The Bird Farm

by Philip Kaplan

  At left, the light aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, at right, the 102,000-ton USS John C. Stennis.

  Following her 1993 graduation, Kelly reported to NAS Pensacola for API and Primary training. From there she selected the E-2/C-2 pipeline. Although at that point jets were open to women aviators in the Navy, she preferred the C-2 Greyhound or COD (carrier onboard delivery) community and has never regretted her decision. “I really enjoy my job and think that I get more out of flying people to and from the carrier than I would dropping bombs. My job may not be as glamorous as a fighter pilot’s, or seem as important to an outsider, but I wouldn’t trade the C-2 community for any other.

  “The final test for the E-2/C-2 pipeline is to carrier qualify in the T-2 Buckeye. The first time one lands on a carrier is one of the greatest days in your life. It is an amazing experience to fly solo, in a four-plane formation with one instructor in the lead plane and two of your close friends rounding out the flight, out to a carrier. Circling overhead, you ask yourself if you are really supposed to land on that small ship down there.

  “After winging, I went to the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), which is responsible for training newly-winged aviators in the aircraft that he or she will fly in the fleet. Again, qualifying at the carrier is the final check at the FRS, only this time you get to go at night as well. Night carrier aviation is what sets naval aviators apart from all other pilots. I am now in my second Westpac deployment, doing night landings. It takes a long time to become confident at night. To say that one ever becomes comfortable at night would be a bit misleading.

  “During my time in this squadron [VRC-30], I will have done two Westpac deployments to the Arabian Gulf and numerous evolutions off the coast of southern California. One of the nice parts of being a COD pilot is that we are always supporting one carrier or another. There have been very few months at the squadron when I did not go out to the ship to get some traps. I have flown all sorts of folks out to see the ship and that is what makes the job so much fun. I have met Cabinet members, foreign dignitaries, Hollywood stars, and famous athletes. Famous or not, to see the look on anyone’s face as they get ready to fly out to the ship, or when they have just had their first cat shot, reminds me that I have a rare job indeed. We sometimes get run a bit ragged, flying back and forth several times a day, but the enthusiasm of the people we take to the carrier is contagious and really makes the job enjoyable.

  An aerial refuelling tanker aircraft preparing to serve a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet in the Persian Gulf.

  An F/A-18 Hornet strike figher secured for the night aboard the supercarrier USS John C. Stennis.

  “I have obviously not known any different than the Navy of today, where women fly any and all aircraft. The COD has been flown by women longer than any other carrier aircraft because it is not considered a combatant aircraft. There have been many times when I have found myself to be the only woman in a room, but that can happen in almost any traditionally male-dominated job. I have been trained exactly like every other aviator, past and present, to do a job. The women who paved the way in carrier aviation did a remarkable thing and made it easier for my age group to follow. The men I work with who are my age have always worked with women, so it is not an issue. Some of the older generation are still getting used to having women in the squadrons, but so long as we are doing the job well, there’s nothing they can say anymore about our presence. We are here and we are doing well.

  “Being on a carrier with almost 5,000 men, I would be lying if I said I didn’t receive any different attention for being a woman. You stand out and that’s just a fact. But again, the most important thing is getting the job done. I feel very fortunate that on this carrier [the USS John C. Stennis] there are several female aviators. My last Air Wing only had two female pilots—myself and my roommate, an E-2 pilot. We felt we were under the spotlight quite a bit, but that comes with being the only two women. This Air Wing has women in every type of aircraft. My roommate is a helicopter pilot, also on her second cruise. The two women next door to me were naval aviators before combatants opened up to women, flying A-4s in the Philippines and Puerto Rico. One is now an F/A-18 Hornet pilot and the other is an EA-6B Prowler pilot. They both have flown combat missions and are respected for their abilities as much as any pilot in the squadrons.

  A Boeing McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet photographed from an aerial refuelling tanker aircraft.

  “Having two senior aviators like them on board also helps set the standard for the new women checking into squadrons. Their professionalism and talent set the tone for the Air Wing. There are also two F-14 RIOs, two E-2 Naval Flight Officers, two S-3 pilots, and two other helicopter pilots (in addition to my roommate). So, we are well represented. The best part about being with all of these women is that they are typical women who just happen to also be naval aviators. We are not here to prove anything or to be ‘one of the guys’; we get along great with our fellow aviators and are all doing the job the Navy has trained us to do. We are all good friends, and having the support of one another makes life at sea much more enjoyable.

  “Following this cruise, I have chosen to take non-flying orders. The decision to not fly for the next three years was a difficult one, but at this point it is the right one for me. I am going back to the Naval Academy to work in the swimming department. I look forward to sharing everything I have learned with the future aviators, especially the women. It’s a level playing field now and hopefully they are ready to take advantage of that. I am ready to move on and have a family—my fiancé will still be flying for the Navy and I want to be home enough to start having children. I know I will eventually go back to flying, perhaps civilian flying or in the reserves. I don’t think anyone can completely walk away from flying—it’s too amazing. My dream is to fly seaplanes, either in the northwest or in the Caribbean, depending on my family. I hope my kids will be proud to say that their mom was a carrier aviator who flew all over the world and met many fascinating people. How many people can tell their children they have done what I have been fortunate enough to experience? At times I look back and wonder how this all happened. I never set out to do anything so great, but I sure have had a ball.”

  Somebody said that carrier pilots were the best in the world, and they must be or there wouldn’t be any of them left alive.

  —Ernie Pyle, war correspondent

  GALLERY

  A Vought F-8 Crusader ends its days in the airplane graveyard near Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucscon, Arizona.

  McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms in “finger four” formation.

  U.S. Navy attack aircraft gathered at an air base in the Persian Gulf in 1991.

  A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II jet, an improved version of the British VSTOL ground attack aircraft.

  The Northrop Grumman EA-6B electronic warfare / attack aircraft was developed from the Grumman A-6 Intruder. The last deployment of the Prowler was scheduled for November 2014. It is being replaced by the Boeing EA-18G Growler which entered Navy service in late 2009.

  The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is among the most dangerous of working environments.

  AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER GLOSSARY

  Ace: Fighter pilot credited with five or more aerial kills.

  ACLS: Automatic Carrier Landing System.

  ACM: Air Combat Maneuvering.

  AEW: Airborne Early Warning.

  Air Boss: Officer responsible for carrier flight operations.

  Air Wing: The complement of aircraft on a carrier.

  Angle of attack: The angle of the wing of an aircraft to the flight path of the aircraft.

  ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare.

  AV-8B: Boeing McDonnell-Douglas version of the BAE Sea Harrier V/STOL jet fighter.

  Avenger: Grumman TBF / TBM torpedo bomber.

  Ball: Primary optical landing aid on a carrier.

  Bandit: Identified enemy aircraft.

  Barrier net or Rig: Nylon webbing arrangement that can be set up to halt an aircraft whose arre
sting hook has malfunctioned.

  Bat turn: Extreme sharp turn.

  Bear a hand: Help out.

  Bearcat: Grumman F8F fighter aircraft.

  Belay that!: Cancel the previous message or order.

  Bingo Field: A land runway where an aircraft can be diverted if the pilot is unable to land on a carrier.

  Bird Farm: Nickname for an aircraft carrier.

  Blue Angels: U.S. Navy flight demonstration team.

  Blue shirts: Flight deck personnel who handle chocks and chains, drive tractors, and operate the elevators.

  Blue Water Ops: Flight operations flown beyond the reach of a Bingo airfield.

  Boat, the: Aviator reference to the aircraft carrier.

  Bolter: A failed landing on a carrier, when the arresting hook does not engage any of the four arresting cables on the flight deck.

  Box: The channel on a catapult entry in which an aircraft nosewheel is positioned to facilitate the hook-up and launch.

  Brown shirt: The airplane captain responsible for the care and readiness of the aircraft.

  Buccaneer: British Aerospace/Blackburn strike aircraft.

  Burner: The afterburner unit on an aircraft jet engine; used to provide maximum thrust or power.

  CAG: Carrier Air Group; also Carrier Air Group commander.

  Call Sign: Pilot’s nickname.

  CAP: Combat Air Patrol.

  Catapult: Steam-powered system utilized to launch aircraft to flying speed from a carrier flight deck.

  CATCC: Carrier Air Traffic Control Center.

  Cat grip: Grab handle on canopy jamb of F/A-18 Hornet and F-14 aircraft; also known at the “towel rack.”

  CCA: Carrier Controlled Approach in which a pilot is talked down the approach to the flight deck by a radar controller in the ship.

  CDC: Combat Direction Center on a carrier, where all tactical information is displayed and analysed.

  Chock: A frame that is placed around an aircraft tire to prevent the plane rolling.

  Chopper: Helicopter.

  Chow: Food; a meal.

  CO: Commanding Officer.

  COD: Carrier Onboard Delivery, a twin-engined aircraft used to ferry cargo or passengers to an from an aircraft carrier.

  Corsair: Chance-Vought F4U fighter aircraft.

  Corsair II: Vought A7 fighter aircraft.

  Coupled approach: A landing approach in which the autopilot of the aircraft is linked to radio navigation aids.

  Cranial: The safety helmet worn by aircraft carrier flight deck personnel.

  Cross-deck pendant: The segment of the arresting cable which is stretched across the flight deck and is engaged by the tailhook of an aircraft.

  Crusader: Chance-Vought F-8 fighter aircraft.

  Cut, the: Landing Signal Officer signal for a pilot to land.

  CV: U.S. Navy designation for a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier.

  CVE: U.S. Navy designation for an escort aircraft carrier.

  CVL: U.S. Navy designation for a light aircraft carrier.

  CVN: U.S. Navy designation for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

  Cyclic Ops: Aircraft launches and recoveries from a carrier at one or two-hour intervals.

  Dauntless: Douglas SBD dive-bomber aircraft.

  Dilbert Dunker: A device for teaching emergency escape from an aircraft downed in the sea.

  Dropline: A series of orange lights down the stern centerline of an aircraft carrier, used by a pilot on landing approach to gauge the corrections he makes in his approach.

  ECM: Electronic Counter-measures; a system used for jamming enemy detection, weapons and communications.

  Eject: Emergency escape from an aircraft by means of an explosive-charged seat.

  Elevator: An ascending and descending section of the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, used to transport aircraft between the hangar deck and the flight deck.

  Etendard: Dassault Breguet strike fighter aircraft; also Super Etendard.

  EWO: Electronics Warfare Officer.

  FDO: Fighter Director Officer.

  Fish: Torpedo.

  Flag Plot: Admiral’s working spaces.

  Flak: See Triple A.

  Flanker: Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighter aircraft.

  Flattop: Aircraft carrier.

  Flight deck: The platform exposed surface of an aircraft carrier where aircraft are launched and recovered.

  Float coat: Inflatable vest worn by flight deck personnel.

  FLOLS: The Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System employed as the primary landing aid on an aircraft carrier; also called the Ball.

  Fly-by-wire: Control surfaces of an aircraft that are operated by electronic rather than mechanical means.

  FOD: Foreign Object Damage resulting when an aircraft engine injests debris from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.

  FOD Walk-down: Carried out before every flight event; in which many personnel form a line across the flight deck, to walk its length in search of any objects that might foul aircraft engines or injure people if blown around by taxiing aircraft.

  Fouled deck: When the flight deck of a carrier is not, for any reason, in a condition to receive recovering aircraft.

  FRS: Fleet Replacement Squadron; see RAG.

  Fulcrum: MiG-29 jet fighter aircraft.

  Galley: Where chow is prepared.

  Gannet: Fairey ASW/AEW aircraft.

  Gedunk: Ship’s store where candy and junk food is sold.

  Glidepath: Approach course of an aircraft that is descending and recovering to the flight deck of a carrier.

  Glideslope: An optical or electronic beam that marks the approach glidepath of a recovering aircraft.

  GQ: General Quarters.

  Green shirts: Flight deck crewmen who secure aircraft to catapults for the launch to flying speed.

  Greyhound: See COD.

  G-Suit: Flight suit that brings compressed air pressure to reduce effects of gravity load forces on an airman’s lower body.

  Handler: Person responsible for positioning, moving and arranging aircraft on the flight and hangar decks of a carrier.

  Hangar deck: The area of a carrier, under the flight deck, where aircraft are stored and maintained.

  Hawkeye: Grumman E-2 airborne early-warning aircraft.

  Helix: Kamov Ka-31 helicopter.

  Hellcat: Grumman F6F fighter aircraft.

  Helldiver: Curtiss SB2C dive-bomber.

  Helo Dunker: Device for teaching emergency escape technique from a helicopter down in water.

  Holdback: A breakable link device that restrains an aircraft on the catapult until the instant of the launch.

  Hook: The arresting tailhook of an aircraft, located beneath the tail and utilized to engage an arresting cable on the flight deck of a carrier.

  Hornet: Boeing Northrop Grumman F/A-18 jet multi-role fighter aircraft and aircraft family.

  Hot-pumping: Refuelling an aircraft with its engine(s) running.

  HUD: Head-up display, where the instrument data are projected onto a transparent screen between the pilot and the windshield.

  ILS: Instrument Landing System.

  INS: Inertial Navigation System.

  Intruder: Grumman A-6 attack aircraft.

  Island: A superstructure on the right side of the flight deck of a carrier, housing the bridge, PriFly, and other personnel.

  Jet blast deflector: A metal rectangular barrier that is raised behind an aircraft on the catapult awaiting launch; used to protect deck personnel.

  Jinking: Evasive aircraft manouver.

  Joy stick: Aircraft control column; often includes firing switches and other controls.

  Kamikaze: World War Two Japanese suicide pilot, attack, or aircraft.

  Knee-knocker: Oval-shaped doorway through a bulkhead on a carrier.

  Launch: When a catapult flings an aircraft from the flight deck of a carrier.

  Liberty: Shore leave.

  LLD: Landing light device; the Ball on a carrier Fresnel Lens Landing Sys
tem.

  LSO: The Landing Signal Officer, responsible for guiding the recovery of aircraft to the flight deck of a carrier. The LSO judges and comments on aircraft approaches, assisting the pilots, giving grades and critiques of all landings; also called “Paddles.”

  MAD: Magnetic Anomaly Detector; device utilized to locate submerged enemy submarines.

  Mae West: Inflatable life vest.

  Main deck: On a carrier, it is the hangar deck; the deck from which the numbering of all other decks begins.

  Marshal: Or Marshalling Stack; a holding pattern located behind the carrier, for aircraft prior to their approach abnd recovery.

  Meatball: See Ball.

  Military power: Maximum aircraft engine power.

  Mouse: Self-contained two-way radio headphones for the use of certain flight deck personnel.

  MOVLAS: Manually Operated Visual Landing System, used as a back-up for the FLOLS on a carrier.

  Mule: A small tractor used for moving aircraft on the flight and hangar decks.

  NAS: Naval Air Station.

  NFO: Naval Flight Officer.

  Nose tow: A tow bar that extends from the nose wheel of a carrier aircraft, which secures to the catapult for launching.

  Now hear this!: Listen up.

  Nugget: Neophyte pilot.

  O Club: Officers’ Club.

  Old Salt: Experienced sailor.

  Panther: Grumman F9F fighter aircraft.

  Phantom: McDonnell-Douglas F-4 fighter-bomber.

  Pickle: A hand-held switch device by which an LSO can illuminate a row of red lights on the Ball to wave off an approaching pilot.

  Port: The left side of a ship; also a harbor or docking place.

  Precision Approach Radar: Shows the altitude and position of an aircraft that is approaching the carrier for a landing recovery.

  PriFly: Primary flying control station in the island.