Question for the Captains

D

Dreamer

New member
Being an Army guy, I always wondered what the rods/poles/antenna type things were that stick out from the Aircraft Carriers upper deck. And, do they always carry A B-52 on deck in case the F-18s aren't enough?

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Obviously an impressive landing... but I can't wait to see the take-off! :shock:

8)

Oh, and those "sticky-out" things are curb feelers for going under bridges.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Antennas for various frequencies, aircraft control, ship to ship etc. Although I really do like the other explanation of curb feelers.

They didn't show it on the picture, but in order to get the commercial jet to land they had three carriers lined up end to end to make up a long enough runway.
 
I think this is a shot right after he took off!! :shock: Sorry it's so big, had to do that so you could see the F-14's that probably took off from the destroyers and submarines.... :roll:

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Charlie
 
Must've been quite a stress on the arresting cables....Buffs can't land until they're under 280,000#....those F-18s probably weigh about 30,000# when they land.
The catapault must be heavy duty....I never took off unless I had 11,000 feet of runway.
 
all very good suggestions but the facts are they are not rods or poles at all. if my memory serves me correctly, being a sea going marine, they are tether lines, attached to an underwater rail system that pulls the vessel along at or about cruising speed. i suppose, i shouldn't have given you this top secret information without first asking if each of you had the proper clearance. having said that, the cat's out of the bag now.
so as not to have the government come down on me, i will not sign this document.
best regards,
#%@
 
Chuck, may be both! F14's on the left, note the more V shaped vertical stabilizers. F15's on the right, note the straight up vertical stabilizers. A little hard to tell../

Charlie
 
While this may look like a gag shot, it is actually a "transport of a transport" necessity. The B-52 was in Beirut, Lebanon undergoing routine fuel tank cleaning. Workmen accidentally damaged the bladder system and had to install the bladders from smaller C-130s temporarily. The plane was flown to nearby McCollough air base where it was lifted upon a barge bound for Tyre on the Mediterranean. Once there it was off-loaded onto the carrier deck for transport to Crete where the appropriate tank bladders were installed. It was then flown back to Beirut. Military cooperation in action.
I couldn't find any info that disputes this story. Many great theories here though.
 
CHARLIE MAN......

Now that is one AWESOME PHOTO.....

WOW... Ain't I glad I am a FREE American!

Thanks to all that keep us free.

Now having said that.... the "kid" in the photo below taken on Lake Martin in 2003, aboard FREEBYRD, that I got from Dusty, is DJ Manges has now been selected for Carrier flight status, and is at the NAS in Meridian, MS doing a bit of training. Should make a great pilot.

So, between Charlie and Dusty, DJ....Don and friends....we should be good to go on the open waters.. They got us covered for airspace, water space...and below surface. Let's go get on our boats!!!

Life is good!

Byrdman
DJ_Shrimp_Sunset.sized.jpg
 
I sent the link for this thread to a friend who knows a thing or two about aircraft and vessels. Here is Andy's take on the first photo:

"BTW, the B-52 on CVA 68 (the Nimitz) doesn’t look dimensionally correct. The max flight deck width of the ship is 252 feet and the wingspan of a Buff is 185 feet. Doesn’t look like there is 35 feet on each side of the wing tip. Also, the flight deck of the Nimitz is just under 1,100 feet and the overall length of the Buff is 160 feet. Again, doesn’t look right. Cool picture, nonetheless!"

I also did a SNOPES search and could not find any info but then again, SNOPES does not have everything.
 
Dreamer":hdywtn57 said:
While this may look like a gag shot, it is actually a "transport of a transport" necessity. The B-52 was in Beirut, Lebanon undergoing routine fuel tank cleaning. Workmen accidentally damaged the bladder system and had to install the bladders from smaller C-130s temporarily. The plane was flown to nearby McCollough air base where it was lifted upon a barge bound for Tyre on the Mediterranean. Once there it was off-loaded onto the carrier deck for transport to Crete where the appropriate tank bladders were installed. It was then flown back to Beirut. Military cooperation in action.
I couldn't find any info that disputes this story. Many great theories here though.
Click to expand...

Glad you clarified the authenticity of the photo because I was sure someone was having fun with PhotoShop again.
Must have put jacks under the wingtips, especially since it looks like they’re extended over some aircrafts; the dang wingtips on 52s almost drag on the ground.
Yea I bet the crew from the 52 got quite an ear full from the navy boys, but all in fun.
 
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