OK-3

By Elwood Jay Suereth

I'm eighty-six years old, and I've chosen to write a book about--ME. It won't be a classic or a page turner, but it will contain some things my family might want to know. I've selected a title for the book, "OK-3." I realize that there are very few people who will understand that title without explanation, so I'll explain. I've had a happy life, made so by my family and friends, and I've made some good decisions, including the decision to join the United States Navy. I was fortunate to fly Navy aircraft for most of my twenty-six years of active duty, and I'm especially fortunate to have survived my two combat tours of duty (202 missions) aboard USS Constellation, CVA-64. Landing a jet aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier is one of the most challenging tasks that a human can perform, and the consequences of not doing it well can be catastrophic. Catapult launches from a carrier are exciting, but generally you're just along for the ride, ready to participate if anything goes wrong. Carrier landings, on the other hand, are often a question of life or death--at least they were in my day. Today they have carrier-controlled approaches, but the pilot still has to be ready "to do it himself" in case the "system" fails. Each approach and landing on an aircraft carrier is monitored, directed, and graded by an experienced Navy pilot known as the landing signal officer, or LSO. His (or, nowadays, "her") job is to monitor, from a platform on the flight deck near the stern of the ship, a pilot's approach to landing, and to provide guidance if some corrections regarding aircraft attitude, approach speed, lineup, above or below glide-path, angle-of-attack, etc. are required. This activity is called "waving," a hold-over term from earlier days when the LSO waved large paddles to communicate with and direct an approaching pilot. After the landing the LSO will meet the pilot in the squadron ready room and debrief him (or her) regarding the approach and landing. Comments may include observations such as "started high," "low all the way," "lineup," "dropped nose in close," "decelerated in the groove," "bolter" (touched down but didn't catch an arresting wire), "taxi one wire (the desired arresting cable, the target wire, is the third wire, of four, from the stern of the ship). The LSO debriefs each pilot regarding his approach and landing. There is a board, which looks like a checkerboard, in each ready room, upon which every pilot's landing is graded and color-coded (green/yellow/red) with short comments in regard to the technique or quality of the approach. A pilot's landing performance is described and summarized there for all to see and, of course, to promote excellence and safety. The best grade is a green square with just the date and the LSO's comment, "OK-3". The 'greeney-board' can be a source of pride or embarrassment for a pilot. My "greeney board of life" has been mostly green, and OK-3.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D95XL5MC
• ISBN13: 9798879229325
• Release Date: July 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"