Silent Jettison
VFA-27
By Lt. Cmdr. James Wilson Lt. Daniel Barringer Lt. Dillon Hamrick
It was June 19, 2021, and I was scheduled to fly in the first event of the day as the primary tanker. It was a short cycle and the weather was clear. The aircraft I would be flying for the event was last flown June 8 and had been in the hangar bay for maintenance since then. There were no remarkable gripes on the aircraft and nothing was out of the ordinary during preflight. During the start sequence prelaunch, I did not note anything unusual during my aircraft’s external tank transfer checks. I placed each external tank switch into “ORIDE” (override) individually and waited for the “EXT TNK” (external tank) caution to display on the “DDI” (digital display indicators) before returning the respective switch to “NORM” (normal). Then I waited for the caution signal to disappear before testing the next switch. The transfer check process from start to finish was unremarkable. At one point during my startup, a troubleshooter had to plug into the aircraft to help with the Link 16 network. Initially, I was unable to get into the network, and the guidance was to remain on deck until I achieved network entry. Eventually, with the troubleshooter’s assistance, I was able to enter the network, which would end up being more important than I could have possibly imagined at the time.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Samantha Jetzer
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Quinton Lee
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As the primary tanker, I was the first Super Hornet launched off the deck for the event. I executed Case 1 departure procedure, then climbed to 8,000 feet mean sea level and remained within 10 miles of the aircraft carrier.
