Thread: WWW II Plane
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Old July 15th 07, 02:33 AM posted to rec.aviation.military.naval
Mike Kanze
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Default Climbing on board a fighter

That sounds like an accident waiting to happen.


That's nothing compared to the procedure that Vigie (RA-5C) crews had to follow at non-Vigie ladder equipped bases:

1. Butt on one of the horizontal stabilizers.
2. Swing legs onto horizontal stabilizer.
3. Stand up carefully, to maintain balance. (Best not attempted when still a bit W0X0F from the night before).
4. Work your way forward along the turtleback, pilot first.
5. Pilot works way around rear cockpit, enters forward cockpit, closes canopy.
6. RAN enters rear cockpit, etc.

I'm reciting this from having observed a Vigie crew do this at the East Overshoe AFB transient line while I was in Base Ops munching on a one-handed culinary delight and refiguring our DD-175. Damndest thing I saw that day.

Vigie folks, please step in and correct this if I remembered it wrong.

--
Mike Kanze

"I knew I'd been living in Berkeley too long when I saw a sign that said 'Free Firewood' and my first thought was 'Who was Firewood and what did he do?'"

- John Berger

"Dave Kearton" wrote in message ...
Allen Epps wrote:
In article ,
Clark wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote in
:

On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:18:11 +0200, Max Richter
wrote:

Now my questions: Is there a policy that Navy-planes have steps or
ladders build in them?

Can't speak for USN policy, but I can't think of any recent Navy
designs that didn't have some sort of fold-down/out steps.

No ladders = less stuff to be stowed on a flight deck and less to be
blown around a flight deck. Last USN carrier aircraft I can think of
without a ladder was the A-4. You could get on it during cross
countries and such by stepping on the wing drop tank fin thence the
wing and inch up the refueling probe. That's the way we did it in
training command anyway.

Pugs



That sounds like an accident waiting to happen.



--

Cheers

Dave Kearton