Black Ops 3arc Unlock
Bradly Brauer
159413 VS-21 CAG bird Aeromaster sheet 48-550: I have a lot of flight time in this aircraft...in fact I flew her out of the paint barn after we painted on the new black tail design. This is a straight S-3B...so we could still do ASW in this aircraft.
160124 VS-38 Outlaw Viking Aeromaster sheet 48-550: Straight S-3B that could still do ASW. Only big difference was the addition of the flying saucer SATCOM antenna on the rear upper fuselage. Other than that....she's a normal S-3B (on the outside).
Perhaps a better way to refer to it would be 'unusual looking', between the combination of large, podded, underwing engine and the HUGE oversized empennage, it its extremely distinctive. I actually meant no disrespect to the airplane, though it may have seemed that way. I think it is/was a truly cool plane.
Another question about this topic. Is the backseater a pilot or NFO (not sure if that is the correct term). It would seem to me that the best use would be for front and rear seaters to be pilots. Just a thought.
The reason you don't have two pilots is cost and ability to keep qualified at the boat. You need so many passes (day and night) to keep in qual flying around the boat....if you double the pilots you have a lot more suffling needs to happen to do to keep everyone qualified. The E-2 community has figured it out but they have a pilots ratio that accounts for this . When the S-3 first started flying....it was crewed by two pilots up front (and a NFO/TACCO & AW/SENSO in the backseats). The community soon found out it was tough to keep the pilots qualified for carrier landings...eventually removing one of the pilots and replacing the front right seat with a NFO (COTAC). From a big Navy side...it cost more to produce a pilot than a NFO...so there was cost savings there as well. It all comes down to $$$.
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