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Thread: The Ensign's Challenge: (Part 2)

  1. #1

    Default The Ensign's Challenge: (Part 2)

    Continued from Part 1 http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sho...gn-s-Challenge

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Name:	33. With daylight becoming a challenge, Pete jumps into item number 4 immelmann….JPG 
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    33. With daylight becoming a challenge, Pete jumps into item number 4 immelmann…

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Name:	34. and lumbers through the fast straight, immelmann card, slow straight sequence.JPG 
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    34. and lumbers through the fast straight, immelmann card, slow straight sequence

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Name:	35. Pete levels out and pulls into a stall.  He feels himself getting fatigued but concentrates.JPG 
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    35. Referencing the destroyer, Pete plans the Split S to set up position for items 6 and 7

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Name:	36. Gently rolling into the Split S the adrenaline of the maneuver wakes him up a bit.JPG 
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    36. Rolling into the Split S, the adrenaline of the maneuver kills his growing fatigue

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Name:	37. He feels the heaviness of transitioning lost altitude (Split S) to the speed of the fast str.JPG 
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    37. He feels the heaviness of transitioning through the last component of the Split S

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Name:	38. With item 5 completed and over half way through, Pete pulls another stall....JPG 
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    38. Item 5 Split S is complete (Stall, Immelmann, Fast Straight). Pete pulls another stall...

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Name:	39, and drives the nose down to the water for the first dive of the over dive maneuver item 6.JPG 
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    39. which positions him for both the Overdive and bombing run to follow. He dives hard

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Name:	40. Pete feels as though he is almost weightless for the fast straight (2nd dive) of the maneuve.JPG 
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    40. Pete feels weightless during completion of the Overdive (Stall, Dive, Fast Straight)

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Name:	41 with item 6 complete, Pete used the overdive to get him to 5K m for the bombing run....JPG 
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    41. Item 6 complete, Pete uses a 4 card hard bank to prime his bombing run, but...

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Name:	42. believes he released the sand bag too late (3 counters used instead of 2 for 5K to 7K).JPG 
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    42. believes he released the sand bag too late (3 counters used instead of 2 for 5K to 7K)

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Name:	43. He does his best to watch for impact, but due to fading sunlight banks to set up again.JPG 
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    43. He does his best to watch for impact, but due to fading sunlight banks to set up again

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Name:	44. Pete is unable to see the impact of the sand.  Frustrated, he concentrates on the next.JPG 
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    44. Pete is unable to see the impact of the sand. Frustrated, he concentrates on the next

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Name:	45. Pete’s radio chirps “Jenk, you better start wrappin’ it up suns hittin&#82.JPG 
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    45. Pete’s radio chirps, “Jenk, you better start wrappin’ it up, suns hittin’ the water”

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Name:	46. Fatigue, presumed failure and sunset start causing mistakes.  He releases the 2nd bag.JPG 
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    46. Fatigue, presumed failure, and sunset start causing mistakes. He releases the 2nd bag

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Name:	47. Pete sees the bag’s missed plume of water and again wants to set up another run….JPG 
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    47. Pete sees the bag’s missed plume of water and again wants to set up another run…

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Name:	48. only to realize that was his last sand bag.  He found he was well into sloppy flying.JPG 
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    48. only to realize that was his last sand bag. He found he was well into sloppy flying

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Name:	49. That was 3 attempts, with the 2nd being aborted due to holding a bank for to long.JPG 
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    49. That was 3 attempts, with the 2nd being aborted due to holding a bank for too long

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Name:	50. That was it… Pete sinks at the thought he will be landing as an Ensign..JPG 
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    50. That was it… Pete sinks at the thought he will be landing as an Ensign.

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Name:	51. He bled the last bit of altitude as he corrected himself, “Snap up Ensign”.JPG 
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    51. He bled the last bit of altitude as he corrected himself, “Snap up Ensign”

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Name:	52. He continued in thought,”you are a Naval aviator, get back on deck like one”.JPG 
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    52. He continued in thought, ”You are a Naval aviator, get back on deck like one”

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Name:	53. Attention to checklist, “Tailhook. Landing Gear. Flaps. Brakes. Initiating Approach.&#.JPG 
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    53. Attention to checklist, “Tailhook. Landing Gear. Flaps. Brakes. Initiating Approach.”

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Name:	54. “concentrate on the deck not the darkness” Pete also knew his approach was high&.JPG 
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    54. “Concentrate on the deck not the darkness,” Pete also knew his approach was high…

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Name:	55. and that he was committed without enough deck to get back airborne because of it.JPG 
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    55. and that he was committed without enough deck to get back airborne because of it

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Name:	56. If Pete was going to abort the landing he would have to throttle up and out now.JPG 
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    56. If Pete was going to abort the landing he would have to throttle up and out now

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Name:	57. Pete was relieved to see the LSO signaling him “Roger” and ordering him in..JPG 
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    57. Relief… The LSO orders him down by signaling “Roger”… and follows with…

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Name:	58. The LSO was signaling Full Throttle as a proactive measure if missing the hook.JPG 
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    58. a proactive full throttle (in case of miss). Pete responds with full throttle then…

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Name:	59. Bump Bump… Tap to slow… Pete remembers how good deck feels on landing..JPG 
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    59. Bump Bump… Tap to slow… Pete remembers how good deck feels on landing.

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Name:	60. The aircraft stops while roaring to be let go.  Pete quickly looks to the Deck Officer.JPG 
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    60. The aircraft stops while roaring to be let go. Pete quickly looks to the Deck Officer

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Name:	61.  The Deck Officer gives engine shut down a,nd Pete gladly complies (with stall card).JPG 
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    61. The Deck Officer gives engine shut down, and Pete gladly complies (with a stall card)


    Pete had completely forgotten the fact that he had just failed the Ensign’s Challenge; and instead, concentrated on releasing his muscles to a relaxed state.

    “That was a night landing,” he scolded to himself, “are you crazy?”

    Almost delirious from adrenaline, Pete looked out of his opened cockpit at the ship's lights glaring into his eyes. He couldn’t remember seeing a more beautiful sight.


    He grabbed his equipment from the cockpit as he exited his aircraft, and without looking back, walked through the crew door and down to the mess hall.

    Although it was after service hours, the officer’s mess remained unlocked for the benefit of returning pilots.

    Pete drank an orange juice while he settled his nerves.


    "How strange," Pete thought, “One moment you are on fire with fright, and the next you are sipping orange juice in a half darkened abandoned mess hall.” Pete didn’t make it 15 minutes before the exhaustion hit him.

    He staggered to his quarters while still hearing the roar of his aircraft’s engine in his head.


    Pete made note that he could not even begin to imagine what combat would be like.

    What he did know, given the exercise knocking him down a peg, was that maybe now he would be a little more willing to listen to those seasoned pilots that, until now, he was sure he knew more than.

    All Pete remembers from that point was being careful not to wake his bunk mate. Less out of courtesy, and more that he did not want to share his failure with anyone yet.


    The next day:

    Pete was in uniform, complete with that morning’s breakfast of pancakes and a new attitude.

    He knew some day soon he would be taking the Ensign’s Challenge again, but beyond that… He was going to be one of the best naval pilots on inventory, and that was going to start by being one of the best Ensigns aboard this ship.

    His appointment with his squadron commander wasn’t for another 10 minutes, so Pete simply stood outside of the Commander’s quarters patiently.


    Surprisingly, his Commander John Dayton was ahead of schedule as well.

    Dayton was peering through his half opened door with a poorly disguised smile.

    “That bad,” Pete thought to himself.

    Dayton continued to welcome Pete in, asking that they forgo the standard military decorum for just this one time. “It was too early for that,” he quipped with a smile.

    He gestured to the 2nd chair situated next to Commander Dayton’s citation adorned desk.


    “Pete,” Dayton continued, “if I may cut straight to the chase because I was hoping to grab some breakfast before the mess closes for morning chow, how do you think you did yesterday?”

    Pete responded, “Well, I…”

    Dayton interrupted Pete and quipped, “Pancakes Pete, mess is offering pancakes this morning.” Dayton then paused and looked at Pete in dramatic silence.

    Pete understood Dayton was attempting to loosen things up by soliciting Pete to gesture for the debriefing to continue. Pete awkwardly gestured for Dayton to continue, and they both smiled.


    Pete, here is how you scored:

    1. Complete a takeoff from the carrier’s catapult system:
    Exemplary

    Dayton added, “The only observation was the 6 point turn you made shortly after takeoff.”

    Pete remembered banking the wrong way shortly after take off, and due to virtual stall speed, had to pull out of the bank slowly to preserve the slip stream.

    Dayton continued, “I marked that one down as adding a little pizzazz to your performance.”

    2. Complete a proper climb to the aircraft’s service ceiling
    Exemplary

    3. Complete a proper Dive
    Exemplary

    4. Complete a proper Immelmann
    Exemplary

    5. Complete a proper Split S
    Exemplary

    6. Complete a proper Overdive
    Exemplary

    7. Complete level bombing between 5K and 7K meters using dummy sand bag ordnance (it is required that the designated target be hit once)
    Exemplary

    Pete interrupted unintentionally, “Sir, I never hit the target!”

    Dayton clarified the statement, “You never hit the target after the first attempt. In fact, the manner in which you continued circling back and attacking the Roberts showed real initiative Pete. You may have thought you were too high for the attack (use of 3 climb counters on the bomb card instead of the 2 required for altitudes 5 through 7) but physics doesn’t lie, Pete. The Roberts reported the 250 pound pile of sand as littering their deck shortly after you had landed (3 counters would have brought the bomb card past the front of the ship, whereas your actual altitude [level 5] caused the point of impact to be the front of the ship).

    Dayton continued:

    8. Complete successful fuel management (do not run out of fuel during the exercise)
    Exemplary

    Dayton inserted, “You still had 92 lb of fuel remaining after landing”.

    9. Safely land back aboard the carrier without damage to the aircraft
    Exemplary

    Dayton added, “Night landing Pete? I have colleagues that have never had to complete a night landing. We thought you were just showing off at that point.”

    10 Complete a successful engine shutdown
    Exemplary

    Dayton concluded the conversation, “Pete, I saw you stagger away from the aircraft. No celebrating. No shouting. No boasting. I believe you demonstrated the true nature of the exercise… To wear you out early with the climb, bobbing and waving, and then to have you demonstrate what really matters; the attack (in your case, the continued attack). All of that sealed with a landing approach while utterly exhausted. Hell, you even remembered to bring the flaps up before shutting down. What questions do you have Pete?”

    Pete began to ask, ”Well, I…”

    Dayton interrupted, “Pancakes, Pete.”


    Although it took Pete a moment, he studied Dayton’s expression, then concluded on queue, “I don’t have any questions sir.”

    Dayton concluded, “Dismissed Lieutenant.”
    Last edited by THECCRICH; 09-26-2015 at 06:22.

  2. #2

    Thumbs up

    That was just brilliant Chris!
    Superb recreation. Well Done!

  3. #3

  4. #4

  5. #5

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    Action- Exemplary.
    Photos- Exemplary.
    Reportage-Exemplary.
    Vis aid cards-Exemplary.
    I guess you know where this is going Chris.........

    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    Action- Exemplary.
    Photos- Exemplary.
    Reportage-Exemplary.
    Vis aid cards-Exemplary.
    I guess you know where this is going Chris.........

    Rob.


    Tell Ensign Jenkins that are on me.

  7. #7

    Default

    Thank you for looking at the story and pictures.

    I took a scheduled day off (Friday 23 Jan 2015) so I could play the scenario uninterrupted (6 hours with the first 2 used just to get to level 13 from 0)

    It was so much fun, because I really did think I missed the sand bag attack on the Roberts until I was reviewing the photographs late that night.

    It was dark and thankfully the street lights from the window offered the perfect illumination for the night landing.

    The 3 x 6 foot (1 x 2 meter) surface was circled 3 times with an additional 3 around the Roberts.

    What a game... And what a great group of folks to share it with...

    Thank you guys for being on this site and checking out my stuff.
    Chris...

    (P.s. Rob, that response of yours was hilarious sir... LOL...)

  8. #8

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    Mischa,

    Lieutenant J.G. Jenkins would like to take you up on the

    Thank you Good sir...

  9. #9

    Default

    OK Chris now he's done it in practice, when is he going to do it for real. Superb action, photos and narrative.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  10. #10

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    Lieutenant Jg. Jenkins just sat through a tactical briefing highlighting the increasing use of Kamikaze pilots by the Japanese.

    The briefing highlighted some of the tactical considerations and differences when engaging such threats.

    Pete paid full attention, but could still walk on the solid unease he felt as he left the briefing room.

    He was scheduled for CAP that next day...

  11. #11

    Default

    You can almost hear the static crackle of the R.T. as the excitement rises Chris.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  12. #12

    Default

    Up and at em LT up and at em.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  13. #13

    Default

    Orders Received Sir... Roger Will co...

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  15. #15

  16. #16

    Default

    Very Nice

  17. #17

    Default

    Thank you Gladeius...



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