F18 dogfighting

Mike Weeks wrote:

There are only two left now, VF-31 and 213, and as been reported, one
will transition immediately, one later; guess which one has the
"immediate duty" as part of FRP? The latter squadron.


Hello Mike!

I am not sure if I understood you correctly: As far as I heard in the
news, VF-213 was to enter the transition in April 2006 (some photos of
the brand new VFA-213 CAG bird can be seen at:
http://www.alert5.com/gallery/VFA-213 ), whereas VF-31 (the third
Tomcat squadron to transition to F/A-18E; VFA-22 giving them their Es
and getting Fs instead) is going to stay within the Air Wing for surge
phase until October. So that would be the other way round than you
said...

When VF-213 is out of CVW-8, another Oceana squadron might be
temporarily assigned to fill the gap. I am not sure about the status of
VFA-15 - it was slated to transition in FY 2006, but now it looks
VFA-105 took its place.

Best regards,
Jacek Zemlo

On 3/26/06 12:52 PM, in article
, "
wrote:
But is it so simple now, in the times of Fleet Response Plan?

Actually, the F/A-18E/F FRSes (VFA-122 or VFA-106) get the first Super
Hornets with markings of those new squadrons (VF becoming VFA) some
weeks before the squadron is back from their last F-14 deployment.
Right, those birds are formally assigned to the FRS then. But later on,
when the cruise ends, the squadron has to remain in readiness for any
surge deployments for some time.

For example, when VF-11 and VF-143 returned from ther last Tomcat
deployment, F/A-18E/Fs with VFA-11 or VFA-143 markings were already
flying, but F-14Bs were still seen at Oceana, as the "surge deployment
readiness" asset.

So, sorry, but this is still unclear to me - which were the real
squadron staffs - these still flying Tomcats, or those already
transitioning to Rhinos? I guess the latter was finally replacing the
former, so indeed, not all aviators were transitioning...

Kind regards,
Jacek


Jacek,

Strictly case by case.

When a squadron transitions, just as you noted, the whole squadron goes
through the FRS for the CAT-2 syllabus.

For instance, if they're returning from deployment, their senior Department
Heads and JO's will rotate out to their follow-on assignments. Some of them
will end up transitioning through an FRA instructor tour.

The remainder of the squadron will stay for the transition, complete the FRS
together, pick up their new CAT-1 pilots and WSO's, and continue to a
follow-on deployment or sustainment.

There's no set formula though.

--Woody

So, sorry, but this is still unclear to me - which were the real
squadron staffs - these still flying Tomcats, or those already
transitioning to Rhinos? I guess the latter was finally replacing the
former, so indeed, not all aviators were transitioning...

The delivery of a squadron's-worth of F/A-18E or F takes time. The first
examples you see are usually flown at VFA-122 to train whatever Super Hornet
pilots are on the pipeline at the time. When the core pilots of the
transitioning squadron are back from deployment, a few more birds will
hopefully be available, and the squadron will begin to take shape, under the
RAG's wings. Things start to get "ship-shape" when they get their
safe-for-flight certification, which means they will be responsible for
their own flights henceforth.

_____________
José Herculano

IS the F18 as good a dogfighter as the F14?

John, judging that is not as simple. It all depends to what role you
would like it to use. Hornet might be more dangerous in a dogfight, but
it is missing F-14's range and loiter time. Hornet had a wider array
of air-to-ground ordnance, but the F-14 is faster. It all depend on the
warfighting scenario, and for littoral warfare Hornets seems to be
enough.

Will F14 aviators transistion over to the F18?

As far as I know US Navy has three training pipelines for future
F/A-18E/F flyers:
- those transitioning from F-14A/B/D,
- those who flew F/A-18A/C before,
- those totally new to fighters.

Hope that helps.

Best regards,
Jacek