C-17 Tactical Approach into San Clemente NALF

For you pilots out there, a good U-Tube video of Tactical Approach to NALF.
Enjoy

That approach looked to high/steep for a successful landing.

<That approach looked to high/steep for a successful landing.>

Many military landing profiles assume small arms fire near the landing zone .

Did you notice he popped the reversers in flight!!!!!

I agree it looks like if the maneuver was suppose to end in a straight in landing, they were to high to do it. I can't believe that they would circle a hostile land at that low altitude.

This video was training or a demo so maybe a straight in landing was not intended.

Still interesting to watch what looks like reverse thrust being used inflight.

In times past experiments were done in transport aircraft approaching an airport with landing flaps and idle power to reduce noise. The steep approach and uncertainties of engine response ended this program.

I'm not sure if this exercise went slightly wrong or, they assume the airport and perimeter are well enough protected to allow a tight R/H circuit for landing, anyway the I found the video very entertaining, especially the in flight selection of reverse thrust, O boy did she shudder or what?, they must have to override a few safety features to allow that selection.

It's not something I would like to do, my sinuses can't handle that kind of abuse anymore, we did a few rapid descents with the VSI pegged out when I was flight engineer on the big freighters, it'd bloody painful!!

We fish around this island. Great yellowtail and White Seabass. On occasion tuna, yellowfin and bluefin plus albicore.

When they do practice bombings, they chase you away.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Nice vid, but as I am retired A.F. are you showing classified info by showing cockpit instrumentation and heads up display?

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It looked to me like it was made by the unit's PR guy.

Where were you stationed?

Richard

Williams, Elmendorf, then Alaska Air National Guard Combat Search and Rescue

robbie said:

...I found the video very entertaining, especially the in flight selection of reverse thrust, O boy did she shudder or what?, they must have to override a few safety features to allow that selection.

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Very doubtful they had to disable anything. It is very likely that is the way they do it...I seriously doubt he was just being a "cowboy" and doing it his own way. Those are military aircraft and they are made to perform in ways civilian aircraft have no need. With that said, there are many civilian turboprops that are certified for reverse(props) in flight.

The planes (civilian) I've flown on and once flew, used spoilers to destroy the wings' lift so to quickly reduce elevation.

Baker said:

Those are military aircraft and they are made to perform in ways civilian aircraft have no need. With that said, there are many civilian turboprops that are certified for reverse(props) in flight.

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I recall a Lauda B767 flying Sydney - Vienna was lost over Thailand mid flight when one engine went into reverse thrust. Published cockpit conversation reports showed first officer wanting to talk to the ground technicians, the Captain was certain it was a malfunctioning warning. It wasn`t.

If memory serves me...USCG C-130s use(or used to) reverse thrust while still airborne on extremely short runways (at least I think that's what my fixed wing friends used to say)...I believe they had to override the weight on wheels switch somehow to do it.

anyway...how hard an it be to land on something that big that's not moving????

I expected to see a landing out of this approach so I guess I don't see what the fuss was about. Anyone can do a steep descent to a go-around.

With 2000 hours in a C-130 we did steep approaches but not to that degree. Though I saw no action in Vietnam, it was routine when landing at a forward operating base when small arms fire was a possibility, to do a circling desending maneuver over the field to reduce the possibilty of small arms hits. A steep descent to a landing as shown in the video would be impossible without vectored thrust, as least in any aircraft I've flown. I think the procedure the guys use would be a circling descent described above and perhaps a steep descent to within about a mile of the runway then a normal descent to a landing.

Reverse thrust in flight was available on the DC-8 to increase descent rates with the low by-pass engines using the inboard engines and idle thrust only.

Probably a more effective maneuver to reduce altitude is flying in a slip or cross controlling. We did that in the C-130 to increase descent rates and though I won't admit to it, I've heard it done in the B-737 and Fokker F-28.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Williams, Elmendorf, then Alaska Air National Guard Combat Search and Rescue

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I was at Aviano, Ramstein, Soesterberg, March, Eielson, and Scott.

I regret that I did not make more of an effort to join ak nat guard at eil in thier support of ak tanker task force.

The STOL airplane in the Navy Test Pilot School stable was (maybe still is) a single Otter. One of the handling qualities assessments was a short field landing where the airplane is put into a partial stall on approach. Push the nose over and blip the throttle just prior to touchdown...be careful about that big ol' prop.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Williams, Elmendorf, then Alaska Air National Guard Combat Search and Rescue

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Elmendorf 1970-1974. I worked on airborne electronics on F-4's, C-130's and HH-3 choppers. I spent most of my time fishing, skiing, hunting and playing at some of the bars in Anchorage.

Loved it up there.