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Post by jesse on Nov 23, 2011 9:16:46 GMT -5
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Post by Maarten on Nov 23, 2011 12:37:35 GMT -5
Jawdroppingly amazing!!!  Thank you so much for sharing this, Jesse. BTW: I hope that the two of you are doing well. Best regards, Maarten |
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Post by herkpilot on Nov 23, 2011 13:30:55 GMT -5
It is still pretty amazing to me, and I have seen that film many times over the years. Lockheed was trying to sell the Herc to the Navy as a "Super COD" ( Carrier Onboard Delivery aircraft). It still holds the record for the heaviest T/O and Landing, at 135,000 lbs, ever made at sea. It might have been more practical if they had been able to remove that pesky island and have a clear deck.
We got into the -1-1 once and figured that with 40 + knots of wind over the deck (20kts wind, 20 kts carrier speed) ground roll would be only about 350 feet or so. So nothing really magic about it, except for the big cojones required! It was a Marine KC130F with a Navy pilot. If I remember correctly, they installed an improved "anti-lock brake system (vice the normal anti-skid) and were entering ground idle (beta) at about 10 feet above the deck, which puts fear in my heart.
Thanks Jesse
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Post by jesse on Nov 23, 2011 13:38:28 GMT -5
Jawdroppingly amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing this, Jesse. BTW: I hope that the two of you are doing well. Best regards, Maarten Thanks, Maarten. Lue and I are both in pretty good shape for a couple of seniors. She just turned 84 and I will be hitting 89 in January. Leaving on 4 December for another Caribbean Cruise to Belize and Honduras. Those are the last two ports in the Western Caribbean that we have not visited. Guess next year we will concentrate on the Eastern sector....Virgin Islands, etc. Jesse |
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Post by Maarten on Nov 23, 2011 13:42:45 GMT -5
Sounds great! I hope I'll have that much energy and good health by the time I'll be 25 years on.
I wish Lue and you a fantastic Thanksgiving Day and a wonderful cruise.
Cheers,
Maarten
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Post by capflyer on Nov 23, 2011 19:27:02 GMT -5
Yeah, I saw the entire video and interview one time with the guys who did the flights. They had modified the aircraft to remove the squat switch to allow them to be in reverse prior to touchdown but after the first couple of landings they found they didn't really need it. They only had about 30 knots headwind (the idea was to make sure it'd work off ship steam alone without helping headwind), but by flying on the numbers and having a good LSO who they spent several weeks with on the practice carrier at Pax River to establish some of the parameters and sightlines, they were regularly able to make landings and takeoffs from the deck without any "special skill". The only big problem is that the wingspan made it a bit too close for safety margins and there was the little problem of needing the deck completely clear during the operation, something that they don't really do anymore with the CVNs.
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