The Bird Farm by Philip Kaplan

Author:Philip Kaplan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2015-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

A friendly game of cards in a U.S. carrier during wartime.

LEARNING CURVE

A vital part of the fundamental training at NAS Pensacola is survival in the sea. Coming down on water is an experience relished by few naval aviators, but one that must be anticipated and prepared for by all.

THEIR TRAINING STANDARDS ARE AMONG the highest in the world. They have to be. Naval aviators must be capable of operating safely and efficiently in the most adverse circumstances. When the pilots of a carrier air wing come out to the boat for a refresher carrier qualification (part of the ship’s work-up prior to a six-month deployment) they normally practice their landing approaches when the ship is within a reasonably short distance of the beach. They know that if they have to, chances are that they will be able to divert and land safely on a nearby airfield. The practice is good for perfecting their skills and helps build their confidence for doing what is probably the most important and demanding part of the job: bringing their multi-million dollar airplanes, and themselves, safely back aboard the carrier. Once deployed, however, they can no longer rely on that safe proximity to a friendly airfield ashore should they need it.

For them it’s the boat or nothing. They need to have worked out any kinks in their approach and landing technique before they can perform safely and confidently in the blue water environment, out of reach of the beach. A pilot who gets too many bolters, or has a tendency to be a bit low in the approach, for example, must cure himself of such habits and achieve consistency in his traps, both day and night, to become truly blue water-competent. Key in the final weeks of the pre-deployment work-up is the identification of any such flaws. If these habits cannot be overcome, both mechanically and psychologically, the pilot will be deemed not up to scratch and unsuitable for operational deployment.

Who are these men and women who fly the warplanes of the Navy? Where do they come from, these pilots and aircrew who carefully don flight suits, g-suits, survival gear, helmets, oxygen masks, and more, and shoehorn themselves into tight-fitting cockpits so they can sling-shot from the relative security of their carrier to whatever may await them on their assigned mission? How did they get to the fleet, these people who, in all weathers and the blackest of nights, must return from their missions and somehow locate their ship, often with no visual cues, and come aboard, no matter what, because there is no other place to land? They are the best of the best, drawn, like moths to light, to the greatest challenge in aviation.

Jeff Mulkey flew with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 8 aboard the USS John C. Stennis. A 1993 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, he describes the path taken by those who want to fly with the U.S. Navy. “A typical American naval aviator comes to NAS Pensacola, Florida, the

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