Tomorrow – a hush will fall over Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base as 14 Navy F-18 jets - Hornets and Super Hornets - take off for a final time.
Flying them will be Navy pilots who just finished two weeks of daily exercises at the Avon Park Air Force Range. The Navy contingent also included 22 instructors and 150 maintainers - or maintenance crew - from the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia.
Before they flew out - WUSF’s Bobbie O’Brien joined the naval aviators on MacDill’s flight-line.The daily roar of Navy F-18 jet engines is not a common sound around MacDill Air Force Base – which is home to the Air Force KC-135 strato-tankers and 6th Air Mobility Wing. But Navy Lt. Nate Miller says MacDill and the nearby Avon Park range are ideal for the 14 pilots he’s training.
MILLER: we’re basically here to train the new F-18 pilots who are going to go out in the fleet in the next probably about 5 to 6 months.
The 31 year old pilot has done three deployments to Afghanistan -- the Navy calls them sea tours -- where he provided combat air support. Miller says all of their instructors have combat experience.
MILLER: So we are teaching low altitude tactics how to fly basically between 200-500 feet for different ingress and egress out of a target area. We’re working close air support. Those are our two main basic training objectives – the air to ground and close air support.
REPORTER: YOU’RE DOING TRAINING RUNS BUT WHEN YOU THINK NAVY PILOTS YOU’RE KNOWN FOR HAVING TO LAND ON AIR CRAFT CARRIERS.
MILLER: it’s when you come back to the boat the flying is very different. You know on my way home I have a lot to think about I’m going to have to have to go back and land on the boat which is very challenging and stressful, very rewarding but very challenging experience.
REPORTER: DO YOU MARK OUT THE LENGTH OF AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER AND CHALLENGE YOUR TRAINEES TO LAND WITHIN THAT MARGIN.
MILLER: We don’t do that here. We do that back at our Naval Air station Oceana. every single time you come back there’s basically a small box that’s on the runway and we kind of treat that as like practicing to land.
On the runway are dozens of support personnel.
Jessica Clayton is holds the rank of AM3 in the Navy. That stands for Airframe Structural Mechanic 3rd Class. Land O Lakes is actually home for her so she was disappointed with the 50 degree rainy weather.
CLAYTON: I was ready to be sporting my flip flops and shorts coming from Virginia but not this time.
REPORTER: SO WHAT’S IT LIKE DOING MAINTENANCE.
CLAYTON: I love it. As somebody who is 20 years old without a college degree I feel like it’s a good way to put your foot in the world and shows that you can still make something out of yourself and contribute to society.
REPORTER: AND BEING A WOMAN IN THE NAVY.
CLAYTON: There’s not a real big difference. I mean you have to try a little harder but it’s worth it at the end of the day.
She’s never served aboard an aircraft carrier – so Clayton is really looking forward to her upcoming “boat deck” – a term for a 3 or 4 day detachment aboard ship.
It’ll be several more months before pilot trainee, Lt. Nick Adams is assigned to a ship. He and Navy instructor Lt. Kevin Loughmiller had just returned from a flight. They still wore their flight helmets as they headed into a debriefing.
LOUGHMILLER: strictly a training mission for him practicing laser guided weapons. We have some laser guided training grounds
REPORTER: SO HOW DID IT GO FOR YOU?
ADAMS: We haven’t had the debrief yet so we’ll se what he says there.
REPORTER: SO WHEN YOU DID THE CLOSE AIR SUPPORT WHAT WAS IT LIKE FLYING DOWN AT 200 FEET IN THIS KIND OF JET?
ADAMS: It’s pretty mind blowing. Really up at altitude when you’re fast you don’t’ have the ground rush but the lower you get the faster stuff gets moving. It’s just kind of mind blowing being that close to the ground and seeing all that stuff move by you so fast.
Once the 14 navy pilots have completed all their training, Lt. Miller says there is one last challenge.
MILLER: at the very end they’ll do 16 arrested landings on an aircraft carrier and then we say ‘Okay, you guys are ready to go out and be naval aviators.’