It’s no secret that landing an airplane on an aircraft carrier isn’t easy. It’s the stuff of Tom Cruise flicks and Discovery Channel specials. And even the best pilots need to practice. In fact, for every carrier landing a Naval Aviator logs, he or she has done at least a dozen field landings simulating the carrier environment. This Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) generally takes place at “outlying” fields away from the main air station so as not to unduly clog up the traffic patterns.
But the east coast Navy has a problem. Cultural sprawl around Virginia Beach has forced officials to look for an alternative to the current outlying field at Fentress. FCLPs happen ’round the clock (like ice time for little league hockey in Michigan), and folks don’t like jets flying over their heads at three in the morning.
So the Navy’s looking for another spot. They thought they had a line on a couple of good locations in North Carolina in either Beaufort or Washington county, but those were shot down by Senator Elizabeth Dole, who cited the Navy’s failure “to adequately address environmental and safety concerns about allowing fighter jets to land near a wildlife refuge.” (Read “rich and influential retirees don’t want noisy jets around them.”)
But fear not. AP is reporting that Senator John Warner has suggested a site outside of Richmond, near Fort Pickett. And William D. Coleburn, the local mayor, loves the idea.
Were used to the artillery sounds, the booms at night at Fort Pickett, its the sound of freedom, Coleburn said. This is a different sound, but if its a different sound that also makes the cash registers ring and employs people, I would be interested in listening.
Patriotism ain’t dead yet, folks.
(Gouge: NC)
(Photo: F9 Panther Cougar doing FCLPs at Miramar way before the Marines came in a wrecked the place.)
– Ward
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Ward, you are a funny guy! Semper Fi!
(wimper wimper, whine whine) “rich and influential residents might not want noisy jets flying around them at 3 in the morning”. Like that mayor said, its the sound of freedom
Hey El Toro was needed as Orange County Internationl Airport! Oh wait, that didn’t happen. It was needed to become Irvine II Yuppie Boogaloo.
Semper? What does that mean
“….before the Marines came in a wrecked the place” – well of course. It was probably way too nice….Not enough fuel and oil leak stains on the concrete to start with.
Not JUST rich residents. Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, a migratory stop for something like 80,000 geese and swans, is nearby. Is it standard practice for Navy pilots to fly through flocks of geese when doing touch-and-goes?
Krazmo,
Hey, check out the F-35 post comments down the page a bit, there’s a clown there by the name of irturk, claims bird strikes not a problem for modern mil airframes. No worries!
I very well may be wrong here. But if people do not like the sound of jet aircraft overhead… then why the heck did they buy a house near the flight pattern? That’s like going to an aquarium, and complaining because you don’t like fish. Let’em move or tell’em to shut up.
.
I also wonder how much the value of their homes will increase, if they can reduce/eliminate the air traffic?
The swept wing configuration on the aircraft in the photo would make it an F-9 Cougar, not a Panther. Just an FYI.
Good catch, TB.
Krazmo, if there are 80,000 ducks there then nobody will miss a couple. ;)
Hey El Toro was needed as Orange County Internationl Airport! Oh wait, that didn’t happen. It was needed to become Irvine II Yuppie Boogaloo.
My brother used to have a house in Aliso Viejo- on El Toro’s flightpath. Those f18′s SCREAMED. Really bad- much worse than 747′s or even gunfire.
Other FCLP sites for Navy:
No CA, near Sacramento CA.
Modesto CA area
Reno NV
El Centro CA
Tuscon AZ
Maui HI
Kona HI
VT, NH, ME, Upstate NY, MA, PA.
PR
Reuse idle airport, Gen Av space NOT being used.
Seattle WA area
29 Palms CA area.
Red Rock NV
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