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An inspection team from Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic (CNAL) visited USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), Jan. 10 - 14, to conduct a periodic inspection of the ship’s air department and their progress toward flight deck certification as the command nears completion of a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Huntington-Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding.
During a 120 day benchmark visit, CNAL inspects training jackets, equipment and tools to ensure that Ford will be ready for flight deck certification - a U.S. Navy requirement to launch and recover aircraft from an aircraft carrier.
“The department has been diligently working towards ensuring that we have completed all the necessary schools, have all the required equipment and our training jackets are squared away ahead of the inspection,” said Chief Warrant Officer Sean Devereaux, air department’s crash and salvage bos’n. “We have also been conducting flight deck drills. Accomplishing all these things are vital to the success of the entire Ford team.”
Ford is expected to recommence flight operations this Spring, to continue to support the Fleet with carrier qualifications for Fleet and Student Naval Aviators, and then to commence work-ups with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 and the rest of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group.
Ford is the first aircraft carrier built with Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) to conduct flight operations with a variety of fixed wing aircraft including the C-2A Greyhounds, E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets and E/A-18G Growlers.
“Having a fully certified flight deck is what allows us to function as an aircraft carrier,” said Devereaux. “Without being certified, we would diminish the country’s ability to respond to world-wide threats and it would add a great deal of strain on the fleet. We aren’t about to let that happen.”
“Air department as a whole has been conducting flight deck fire drills as well as various fuel-centric drills to prepare for upcoming graded evolutions,” added Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Jones, air department’s aircraft handler. “Ford has integrated over 22 brand new systems into design in-order to bring a next generation warship to the American people and pave the way for years to come.”
According to Ford’s aircraft handler, one of the many objectives of Ford’s new design is to create a platform that can support more efficient flight operations. Some of these implementations include: two consolidated hangar bays, in-deck fueling stations, advanced weapons elevators, and an island that is located further aft on the flight deck. These design changes create new watch stations required for Ford too and will be evaluated by the CNAL inspection team.
“The flight deck certification process on Ford is a bit different from that of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier,” said Devereaux. “Ultimately it comes down to manning differences and upgraded equipment. Each of these components changes the way we are graded and will shape the certification process for all the future Ford-class aircraft carriers to come.”
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2022 11:18 |
| Story ID: | 414252 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 185 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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