Enterprise Prepares For New Landing Gear
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS041119-18
Release Date: 11/19/2004 10:56:00 PM
By Journalist 2nd Class (SW) Fletcher Gibson, USS Enterprise Public Affairs
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) (Big E) is getting an upgrade to its landing gear. The state-of-the-art cross check system is being installed during the ship's ongoing Extended Selected Restricted Availability at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard to help improve the ship's ability to catch aircraft.
Under the old method of catching planes, an observer in Primary Flight Control (Pri-Fly) identified the incoming aircraft and relayed that information to the engine operators in the arresting gear engine rooms. These operators would set the tension of the arresting cables to match the weight of the incoming aircraft, guaranteeing the plane would come to a complete stop within the length of the runway. With the cross-check system, the watch-stander in Pri-Fly will set the weight remotely from his station.
The most recent upgrade to the cross-check system is still very new to the fleet. It's so new that USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) is the only ship on the East Coast to have it. With Enterprise currently installing the upgraded system, Big E's arresting gear engine operators are visiting GW for some firsthand experience on how it all operates.
"Our Sailors are over there keeping their qualifications up," said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) 1st Class (AW) Richard Gallagher of air department's V-2 division. "While they're working on their quals, they're learning the cross-check system."
With the new cross-check system, the deck edge operator can see the information from Pri-Fly displayed on a panel installed onto the flight deck itself. While that data goes directly to the landing area, the engine operators still remain the human element needed to ensure things run smoothly.
"You still need that human factor verifying everything," said Lt. John Vinyard, the arresting gear branch officer, "and they can override it in an emergency."
According to Gallagher, the engine operator's role will move more towards troubleshooting than operation. In that role, they'll still be aided by the cross-check system, as the system's sensors will indicate where any problems might be.
"Up until now, operators have been doing it by sight and sound," he said. "Now it's almost like the 'check engine' light in your car. It's definitely advanced from where we started from. It takes a lot of the guess-work out."
Air department personnel have been rotating through George Washington, staying for a few weeks at a time to keep their qualifications current. There are about 20 people from Enterprise's V-2 Division currently aboard GW working with that ship's landing equipment.
Gallagher himself just recently returned from his time aboard GW, where he became familiar with the new system.
"Eventually, we'd like to get everyone over to the GW to get a chance to see it and operate it," said Gallagher.
"This was a great opportunity to get some OJT (on-the-job training) and see it actually operating during flight conditions," added Vinyard.
This experience will help when Enterprise gets its own upgrade, said Vinyard. Any new system will have kinks that need to be worked out, such as aligning the sensors. The hands-on experience will also give the operators something to build on when Enterprise has its own formal, in-house training once installation is complete.
This isn't the first modernization the ship's arresting gear has seen over the years. Upgrades ranging from easier to read display dials to safety improvements of the engines themselves have been installed over the years. This latest upgrade is another example of how the Navy's oldest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier remains on the cutting edge of combat effectiveness.
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