My Flight Series: Story #1, How I Was Able To Fly In Navy Jets

When I joined the Navy back in 1978, the recruiting slogan was, Join the Navy and see the world!  They NAILED it!  I saw a great deal of the world.  What you don’t realize until it’s too late is that the world is more than 75% water!!  In total I floated on the water for more than 4 years.  One of the reasons I joined is because I wanted to fly in Navy aircraft.  This is how I was able to fly in Navy jets.

I knew I could not be a pilot due to my eyesight, and they did not have laser surgery back then to correct your vision.  But, I knew I could be an aircrew-man, so I did all of the pre-qualifications in order to be selected as one.  I wanted to be an in-flight Avionics Technician. To pre-qualify I had to do a flight physical, perform some physical fitness tests, and complete the First Class swim qualification.  Even after doing all that, I was not selected as aircrew.  It seems there was a severe shortage in the fleet of my “Rate” (the Navy’s way of describing your job, or what you do). 

Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Technician!

My Navy rate was an “AX” which stands for Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Technician.  I was sent straight to the fleet after my schooling was complete, and the squadron I was assigned to, VS-30, had just deployed overseas a month prior.  When I caught up to them in the Mediterranean Sea, the squadron had 12 aircraft assigned and only five Avionics Technicians.  Normally there should have been 15 or more.

VS-30 flew the S-3 Viking aircraft which we called the War Hoover. Anyone who has ever heard an S-3 flying knows why it’s called a Hoover. An S-3 Viking normally had a crew of four: Pilot, Co-Pilot, TACCO (pronounced Tack Oh), and SENSO.  Up front the Pilot and Co-Pilot were both officers.  The TACCO was an officer and was the Tactical Coordinator for Anti-submarine warfare.  The SENSO was an enlisted person who was the Sensor Operator.

All You Have To Do Is Ask

The S-3 was a multi-seat aircraft, and one of those seats was designated for an enlisted person. I inquired within the command as to whether I could qualify to sit in that seat, and if so what did I need to do.  To make a long story shorter, the command agreed to let me fly if I completed all of the requirements except going to Aircrew School in Pensacola.  I also had to do this on my own time, and the command would not fund any travel if necessary to complete the training. 

Fortunately for me, VS-30 was stationed in Jacksonville, FL which is where all East Coast aviators have to come to do their periodic swim quals, and NAS Jacksonville has an Aviation Physiology Unit as well.  This meant I could do all of the required training and qualifications without having to travel.  Of course I jumped on that opportunity!!  I had only been in the squadron for six months or so, but had a reputation as a very good troubleshooter and avionics repair technician.  I was also the first non-aircrew maintenance person in the entire S-3 community who had become back seat qualified.  Over the course of a few months, I completed all of the training. The Skipper said that as long as I got at least four hours of flying time each month I would also get Flight Pay.

Swim Qual!!

The hardest part of the training by far is the swim qualification.  Mind you, when I did this it was the FIRST TIME ever that I even put on a flight suit, let alone ANY of the flight gear.  I considered myself an excellent swimmer, but this took it to a completely different level!  I had to ask some of the other aviators that were dressing in the locker room how to even wear or put on the equipment!!  So here I am decked out in a flight suit, flight boots, an SVU-2 survival vest (it weighs about 25 pounds and has all your survival equipment in it), and a flight helmet.  Overall, it is over 40 pounds of gear. 

So the first thing you have to do after you are geared up, is to jump into the pool and “float” for 5 minutes unaided.  More than a few had to do this step more than once because it is not an easy thing to do!  Yes the vest has a life preserver in it, but for this training it does NOT work!!  The Navy teaches you techniques to “drown-proof” yourself, and if you can manage not to panic, you can actually do this (I was able to do this on subsequent swim quals).  But the first time ever wearing this gear, and doing this believe me, there was panic!  I survived this event by dog paddling or swimming in place, which they highly discouraged you from doing.  But it was all I could do to keep my head above water for five minutes with all that weight. 

Almost Drowning…Again

After this event, you get to rest a few minutes, and then you have to swim 25 yards to the other end of the pool in all this gear.  This is very difficult.  Trust me, I nearly drowned for the second time in less than an hour doing this, but I DID do it!  Everything after this was actually FUN! I had to ride the “Dilbert Dunker” which is a cage on a rollercoaster track that slams you into the water and turns upside down.  You have to get unstrapped from the seat and make it to the surface after you are hanging upside down under water.  Click the embedded links for videos of this stuff. 

Next we did a simulated parachute drop where you jump off a tower and they drop a parachute over you.  You have to find your way out from underneath it before it drags you underwater and drowns you.  After this you get hooked to a parachute harness and you jump off the tower into the pool while the harness, which is hooked up to a motor at the end of the pool, pulls you through the water face down to simulate being dragged through the water by wind and parachute.  You have to turn over and then successfully disengage the fittings to release it.

Dreaded Helo Dunker

The helo dunker is terrifying to think about, but not too hard to do.  You have to “ride” it numerous times and each time you have to sit in a different seat.  The dunker drops into the water then rotates.  You have no idea which way it will rotate or how far it will roll.  Sometimes it’s only 90 degrees (like rolling on its side).  Other times it’s 180 degrees (rolling completely over upside down).  You just have to wait until it stops moving, then get out of the harness and find an exit that you can swim to in order to reach the surface.  The most terrifying aspect is that the final time you do this you must be BLIND FOLDED!  Everything is done by feel.

St. Johns River Fun

The final aspect is pretty much the best!  They put you in a boat and attach a rope with a rubber survival raft and anchor tied to it.  Then they “drive” the boat down the St. Johns River and at about ½-mile intervals they throw a person’s anchor/raft combo overboard.  The instructors suggest that you should jump when they throw the anchor, but if you choose not to, you will be forcibly removed from their boat by the anchor when it hits bottom. 

We all jumped when our anchors were tossed.  We swam to our rafts and got in, then spent the next few hours being “lost” at sea and practicing survival and rescue situations.  While in the water we fired off flares and “popped smoke”, and other stuff to attract rescuers.  After a few hours, a helicopter flew out and hoisted each of us aboard, thus completing our training.  I hope Chris does a blog post about this, as she can relate what happened to me after the training that day!  It was NOT fun, and she helped me greatly!  God bless her real good for putting up with me!  So, in conclusion, if you do not like to almost drown, join the Air Force!