
Detachments
are one of the
two high
points of
replacement
pilot training. The
other
being day
and night
carrier
landings
toward the end
of the
syllabus.
The
students are
grouped into a
class which
takes on an identity.
Each class usually
deigns and
produces a
class "T"
shirt which
each pilot
usually wears
while flying
at the
detachment and
for the rest
of their time
at the RAG.
The
instructors
who accompany
these students
usually get in
on the fun
also.
The
flying is
terrific. It
initially
consists of
about five
days of two
flights a day of
practice
bombing,
rocket firing,
and strafing
at a practice
range.
That is
usually
followed the
sixth day by a
day flight at
the range
followed by a
night sortie
of weapons
delivery
practice.
This
day night
routine
usually lasts
about four
more days. Once
the practice
range missions
part of the
syllabus is complete,
there are
about four
days of
practice
strikes
against tactical
targets. The
final day is
usually some
sort of a
"graduation
exercise"
which combines
it all in
one big
strike.
After
the Weapons Det
at Yuma, I
flew back to
Cecil which
was followed
by seven post
det syllabus
flights.
In
all, I flew 23
flights in
September
(35.4 flight hours).
October,
1970
Field
Carrier Landing
Practice
(FCLP) and Day
Night Carrier
Qualification
Landings
In
October, I
flew 19
flights (19.7
flight hours.
The first
flight was an
Electronic
Countermeasures
flight.
The purpose of
that flight
was to
introduce the
pilot to the
ECM systems in
the A7E
aircraft.
The other 18
flights were
four day Field
Carrier
Landing
Practice
(FCLP) flights
(45 landings)
and eight
night FCLP
flights (95
landings).
Almost
all of these
FCLP flights
were flown at
the simulated
carrier deck
at NLF (Naval
Landing Field)
Whitehouse a
few miles
north of
Cecil.
|
NLF (Naval Landing Field) Whitehouse
|
|
USS Lexington CVT-16
|
On
October 20th, 1970 I had eight day carrier catapult
takeoffs, two "touch and go" landings and seven carrier
landings (Traps) on the USS Lexington CVT-16
That
night, I had three night catapult shots and and three
night traps. On October 21st, I had three more day cat shots
and traps and four cat shots and night traps.
The 4th cat shot was to
fly back to Cecil Field a day/night carrier qualified A7
pilot with ten day and six night traps!
Now, it was time to check in to VA-82, my
second fleet squadron!
|
VA-82
Marauders
November
1970-December
1972
|
|
|
When I checked out of VA-174, I just got in my car
and drove north (toward the bottom
of the image) and pulled in to the parking lot for
the second hangar from the bottom.
Va-82 shared that hangar with her sister squadron,
the VA-86 Sidewinders.
|
I checked
in to VA-82 in
November,
1970
 |
VA-82
had just turned in their old A7Bs for 12 brand new
A7Es
|
This image
was colorized by Ray Thomas using Photo Shop
Elements 2020 software
|
VA182 squadron officers when I checked in
November 1970. VA-82
was my second
fleet squadron so I was
assigned as a
Department
Head. I was
the fourth
senior pilot
in the
squadron. I was
junior to the
Commanding
Officer,
CDR Mac Gleim
(5th from ther
left front
row), the
Executive
Officer, CDR Tom Scott (next to
CDR Gleim's
left),
and LCDR
Leighton
"Snuffy" Smith
(between CDR
Scott and me
on the right
front row). |
Snuffy was
the Operations
Officer. I was
the
Maintenance
Officer.
|
Snuffy and
I were quickly
called "The
Smith
Brothers"
(Like the cough drop
guys in the
1960s))
|
The squadron
had recently
returned from
a Vietnam
cruise flying
A7Bs over
Laos, South
Vietnam, the
DMZ and Route
Package 2.
Operations
over the
higher threat
portion of
North Vietnam
was suspended
by President
Johnson's
bombing halt
during that
deployment.
The Executive
Officer, Tom
Scott, Snuffy
and I were the
most
experienced
combat pilots
in the
squadron as we
had flown
missions
over
North Vietnam
in the during
Rolling
Thunder 1965,
1966 or 1967.
It
took the CO,
Mac Gleim and
some of the
other pilots
who had just
returned from
their
deployment awhile to
get used to
the idea that
we had some
different
ideas about
combat tactics
than they did.
It wouldn't
matter much
right away
though as the
squadron was
transitioning
from their old
A7Bs into the
new full
system A7Es
and were
scheduled for
a
Mediterranean
deployment in
1971.
It would
matter on our
second cruise
though in the
summer of 1972
as VA-82
as part of CAG
8 on America
would be
participating
in Operation
Linebacker 1
and 2 during
the toughest
part of the
North Vietnam
campaign.
The
Smith Brothers
|
Snuffy and I
would work
together to
try to improve
the squadron's
combat tactics
and flying
skills.
He was the
Operations
Officer;. I
was the
Maintenance
Officer for
both cruises.
We decided not
to switch
after the
first cruise
when we
learned we
would be going
to Vietnam the
second cruise.
We were roommates
on America on
both cruises.
|
November
1970
I
flew 10
flights in our
new A7Es in
November, 1970
(18.3 flight
hours).
Five of these
flight were 45
degree Mk76
practice
bombing at one
of the many
targets
available to
us at the
time.
Two of the
flights were
"post
maintenance
test flights".
As Maintenance
Officer, I
flew a large
portion of
these "test
flights".
One flight was
a radar
navigation low
level flight.
My
Accident
On November
16th, I was
flying a two
plane
formation
flight with
Lt. Ed
Walsh.
"Fast Eddie"
was one of the
better second
cruise junior
officer
pilots
in the
squadron. I
decided that
we should
engage in some
air combat
maneuvering
training in
one of the
overland
operating
areas south
of Cecil
Field.
As I said, he
was one of the
better
"sticks" in
the squadron.
He managed to
achieve a
position of
advantage. I
decided to fly
the airplane
as close to
maximum
performance
that I could
and in the
process I over
flew the plane
and it
departed
controlled
flight. I
learned later
that if you
attempted a
turn in the
A7E with the
angle of
attack (AOA)
about two
units over
optimum AOA
that the
normal neutral
stability in
yaw became
negative
stability. I
apparently
introduced
some adverse
yaw with
unbalanced
turn and the
aircraft
departed
controlled
flight. This
occurred at
about 7,000'
altitude above
the ground and
about 1,000'
above the tops
of a cloud
layer. The
departure was
quite violent
as I was
flying at
about 480 kts
and about 5 or
6 G at the
departure. My
instincts took
over and I
ejected. I
really didn't
know that I
had ejected
until I looked
down between
my legs and
observed the
aircraft below
me. I
had a good
chute just
before I
entered the
tops of the
clouds. When
I came out of
the base of
the cloud
layer (about
3,000'), it
appeared that
I was headed
straight for
the middle of
one of the
large lakes in
the Lakeland
area. I
imagined that
there was a
circle of
alligators
there and
didn't want to
join them.
I learned
during my Air
Force Exchange
tour how to
cut some of
the shroud
lines on one
side of the
parachute
which would enable
you to steer
the
chute. I
found my
shroud cutter
and cut four
lines.
Although this
increased my
rate of
decent,
