THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9511010477
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: My Turn
SOURCE: Jack Dorsey
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
At last week's ``Wings of Gold'' symposium in Virginia Beach, 500 naval aviators, from fledglings to the retired, gathered to hear the latest news about their profession.
Clearly, the newly unveiled F/A-18 Hornet ``E'' models grabbed everyone's attention.
Rear Adm. Brent Bennitt, director of air warfare for the Navy, talked about this ``Super Hornet'' as being the Navy's future. Iin fact, he bet even the Air Force would be tempted to buy it one day. Over the years, the Navy may buy more than 1,000 of them for $60 billion.
Then there was talk about the F-14 Tomcat's new role as a bomber. It could be almost as good as the newly configured F/A-18, some said.
And they discussed the modifications planned for the E-2C Hawkeye radar plane, taking the ``eyes of naval aviation'' to at least the year 2015. After that, maybe the F/A-18 could perform the airborne early warning mission, some declared.
There was even talk of the C-2 Greyhound being upgraded. It's that venerable passenger and cargo prop aircraft that provides such a vital supply link between the carriers and shore. Fortunately, no one brought up the potential for the F/A-18 to perform that mission as well. At least not publicly.
On and on the speakers went, discussing plans for: S-3 Vikings; EA-6B Harriers; P-3 Orion maritime patrol planes; the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor plane; the progress being made in the JAST project, a joint service development program for a new strike aircraft beyond the F/A-18.
In nearly every instance, someone always returned to the F/A-18 to compare.
Finally, grabbing the lectern with one hand and the microphone with the other, a program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command in Washington pulled himself up on stage.
``Has anybody noticed there are some helicopter pilots here, too,'' he asked the audience, try ing to elicit some interest in his part of the aviation pie.
The program manager, a civilian who logged countless flight hours in the H-53 Sea Stallion when he was on active duty, and another helicopter pilot who specializes in H-46 Sea Knights, told the aviators of some of the vital issues affecting the helicopter community today.
It would be a nice if the Pentagon would agree to fund an air conditioner for the H-3 Sea King, said one of the pilots - bringing laughter from the others, most probably Hornet drivers.
And there's a problem with flat tires and broken wheel rims too, he said, as he listed some of the shortcomings in the elder helicopters. No one can explain why the Navy links the failure rates of tires and broken wheel rims to flight hours, he noted. That brought a little more laughter from the audience.
But then the civilian program manager went in for the kill.
As he listed the plans to upgrade the H-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, telling the pilots there should be enough money to at least keep them in spare tires, he admitted one failure in the H-53 helicopter series.
It is well-known that the three-engine, 12-ton helicopter that can carry nearly twice its weight has been a mainstay to the Marine Corps as a heavy-assault aircraft. The Navy's versions of it have succeeded in clearing the Suez Canal, Red Sea and Persian Gulf of mine threats. It is capable of carrying 38 troops. It has flown across the United States non-stop, gulping fuel five times from an airborne KC-130 tanker during one 18 1/2-hour flight.
Quite a machine, the program manager said, as he wound up his brief.
But the H-53 series does have a failure, he said. But just one.
``As hard as we've tried, the one thing the H-53 cannot lift is the F/A-18's budget.'' by CNB