Blue Angels F-18A Hornet on E-Bay

"Elmshoot" wrote...

I could never get auto throttles to work right in the A-6 in the Prowler they
were a little better. I tried to do a coupled approach on Sara (90-91) and
ended up with a bolter. The Hornets were doing them all the time they seemed
to
have the system and ship tweeked up really well. I think it was mandentory for
the first Hornet down the chute to attempt a Mode 1 as I recall they flew a
lot
of them maybe 25% were hooked up.

I had a total of 4 successful Mode 1 approaches in my career -- 2 each to Kitty
Hawk and Nimitz.

"It's always something; if it's not one thing, it's another..." (Roseanne
Rosannadanna)

Autothrottle excursions, Beacon failure, and autopilot excursions were the 3
predominant failure modes...

Four more than I. While the Turkey had an excellent APCS, I was never
exposed to the "certified" ACLS model. As for the Phantom, got just past
tipover once ... then all hell broke loose.

The F-8 was worthy of a chuckle. The J's were retrofitted with bullseye
needles. To display CL and GS one had to flip a switch from "TACAN" to
"ACLS" ... it reconfigured the ID-249 for the approach. A really good
thing, but hardly ACLS.

R / John

Spn-43(needles) and autothrottles, the way to go in VF-31, last cruise...a
'peek' is worth a thousand 'scans' tho...

Forrestal started asking people to try Mode 1s..Sometimes worked, sometimes an
automatic trip into the penalty box...
P. C. Chisholm
CDR, USN(ret.)
Old Phart Phormer Phantom, Turkey, Viper, Scooter and Combat Buckeye Phlyer

Been my experience that Mode 1's work great in the FA-18. In fact, have
probably done well over 20 of them on Lincoln, TR and Nimitz. Worked super
every time! Biggest mistake guys make is trying to "influence" corrections by
helping it out. As I like to say, "don't a touch a nothin'!"