Working on the Flight Deck
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According to Lloyds in London, working on the flight =
deck
of an aircraft carrier is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. On t=
he
flight deck it is loud, crowded and the whole atmosphere is often referred =
to
as 'controlled chaos': Jets are catapulted into the air while others are
landing, bombs and missiles are transported from the 'bomb farm' to parking
aircraft while other planes are taxiing to the catapults or to their parking
locations. Even a little mistake can result in an accident: One can be blown
off the deck or be sucked into one of the planes' engines. Dangers are
everywhere on the flight deck and that is why the people who are working th=
ere
have to be in perfect physical and mental condition.
For someone who is not used to this business it is just overwhelming becaus=
e it
is hard to imagine that there is a well thought-out system behind all deck
operations. Due to the noise created by jet engines and rotors the
communication among the people of the flight deck crew is mostly done throu=
gh
hand signals. These hand signals make up a unique sign language that can
basically be seen as the 'language of the flight deck'.
Below, there is a table that contains the most common signals used by the
Catapult and Plane Handling Officers.
|
Meaning |
Command |
Video Clip |
Photo |
|
Full Power |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
||
|
Brake |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
||
|
Move Forward |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
no photo available=
|
|
|
Go / Launch |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
When this command is shown the
plane will be launched. |
|
|
Pull |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
no photo available=
|
|
|
Lower / Raise Laun=
ch
Bar |
no animation avail=
able |
The signal is used to show the
pilot that he has to lower his aircraft's launch bar so that the plane ca=
n be
hooked up in the catapult. |
no photo available=
|
|
Slow down |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
no photo available=
|
|
|
Stop |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
||
|
Jet Blast Deflecto=
r up |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
The meaning of this signal =
is
that the jet blast deflector behind the plane shall move up so that the
following aircraft aren't blown away. |
no photo available=
|
|
Turn left |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
||
|
Turn right |
<=
!--[if gte vml 1]> |
||
|
Command is turned =
over
to Catapult Officer to complete the launch sequence |
no animation avail=
able |
This signal is use=
d to
show the pilot that the control of the aircraft is turned over from the P=
lane
Director (yellow helmet) to the Catapult Officer (green helmet) |
|
|
I have control |
no animation avail=
able |
This signal is use=
d to
show the pilot that another controller has taken over the control and that
the pilot now has to follow the signals of the new controller. |
|
|
Fold / Spread Wing=
s |
no animation avail=
able |
no video clip
available |
|
|
|
Click here or the picture =
on the
left to view a short clip of the Catapult Officer's final sequence of
handsignals before the plane is catapulted off the deck. |
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