Smoke in the Tube

摘要

We were preparing for a detachment to NAS Fallon, to continue our work-up cycle. One of our planes, Screwtop 600, had been loaned to a sister squadron for two months because they were short a bird. However, the plane was on a 72-hour recall for possible redeployment with USS George Washington (CVN 73) battle group. When Screwtop 600 was returned to us, it required a functional-check flight (FCF) "alpha" profile. I recently had received my Hawkeye aircraft-commander qualification and was working on "my FCF-pilot syllabus. The four crew members for 600's check flight were experienced O-3s, and I would sit in the left seat. All four of us had made the last cruise, where 600 had been a workhorse, but it also had required a bit more TLG than our other three aircraft.