VF Question

"Mike Kanze" wrote...

Flying the needles reminds me of the A-6A's AN/ASQ-61 Landing Mode program.
Think of an ILS-type approach displayed through VDI symbology and driven by
ever-meandering velocities from the "A's" squirrelly AN/ASN-31 inertial, and
you'll get the idea.

We tried it one VMC night while approaching runway 24 at Whidbey. Until
that experience I never knew that the Earth rotated about Dugualla Bay. g

I've flown a few Landing Modes in the TRAM, but even then they were a bit
squirrelly without good offsets and a good Az- and El-Lock. All Whidbey BNs had
local offsets down pat, but it could get interesting at an unfamiliar field on a
dark night. Some BNs would use the Laser, but that was a no-no in many
places... ;-)

John,

I've flown a few Landing Modes in the TRAM, but even then they were a bit
squirrelly without good offsets and a good Az- and El-Lock. All Whidbey BNs
had local offsets down pat, but it could get interesting at an unfamiliar
field on a dark night.

Good offsets and LOTS of updates were even more important with the very
primitive "A" systems. Unfortunately I never had the comparative pleasure
of operating the "E" system. "Es" were still wet dreams for the West Coast
B/Ns when I left the Rock in 1974.

--
Mike Kanze

"The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his Nemesis and that we are
bringing about his rightful destruction."

- Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Collins, Royal Irish Battle Group, to his troops on
the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom


"John R Weiss" wrote in message
news:hyFfc.48722$rg5.109496@attbi_s52...
"Mike Kanze" wrote...

Flying the needles reminds me of the A-6A's AN/ASQ-61 Landing Mode
program.
Think of an ILS-type approach displayed through VDI symbology and driven
by
ever-meandering velocities from the "A's" squirrelly AN/ASN-31 inertial,
and
you'll get the idea.

We tried it one VMC night while approaching runway 24 at Whidbey. Until
that experience I never knew that the Earth rotated about Dugualla Bay.
g

I've flown a few Landing Modes in the TRAM, but even then they were a bit
squirrelly without good offsets and a good Az- and El-Lock. All Whidbey
BNs had
local offsets down pat, but it could get interesting at an unfamiliar
field on a
dark night. Some BNs would use the Laser, but that was a no-no in many
places... ;-)

John R Weiss wrote:

I've flown a few Landing Modes in the TRAM, but even then they were a bit
squirrelly without good offsets and a good Az- and El-Lock. All Whidbey
BNs had
local offsets down pat, but it could get interesting at an unfamiliar
field on a
dark night. Some BNs would use the Laser, but that was a no-no in many
places.

How was the laser used to make landing easier in bad weather? Why was it a
"no-no in many places?"

"Paul Michael Brown" wrote...

How was the laser used to make landing easier in bad weather? Why was it a
"no-no in many places?"

Laser Ranging could be used in place of the Radar Azimuth and Elevation locks to
provide more precise targeting and position updating info. In Landing Mode, it
updated the aircraft position relative to known offsets (e.g., an arresting gear
engine or radar shack near the runway). As long as the humidity was low enough
to allow laser penetration, it worked well.

However, if the offset was a manned building, or an LSO was on station at the
runway, shining the Laser at him would be ungood...

As long as the humidity was low enough to allow laser penetration, it
worked well.

And the Rock (Whidbey Island) is not known for low humidity as all who have
been there will testify. This applies as well to many other locales
infested with Naval aircraft, starting with the ship.
--
Mike Kanze

436 Greenbrier Road
Half Moon Bay, California 94019-2259
USA

650-726-7890

"The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his Nemesis and that we are
bringing about his rightful destruction."

- Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Collins, Royal Irish Battle Group, to his troops on
the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom


"John R Weiss" wrote in message
news:98Tfc.145077$gA5.1764085@attbi_s03...
"Paul Michael Brown" wrote...

How was the laser used to make landing easier in bad weather? Why was it
a
"no-no in many places?"

Laser Ranging could be used in place of the Radar Azimuth and Elevation
locks to
provide more precise targeting and position updating info. In Landing
Mode, it
updated the aircraft position relative to known offsets (e.g., an
arresting gear
engine or radar shack near the runway). As long as the humidity was low
enough
to allow laser penetration, it worked well.

However, if the offset was a manned building, or an LSO was on station at
the
runway, shining the Laser at him would be ungood...