Posted on 06/27/2014 12:12:23 PM PDT by Kartographer
Mahoney slowed down and called for help. He was flying solo and communicated with a landing signal officer, who can act as a co-pilot of sorts from the ground. Mahoney approached the USS Bataan at about 300 feet, so the LSO could see the landing gear and diagnose the issue. The LSO, nicknamed "Paddles," confirmed that the nose gear did not come back down.
It was then that Mahoney was informed of a stool built for this particular situation. By lining up the nose of the jet with this invention, it was possible for the pilot to conduct a vertical landing. Mahoney had no experience with this.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“It was then that Mahoney was informed of a stool built for this particular situation.”
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thinking to himself “Oh, sure...NOW you tell me...”
Sounds like the Navy knew it had a nose gear problem already, and prepared for the possibility.
It’s a Harrier for goodness sake, built to take off and land like a helo. Still a good days work. Sand bags have been used for helicocpters like this before.
Harriers are known as “lawn darts”. Good thing it was just the nose gear. Good job by the pilot and crew to save it.
Then I saw the video and realized it was a Harrier.
BUTT CLENCH PING !
Everything isnt a conspiracy. The Harrier isn’t known for gear failures. More like the Navy knew that gear failures happen on -every- plane in the inventory, bar none. But that the Harrier is the only one you could possibly settle down into a cradle with little more expense than a sawhorse,,,,with no damage.
Good planning ahead USN/USMC.
I would think it would be a lot easier to get a large inflatable tube and lay it across the path of the jet so the pilot could see it and more easily judge the impact point (or yes, sandbags, foam, or whatever). Yes, the pilot did a good job with the stool, but why a stool that the pilot can’t see in the first place? Just saying.
Amazing!
Easy to say when you aren’t in the pilot seat.
All in a days work Ping!
Beats having a 105 round tossed into yer bedroom...
Was it built in Blaine, Missouri?
“and doing so isn’t really that stupendous of a feat.”
Sounds like you might not have been alone in that cockpit.
It already has a rep as one of the most difficult machines in our inventory to master. Coming in vertically on the gear has a small margin of error. But hitting the deck a couple of feet, one side or the other, probably won’t cause any issue.
But settling it down -precisely- into a cradle, without the shock absorbing landing gear, on the moving deck of a ship really was kinda a stupendous feat. Good flying Marine.
I’d have soiled my flightsuit for sure...but this came out much better than most “vertical landings” do.
A few feet away from the intakes, and a few more feet away from downward vectored exhausts. Why do you think they might not elect to use a big inflatable tube?
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