• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Carrier Quals Get CVW-5 Flying Again

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060602-06
Release Date: 6/2/2006 10:53:00 AM

By Photographer’s Mate Airman Jacqueline Russell, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs

USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- With USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) at sea once more, the time has come to bring embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 back aboard, a process that began May 30 with Carrier Landing Qualifications (CQ).

Carrier qualifications, which usually take three to four days to complete, depending on the weather and the number of pilots, provide an excellent training opportunity for personnel associated with flight operations. Everyone, from the CVW-5 air crews and landing signal officers (LSO) to flight deck personnel and air traffic controllers, practices the skills they will use during regular flight operations.

“CQs help everyone get back in the swing of things and up to speed in techniques for safely launching and recovering aircraft,” said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) 1st Class (AW/SW) Tyrone Powell, Kitty Hawk’s assistant petty officer for Fly 2, one of the three work centers responsible for flight deck operations.

The purpose of CQs is to qualify new pilots to land on an aircraft carrier and to serve as refresher training for pilots whose qualification has lapsed while in port.

“Pilots will be expected to complete both day and nighttime landings. In doing this they will experience many different factors, such as wind and ocean currents,” said Lt. j.g. Spencer Cox, an LSO attached to CVW-5. “In daytime flying, these things may not be a big deal; but once the sun sets, they become a crucial concern.”

A flight deck certification, completed in the days preceding CQs, was conducted to evaluate how efficiently flight deck personnel could clear the landing area and complete a series of launches and recoveries. In addition, all flight deck equipment was inspected to ensure that it was operational and within safety standards. These steps are critical to the safe and successful completion of CQs.

“Safety is the key in these evolutions,” said Cox. “One small mistake anywhere can cause a major mishap.”

Kitty Hawk and CVW-5 are expected to complete Carrier Qualifications June 2, after which they will be ready to commence their spring underway period.

The Kitty Hawk Strike Group is the largest carrier strike group in the Navy and is composed of the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, CVW-5, the guided-missile cruisers USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Cowpens (CG 63), and Destroyer Squadron 15.