Treason Flight by T.R. Matson

Author:T.R. Matson [Matson, T.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: T.R. Matson
Published: 2021-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Rattler had always thought that the F/A-18C Hornet was a beautiful machine. Designed to be fast and sleek, yet also strong enough to withstand carrier life, the salt air and hard landings after pulling constant G-forces was hard on the Hornet; nevertheless, she was a beauty. It almost hurt to see aircrafts 301 and 305 just sitting there; both aircraft had been relegated to the hangar bay of the USS Nimitz, roped off in the corner as if they were in trouble.

The once-sleek lines of both jets now showed considerable damage, causing Rattler to love the plane more. The fact that they could sustain such damage and still land on the ship was amazing to him. While there would be a lengthy investigation, it was pretty clear to Rattler what had happened as he viewed the jets side by side: the two aircraft had been on a collision course, and 305 happened to climb at the last second to minimize the damage.

On 301, the tops of both vertical stabilizers were gone—it almost looked like a giant had come along and just sheared the tops of the tails off clean. Additionally, the refueling probe was still out, but the tip was gone. Walking around the aircraft the best he could, Rattler could see a lot of damage to the right motor, and visible damage (likely from the flames) when the engine essentially ate itself after ingesting the refueling tip and basket. To him, 301’s struts looked like they had taken a hard landing since the jet sat slightly canted to one side. Between the two planes, 301 looked to be in better shape. He walked over to 305, and it was clear that the centerline tank had impacted 301’s tail. The tank was canted to the side, and if you looked hard enough, it appeared that the whole fuselage was twisted. Aircraft 305 also sat canted to one side. Rattler imagined that its landing was pretty rough too.

Flying an airplane is all about aerodynamics, and the level of design that went into building and developing one of these aircraft was immense. Rattler thought about the extensive wind tunnel testing, engineering, and research involved in the making of such a machine, only to have it impacted by something with such force that it distorted the whole aircraft. The fact that the damaged Hornets still had enough thrust to keep them flying was amazing, but Rattler couldn’t help but think about how hard midair refueling would be, let alone trying to land on the ship.

Shipboard flying was all about getting comfortable with your aircraft. Some called it “strapping on the aircraft.” You didn’t merely fly in the aircraft but rather became one with the machine. Your body would hear, smell, and feel things that your eyes never even saw. It was like the aircraft was an extension of you. To take that bond and completely disrupt it must have been challenging, to say the least.

Rattler felt bad for aircrafts 301 and 305 sitting there in the hangar bay; he also empathized with the pilots.

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