Most Navy pilots and aircrewmenmay never find themselves in a survivalsituation where they have had to comedown in an unfamiliar, or even hostile,land or water environment. Nonethe-less, training in aircraft safety and air-crew survivability go hand in handwith learning to fly. Survivability de-pends largely on one’s knowledge ofbasic procedures and one’s faith in hisability and will to survive. One ex-POWsaid, “If you know you can do it, thechances are very good that you will.”Survival training gives the student theknow-how and faith that he can do it.

it. The realistic water survival trainingnot only prepares flight personnel forthe sea environment but also alleviatesthe app rehens ion tha t wou ld beencountered in an ejection/bailoutsituation. It bolsters the individual’sc o n f i d e n c e i n h i m s e l f a n d h i sequipment.

The survival school is the largestdepartment in the Naval Aviat ionSchools Command in Pensacola, Fla., interms of staff personnel. Its syllabusincludes swim training, deep waterenvironment survival training (DWEST),land survival and physical training.

Water survival depends largely onknowing what to do when the timecomes because you have already done

Students begin by learning basics u r v i v a l s t r o k e s a n d f l o t a t i o ntechniques. This builds confidence inthe aquatic environment and facilitateslater training. In the classroom studentsreceive instruction in cardiopulmonaryresuscitation, parachute fundamentals,

personal flight gear and its use, singleand multiplace rafts, and signal andrescue devices.

Students then move on to trainingdevices which put them through true-to-life scenarios.

The multiplace underwater egresstrainer (9D5) provides practice inprocedures for underwater escape fromditched multiplace aircraft. The devicecan be rolled left or right or stopped ina n y i n t e r m e d i a t e p o s i t i o n . T h eblindfolded student strapped insidereleases himself from his seat and findshis way to the surface.

The single-place underwater egresstrainer/Dilbert Dunker (9U44) teachesunderwater escape from ditched single-place aircraft. In this device the studentrides down the rails in the cockpit,turning over in the water. He then freeshimself from the seat, egresses andreturns to the surface. This evolution isconducted in full flight gear.

T h e p a r a c h u t e d e s c e n t a n ddisentanglement trainer (9F6) teachesthe student how to divest himself of hisparachute and, if entangled, how to getfree.

The parachute drag trainer (9F2)drags students through the water so thatthey will know what it is like to ditch withparachutes still on and inflated, and becaught by the wind and draggedthrough the water.

The helicopter hoist simulator with arotor downwash (9H1) gives students anidea of what it is like to be under a heloblowing wind and spray at them at about130 knots.

The underwater breathing trainer(9H19) teaches underwater breathingtechniques used in aircraft oxygensystems.

DWEST begins with lectures andslides on the use of equipment andprocedures , fo l l owed by l i f e ra f torganization. The student is taken out todeep water in Pensacola Bay where hegets some realistic training with his liferaft and water survival equipment, and alive helicopter hoist. He also practicesparachute landing falls so that he’llknow how to hit the ground properly ifhe comes down over the land.

There is a major and exciting newdevelopment in DWEST. The Navy’sopen-water parachute descent trainer(9F7) gives flight personnel the mostrealistic overwater training possible in

descent procedures and parachutedisentanglement on water entry. Itsimulates the survival situation after abailout or ejection more accurately thanany training device now in the Navy’sinventory, and is designed to make theprocedures required for survival secondnature.

The trainer uses a parasail, a devicesimilar to a parachute except that whenoperational its forward motion developsa certain amount of lift which theconventional parachute does not have.The concept was developed by the AirForce at Homestead AFB in Florida andadapted by the Navy to meet the Navy’sparticular requirements.

Evaluation of the prototype parasailtraining program has been completedand the program has been approved.Parasail training is now a required partof the DWEST syllabus for all “refreshers”and flight students who are selected tofly in aircraft equipped with ejectionseats.

A tow boat, equipped with a winch andtow line, is used in conjunction with aself-propelled launch platform to get thestudent and his parasail aloft. On theway to the designated launch area,students review the procedures severaltimes prior to parasail hookup. Once inthe area, launch operations begin.

The fully equipped student is hookedup to the tow boat with harness on andparachute inflated by the wind. After thefinal safety check, the launch signal isgiven and the student is airborne, at theend of the tow rope, to an altitude ofapproximately 450 feet. On a flag signalfrom the boat, the student releaseshimself from the tow rope and begins hisdescent, during which he accomplisheslow altitude descent procedures, whicha r e I R K ( I n f l a t e l i f e v e s t , R a f tdeployment, Koch fittings). He thenreleases the parasail upon water entryso that it does not entangle or drag him.

When the procedures are properlyperformed, entanglement problems areminimal. However, if on water entry thestudent finds himself in a real lifesituation, swimmers are in the waternearby, ready to assist. The student,when free of his parasail, boards his liferaft and, finally, both he and the parasailare picked up by a utility boat. Studentsare given two descents to reinforcelearning that may have been blurredduring the anxiety of the first descent.

Physical training is also an essentialpart of the survival program and ismonitored by both medical and physicaltraining personnel to ensure that there isa correct sequence of the requiredtraining. An individual might know allthe emergency procedures and yet notbe able to summon the strength neededto get out of a ditched plane that issinking at 12 feet per second. So, theimportance of getting into and staying ingood physical shape is stressed, andbasic physical fitness is required.

Land survival training is an old, well-established program given during thelast week of the syllabus. Students learnthe rules and techniques for stayingalive which are basic for any area. Withnothing more than the gear they wouldnormally have with them, studentsspend two days in the 653,000-acrewilderness at Eglin AFB, Fla. The mostimportant thing they learn is how to findwater where seemingly none exists.They learn to fashion traps and snares,build simple shelters, and find and eatfood foreign to the palate of the averageAmerican.

The students are first grouped inteams, each with an enlisted instructorwho teaches them what they need toknow to survive. On the last day, thestudents go it alone, making their wayindividually to a checkpoint severalmiles away where they rendezvous forthe return trip. During their wildernessphase, they are also taught how toovercome the stress of the survivals i t u a t i o n , w h i c h u n d e r s o m ecircumstances on land could be a long-term survival predicament.

Water survival is a different matter. Inmany actual egress situations, the pilotor aircrewman does not have manyseconds from parachute opening towater entry. Combine this with otherfactors, such as darkness, adverseweather, hostile activity, etc., and theneed to know your procedures cold isevident. In the new open-water parasailtraining, while a parasail descent is acon t ro l l ed s i tua t ion , i t does g ivepersonnel the opportunity to becomeskilled in descent procedures — and itwill help save lives.

The survival school is dedicated topreparing future Naval Aviators for thepossibility of an unforeseen air accidentand, should one happen, for coping withit. n

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By Ltjg. N. L. Golightly The fundamental lure of the jetpipeline is the sheer physical challengeof handling high-performance, single-piloted aircraft in the tactical carrierenvironment. But a student NavalAviator may feel his ultimate choice of apipeline is a long way off. For the ensignwho is struggling with his first S-patterns in T-34s, the relative pros andcons of the helo, prop, E-2/C-2 and jetpipelines can be about as clear asmuddy water.

So, what can the potential jet jockexpect in the Training Command? Hecan look forward to at least another yearand a few more months of flying orangeand white aircraft than his buddies in theother pipelines.

His first stop after finishing the basicflight phase will be with the flightphysiology people who will fit him with anew pa i r o f “speed slacks,” morecommonly known as a G suit, and withthe nylon, velcro and steel torso harnesshe’ll be wriggling in and out of for mostof his Navy career.

Then, he’ll pack his bags and point thenose of his ensign-mobile toward one ofthe enclaves of jet instruction in SouthTexas — VTs 21, 22 and 23 at NASKingsville and VTs 24, 25 and 26 at NASChase Field, Beeville, Texas or NASMeridian, Miss., home of VTs 7, 9 and 19.Intermediate and advanced jet trainingare taught at al l three locat ions.Normally, a student completes bothphases of instruction at the same airwing. VT-4, located at NAS Pensacola,Fla., t r a ins s tuden ts i n bo th theintermediate and advanced phases andprov ides je t t ra in ing fo r fo re ignstudents.

The new jet pipeline student receivestwo weeks of intermediate strike groundschool in air systems, aerodynamics andinstrument flight rules and severalsimulator rides before climbing into theT-2C Buckeye for his first familiarization(FAM) and basic instrument hops. Hismost difficult adjustments will probablybe in learning to think at six miles perminute instead of two and one-half andin lea rn ing n o t t o f l a re over theapproach-end numbers. Landings, infact, can be particularly traumatic for thestudent who was impressed throughout

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Left, an F/A-18 Hornet in flight. Above, a student from VT-23, with his instructor, practicesbasic air work in a T-2C Buckeye. Below, a VT-7 TA-4J is about to catch the wire duringcarrier quals.

primary training with the importance ofgently touching the runway with thelanding gear. Now, suddenly, he is beingexhorted to collide with the ground bychasing an elusive light around onsomething they call a “fresnel lens” and,as if that isn’t enough, to maintain aprecisely calibrated airspeed at thesame time.

However, a f t e r 1 0 F A M h o p s

interspersed with instrument sorties, thestudent jet jock is turned loose for a solo.Shortly after that, he begins instructionin basic formation, which will be hisbread and butter in TacAir, and then air-to-air gunnery, his first exposure totactical maneuvering. He’ll also plan andfly four operational navigation (ONAV)low-level routes, and complete syllabi inbasic instruments, radio instrumentsand airways navigation.

The climax in intermediate strike iscarr ier qual i f icat ion — the exot ic,demanding, mind-bending act of flyinga jet aircraft to a full stop on a movingship. After 10 field carrier landingpractice periods, the student flies his T-2C out to USS Lexington, swallows hisapprehension and brings his Buckeyeaboard for two touch and goes, followedby his first arrested landing. He will logfour traps, each followed by a catapultshot which, when he describes it to thisbuddies, will probably exhaust hisrepertoire of superlatives — incredible,fantastic, awesome.

He’s a tailhooker now and ready tobegin advanced strike training in the TA-4 Skyhawk. He has another two weeks ofground school, logs several more hoursof simulator time and completes theentire instrument phase, beginning witha back-seat, under-the-bag takeoff,before moving to the front cockpit. Thefamiliarization and formation stages inthe advanced phase are brief becausethe student has already mastered thebasics, and he goes quickly on to thenitty-gritty of the TacAir business.

In the weapons stage, he learns to

place bombs, rockets and bullets on aground target and in ONAV he learns tonavigate at low altitudes and highspeeds. Air combat maneuver inginstruct ion expands his personalperformance envelope by teaching himto maneuver his airplane through nearlyevery conceivable attitude in defensive,offensive and multiplane situations.Then it’s back to Lexington for six moretraps and catapult shots.

A f t e r s o m e 1 8 m o n t h s a n dapproximately 270 f l ight hours oftraining, the student jet pilot dusts off adress uniform and stands before thetraining air wing commander to receivehis hard-earned Wings of Gold. It’s asignificant milestone that marks abeginning as well as an end, for his namenow goes back into the mill for aselection process that might match himup with F/A-18s, S-3s, A-7s or A-6s. Hemight receive orders to F-14s, F-4s or A-3s, and there are also billets in T-39s,EA-6s and composite squadrons. Hemight even stay with the TrainingCommand for 18 months as a SelectivelyRetained Graduate instructor. Theopportunities are many and selection isbased on individual performance andthe needs of the Navy. Once these lec t ion i s made, a lmos t everytailhooker will fanatically defend thehonor of the aircraft type he flies, nomatter what his first choice may havebeen when he pinned on his wings.

That is the Navy jet pipeline in 1,200words or less, which does not dojustice to the intensity of the workrequired — the four or five or six hours ofpreparation for every hour of flight time;the inescapable pressure to performsatisfactorily on every hop; the exactingresponsibility in the single-piloted worldto be cease less ly a le r t ; and thestandards demanded of student pilotswho might , some black n ight , beapproaching the carrier at 1,200 feet inthe goo, with one set of controls and oneset of eyes.

But there are also the intense rewards:the tremendous pleasure of precisionf ly ing with a st ick and thrott le inairplanes that go fast, take G’s andmaneuver crisply in any attitude; theexclusive responsibility for severalmillion dollars of airplane; the profoundse l f - sa t i s fac t ion tha t comes w i thbringing 10 tons of jet aircraft aboard a600-foot deck; and the satisfactionderived from preparations for flyingcomplex tactical missions in complextactical aircraft. n

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