Ready on arrival: Super Hornet joins the fleet

Sea Power,  Jun 2002  by Peterson, Gordon I

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An Evolutionary Design Delivers Revolutionary Capabilities

Approaching the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from dead astern at an altitude of 1,200 feet and a distance of eight miles, Lt. Cdr. Matthew Tysler, operations officer of the "Eagles" of Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115), eased his F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter-side number 210-to the right to align on his final heading for a straight-in night landing.

The Abraham Lincoln, participating in a U.S. Third Fleet joint task force exercise (JTFEX) in early May at the conclusion of its interdeployment training cycle, was operating approximately 80 miles off the coast of southern California with other ships in its battle group.

An approach controller in CATCC-the carrier air traffic control center-called out radar updates during the final minutes of Tysler's 1.5-hour aerial refueling "tanker" mission. Radio chatter was held to a minimum.

CATCC: "210, on glide path, on course."

Tysler: "210."

CATCC: "210, on glide path, on course, threequarter miles. Call the ball." (Tysler is asked to confirm visual sighting of the ball of amber light displayed in the Fresnel lens of the carrier's landing-- approach lights that will guide him to a safe landing on the carrier's dark ened flight deck.)

Tysler: "210, ball. 5-3." (Tysler confirms his visual sighting of the ball, his position relative to the beam of amber light, the location of the "needles" on the cockpit display of his automatic carrier landing system, and his remaining fuel available.'

Paddles: "Roger, ball." (The landing signal officer-the LSO or "paddles"-confirms Tysler's radio transmission The LSO monitors all carrier landings from a platform on the port side of the flight deck near the ship's stern, radioing instructions as necessary.)

Eighteen seconds after his final radio transmission, Tysler's 40,500-pound Super Hornet slammed down on Lincoln's flight deck in an operation that pundits describe as a controlled crash. As his aircraft's tail hook reached for one of the four arresting cables spanning the flight deck, Tysler applied full power to the Super Hornet's two General Electric turbofan engines. In the event he missed grabbing a wire owing to a hook skip or landed past the wires, Tysler would "bolter" and make an immediate takeoff on the carrier's angled flight deck.

Only when a safe arrested landing was assured (on a "number three wire") and the flight deck officer's lighted wands signaled him to reduce power did Tysler pull his engine throttles back to idle and follow the directions of yellow-shirted aircraft handlers to taxi to his parking spot on the busy flight deck.

After a brief postflight inspection, Tysler went to VFA-115's maintenance-control office to report the status of his aircraft, followed by a debriefing of his mission and landing in the squadron ready room. (The LSO grades and critiques every landing on the ship as part of a continuing process of self-improvement.)

As Tysler signed his aircraft's maintenance forms to close out his mission, VFA-15's commanding officer, Cdr. Eric Devita, quickly but purposefully reviewed the maintenance records for the Super Hornet he would fly during the squadron's third impromptu tanker mission of the night, Flight operations were scheduled to continue well past midnight, and it was proving to be an interesting but challenging conclusion to the day's exercise activity.

"Go Now"

Tysler was not originally scheduled to fly his night tanker hop on 8 May. Just 30 minutes after "trapping" at 7:15 p.m. following a self-escort strike mission, he received a call in the Eagles' ready room informing him of his new mission. "They told me, 'You have to go now,"' Tysler said.

Earlier in the evening, a U.S. Air Force KC- 135 aircraft scheduled to provide aerial refueling services to Lincoln's Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW 14) suffered an engine failure during its takeoff roll at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., forcing it to abort its mission.

Two of VFA-15's Super Hornets, already fitted with drop tanks, were quickly pressed into service to refuel four of Abraham Lincoln's fighters flying critical defensive-counterair (DCA) missions against "enemy" forces participating in the JTFEX. Tysler launched for his tanker mission just 37 minutes after receiving the call to action. As a result, there was no gap in DCA coverage or in the aerial protection provided for the battle group.

Following hasty discussions among the CVW 14 staff, Devita, and Rear Adm. John M. Kelly, commander of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Battle Group, Devita was ordered to configure a third Super Hornet with drop tanks for refueling duty. The squadron's enlisted-maintenance personnel began immediately to move three large drop tanks from the Lincoln's cavernous hangar deck to the flight deck above. The Eagles' maintenance crew faced the difficult task of installing them-dangerous work on a dark and slippery deck-while flight operations continued.

"I estimated it would take my people five hours to reconfigure my aircraft," Devita later told Sea Power. "They were on the roof for 2.5 hours and finished the job. I knew they were good-but I did not know they were that good!" Under routine conditions, a day may elapse before an aircraft can be reconfigured for a tanker mission and flight tested to ensure that fuel can be transferred properly.