The first night (30 June) the Captain of the ship (Capt Joseph Kuzmick) greeted all the Tigers and sponsors in the hangar bay and gave us some interesting facts about the Stennis:
This is a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and there are two nuclear reactors on board. The life span of each is 50 years old and the Stennis was commissioned Dec 9 1995 so the carrier has been using the power from these reactors for almost 15 years. They will be refueled when they are 25 years old and can be refueled one time. Therefore, in the words of the Skipper, "we have been operating this carrier for the last 15 years on just half a tank of gas."
If any Tiger or anyone falls off the ship at night, the chance of being found alive is slim. Be aware and be careful.
This is not a cruise ship, it is a warship.
There were over 1000 people standing in the hangar bay for the Skipper's welcome, and the hangar bay was only a fraction full. Plus there were numerous aircraft in the hangar bay as well.
The front of the deck is the bow, the left side as we steam forward is "port" and the right is "starboard", the back of the ship is the stern.
The arresting wires are wrapped around rope so that when the aircraft hook squeezes the wire, the wire will give.
The average age on the ship is 20 years old !!
So far, today is Day 5 on this carrier, and my roommate and I have found a TOTAL of 3Female heads!!
There are about 200 people in Dan's squadron VFA-146 The Blue Diamonds, and 15 of them are F/A 18 Hornet pilots. The remaining people in the squadron are in support of the mission of the F/A 18. There are 22 officers and 184 sailors in the Blue Diamonds. The mission of the squadron is "to lethally employ weapons with Blue Diamond Hornets when called upon by our nation's leaders."
Dan is #10 in seniority of the 15 pilots.
There are 10 Hornet jets in Dan's squadron. The squadron has the oldest Hornets in the Navy but has the highest rate of sortie completion in the Navy- which means they are maintaining and repairing older equipment better than the squadrons that maintain newer equipment. The Hornets in VFA-146 are over 20 years old. The squadron had over a 98% sortie completion rate on this deployment. VFA-146 is targeted to receive the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft first when the JSF is ready for launch. If so, this squadron will transition from the F/A 18 Hornet jet to the JSF.
On this deployment: the Blue Diamonds performed 60,963 maintenance manhours; 13,992 maintenance actions; the pilots flew 1144 sorties and flew 1540 flight hours. The carrier had 7 port visits including Hong Kong, Sacebo Japan, Singapore, Busan Korea, Thailand, Pearl Harbor Hawaii and Everett WA. While in Korea, Dan visited the DMZ and went inside a building that straddles North Korea and South Korea. He made sure to go to the North Korean side. Dan remembers Busan as a fairly uninteresting port but the visit to the DMZ as the most interesting part of any port visit.
There are 6 airwing squadrons on board and that means there are no more than 120 pilots on board. The aircraft on board includes the Sea Hawk helicopter, the EA 6B Prowler, the E-2C Hawkeye, the F/A 18C Hornet and F/A 18F Super Hornet.
The crew on board the Stennis numbers 6200 when the airwing is on board. The ship serves 18,600 meals daily. There are two 30 ton anchors, and each link in each anchor weighs about 350 pounds. (pictures to follow)
There are four catapults- two on the waist of the ship (midship) and on the port side and two more on the bow. The distance of the catapult shoot is about 300'. So when the pilot is shot off the catapult, he has about the size of a football field to get airborne and to accelerate from 0 to about 170 knots.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Dance
Awesome day! Today is Flight Operations aka Flight Ops
VFA-146 The Blue Diamonds and the other squadrons participated in Flight Ops for the Tigers on board. Tigers were able to watch Flight Ops from either the Flight Deck or Vulture’s Row, or if you wanted to be inside, you could watch every launch and every recovery from various places inside the ship on any of many televisions. John, Dan and I opted for Vulture’s Row, as did many other pilots and families in the squadron. Vulture’s Row is high up on the ship. If you call the Flight Deck the main level, Vulture’s Row is a climb of probably 7 to 9 stairwells. Being on the Flight Deck might give you more vibration and sound, but being on Vulture’s Row gave us a complete visual of the entire Flight Deck as well as plenty of vibration and sound. We arrived at 0900 for a 1000 launch, and within minutes the entire place was wall to wall people. We stayed until the recovery of the first wave of jets at 1130.
The Marine pilots took off first, then the Black Knights squadron, then the Blue Diamonds. In the next wave of launches, we had some Super Hornets (two seater jet) take off with full after burner. The sound and vibration were unbelievable! Even with ear protection, I was taking photos and cringing down into my jacket to get some of the vibration off my eardrum. But one can really understand how exhilarating it might be to fly. Watching it from on deck up high, over and over, is just awesome. Jets were launched every 60 seconds or so from two different catapults adjacent to each other. One after another. One goes, everyone on deck runs to the next sequence spot.
Once they launch, they “form up” a few miles up and out over the Pacific. The Blue Diamonds did the first fly over and two of Dan’s friends and squadron mates were the pilots – Porkins and Schwarma. Porkins flew the painted Blue Diamond jet No. 300. Schwarma flew the No 305.
13 or 14 jets launched in the first wave of launches that we watched. When the final four jets were set up on deck ready to launch, the 10 jets in the air started forming in the “Marshall formation” which is where the jets circle the ship at 3000 feet up, 2000 feet up, etc. When the last of the jets launches, the first jet to come in begins his descent. We were fascinated watching the beauty of this process. When all goes well, everything of the Marshall formation and the recovery onto the carrier is done – or can be done – silently with no radio communications. That is a big plus in a combat situation to have planes land every 50 to 60 seconds with silent radios. The ship has to slow down and turn into the wind for recovery and is highly vulnerable at that point, so everyone on the ship is tasked with making sure they do their job to their utmost to minimize the amount of time necessary to recover the jets in the air.
After the last jet launched, we watched the jets in the air begin their descent and approach. The first jet to come in was the Admiral’s jet, and he flew over the ship at a fairly low altitude then began his approach, turning into “the break”. The Landing Signal Officers – LSO’s- are the eyes on the deck for the pilot in the air. The pilot is looking for the Fresnel lens, aka “the ball”, which is a series of red, yellow and green lights that tell him if he is high coming in which might lead to a “bolter” wherein he misses all of the 4 wires on the deck. If the pilot is low, and in potential danger of hitting the ramp (back of the ship) or the deck, the LSO will give either a “power” call to the pilot, or wave off the pilot entirely, and the pilot powers up and gets back into the landing pattern and waits for another turn to land. The pilot wants the light on the lens to be in the middle. Then the LSOs (there are three of them monitoring the plane’s position in the sky) will watch carefully and monitor the landing, targeting the pilot to hit the deck between the second and third wires.
Many of this morning’s flights caught the 3 or 4 wires. I was amazed that if the jet catches the 4 wire, the furthest and last wire, that the jet stops JUST short of the far end of the deck! When a pilot lands, he brings the jet down, then goes to full burner so that if he misses all the wires, he will be able to take off from the deck. Fortunately, that didn’t happen this morning, and everyone landed the first time.
It’s a beautiful dance that happens on the deck, watching all of the people do their jobs, then another peaceful and controlled dance that happens in the air with the Marshall formation and the recovery. I’ve been to numerous air shows, and I’ve been on numerous aircraft carriers when they are docked at a pier in some city. This was the first time I could watch an air show from a moving carrier.
Another cool thing is how jazzed EVERYONE on this carrier gets about Flight Ops. It’s not just the pilots and their families. Everyone is involved, everyone is excited. The Tigers have some kind of booklet we are supposed to get signed off on- like “find the different Ready Rooms, find the Wardrooms, shake hands with a gunner’s mate” etc. The task that everyone seems to enjoy the most is finding the Ready Rooms of the Flight Squadrons and asking one of the pilots to sign their book. As I write this, two different sets of Tigers have come in and asked the pilots to sign and chat a few minutes with them. Also as I write this, more Flights Ops are taking off from the deck, we’re watching the launches on the TV here in the Ready Room, and you feel the bang of the catapult as it goes.
Another time I'll write about Movie Night and what else we've been doing on this ship since Tuesday.
VFA-146 The Blue Diamonds and the other squadrons participated in Flight Ops for the Tigers on board. Tigers were able to watch Flight Ops from either the Flight Deck or Vulture’s Row, or if you wanted to be inside, you could watch every launch and every recovery from various places inside the ship on any of many televisions. John, Dan and I opted for Vulture’s Row, as did many other pilots and families in the squadron. Vulture’s Row is high up on the ship. If you call the Flight Deck the main level, Vulture’s Row is a climb of probably 7 to 9 stairwells. Being on the Flight Deck might give you more vibration and sound, but being on Vulture’s Row gave us a complete visual of the entire Flight Deck as well as plenty of vibration and sound. We arrived at 0900 for a 1000 launch, and within minutes the entire place was wall to wall people. We stayed until the recovery of the first wave of jets at 1130.
The Marine pilots took off first, then the Black Knights squadron, then the Blue Diamonds. In the next wave of launches, we had some Super Hornets (two seater jet) take off with full after burner. The sound and vibration were unbelievable! Even with ear protection, I was taking photos and cringing down into my jacket to get some of the vibration off my eardrum. But one can really understand how exhilarating it might be to fly. Watching it from on deck up high, over and over, is just awesome. Jets were launched every 60 seconds or so from two different catapults adjacent to each other. One after another. One goes, everyone on deck runs to the next sequence spot.
Once they launch, they “form up” a few miles up and out over the Pacific. The Blue Diamonds did the first fly over and two of Dan’s friends and squadron mates were the pilots – Porkins and Schwarma. Porkins flew the painted Blue Diamond jet No. 300. Schwarma flew the No 305.
13 or 14 jets launched in the first wave of launches that we watched. When the final four jets were set up on deck ready to launch, the 10 jets in the air started forming in the “Marshall formation” which is where the jets circle the ship at 3000 feet up, 2000 feet up, etc. When the last of the jets launches, the first jet to come in begins his descent. We were fascinated watching the beauty of this process. When all goes well, everything of the Marshall formation and the recovery onto the carrier is done – or can be done – silently with no radio communications. That is a big plus in a combat situation to have planes land every 50 to 60 seconds with silent radios. The ship has to slow down and turn into the wind for recovery and is highly vulnerable at that point, so everyone on the ship is tasked with making sure they do their job to their utmost to minimize the amount of time necessary to recover the jets in the air.
After the last jet launched, we watched the jets in the air begin their descent and approach. The first jet to come in was the Admiral’s jet, and he flew over the ship at a fairly low altitude then began his approach, turning into “the break”. The Landing Signal Officers – LSO’s- are the eyes on the deck for the pilot in the air. The pilot is looking for the Fresnel lens, aka “the ball”, which is a series of red, yellow and green lights that tell him if he is high coming in which might lead to a “bolter” wherein he misses all of the 4 wires on the deck. If the pilot is low, and in potential danger of hitting the ramp (back of the ship) or the deck, the LSO will give either a “power” call to the pilot, or wave off the pilot entirely, and the pilot powers up and gets back into the landing pattern and waits for another turn to land. The pilot wants the light on the lens to be in the middle. Then the LSOs (there are three of them monitoring the plane’s position in the sky) will watch carefully and monitor the landing, targeting the pilot to hit the deck between the second and third wires.
Many of this morning’s flights caught the 3 or 4 wires. I was amazed that if the jet catches the 4 wire, the furthest and last wire, that the jet stops JUST short of the far end of the deck! When a pilot lands, he brings the jet down, then goes to full burner so that if he misses all the wires, he will be able to take off from the deck. Fortunately, that didn’t happen this morning, and everyone landed the first time.
It’s a beautiful dance that happens on the deck, watching all of the people do their jobs, then another peaceful and controlled dance that happens in the air with the Marshall formation and the recovery. I’ve been to numerous air shows, and I’ve been on numerous aircraft carriers when they are docked at a pier in some city. This was the first time I could watch an air show from a moving carrier.
Another cool thing is how jazzed EVERYONE on this carrier gets about Flight Ops. It’s not just the pilots and their families. Everyone is involved, everyone is excited. The Tigers have some kind of booklet we are supposed to get signed off on- like “find the different Ready Rooms, find the Wardrooms, shake hands with a gunner’s mate” etc. The task that everyone seems to enjoy the most is finding the Ready Rooms of the Flight Squadrons and asking one of the pilots to sign their book. As I write this, two different sets of Tigers have come in and asked the pilots to sign and chat a few minutes with them. Also as I write this, more Flights Ops are taking off from the deck, we’re watching the launches on the TV here in the Ready Room, and you feel the bang of the catapult as it goes.
Another time I'll write about Movie Night and what else we've been doing on this ship since Tuesday.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Transformers 2
We're on board and slept on the carrier last night. I berth in a "two female officer stateroom" and it's great. My roommate is the mother of one of Dan's squadron mates, also an F/18 Hornet pilot. Our "head" is down the hall, through a watertight door, that requires a magnetic key that usually doesn't work. Every one or two attempts, we'll get the green light. If we're fortunate enough to get that green light, the next challenge is making the door knob work. My roommate wondered if the Tigers were being given faulty cards so that each of us would have special challenges to overcome. Maybe we're on Candid Camera and they are watching the Tigers struggle to enter the head. So far, we've utilized the magnetic key/ door knob skills of numerous Stennis sailors.
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
What does this movie have to do with Tiger Cruise?
Part of the movie was filmed on the Stennis! We went to the movie Monday night at a mall in Everett. It was fun watching it with Dan who was able to narrate: "Josh Duhamel is cool. Shia is good. Megan is beautiful in person. I sat next to Michael Bay (producer and director I think) at dinner. I was 10' away when they filmed this scene." Also - some interesting facts about the movie: The Stennis is in two main scenes. In the first, the Stennis sinks. Initially, there is a quick scene of the ship's number 74, which is an example only of poor editing, then in the next quick scene, it is now number 71, the USS Roosevelt. Then it sinks. "Dan's jet" (the jet with his name and call sign painted on) which is No. 315 appears in the scene when the ship is sinking - right after seeing the "315" - the jet explodes. Not great for the mother to watch. Later in the movie, John Turturro's character speaks with the skipper of the Stennis, and now, the formerly sunk carrier is resurrected and a major player in the conclusion. Some good stories about the celebreties whom Dan met and ate dinner with when the crew was here filming.
Photos to follow, connections are slow due to all THE TIGERS emailing!
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
What does this movie have to do with Tiger Cruise?
Part of the movie was filmed on the Stennis! We went to the movie Monday night at a mall in Everett. It was fun watching it with Dan who was able to narrate: "Josh Duhamel is cool. Shia is good. Megan is beautiful in person. I sat next to Michael Bay (producer and director I think) at dinner. I was 10' away when they filmed this scene." Also - some interesting facts about the movie: The Stennis is in two main scenes. In the first, the Stennis sinks. Initially, there is a quick scene of the ship's number 74, which is an example only of poor editing, then in the next quick scene, it is now number 71, the USS Roosevelt. Then it sinks. "Dan's jet" (the jet with his name and call sign painted on) which is No. 315 appears in the scene when the ship is sinking - right after seeing the "315" - the jet explodes. Not great for the mother to watch. Later in the movie, John Turturro's character speaks with the skipper of the Stennis, and now, the formerly sunk carrier is resurrected and a major player in the conclusion. Some good stories about the celebreties whom Dan met and ate dinner with when the crew was here filming.
Photos to follow, connections are slow due to all THE TIGERS emailing!
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