Aug. 25, 2016 - Washington Surveyor

WASHINGTON SURVEYOR THE

August 25, 2016

By MC3 Alora Blosch

STEAM

SNIPES SMALL SHOP PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN HELPING LAUNCH AIRCRAFTS

By MC3 Bryan Mai

ma i n ta i n i n g

thelightning SUSTAINING THE NAVY’S NEWEST AIRCRAFT

By MC3 Wyatt Anthony

onthe deckp lates Recap of the 2016 rio olympics

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 20, 2016) Logistics Specialist Seaman Rebecca Ayala, from Orlando, Florida, plays the flute while Air Traffic Controlman 3rd Class Ruby Wesby, from Athens, Georgia, holds the microphone during a ‘George Washington’s Got Talent’ event in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). George Washington, homeported in Norfolk, is underway conducting carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean.

Photo by MC2 Jennifer O’Rourke

PHOTO of the DAY

By M c 3 A l o ra B l o s c h

STEAMSNIPES SMALL SHOP PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN HELPING LAUNCH AIRCRAFTS

T

hey walk into their space and immediately beads of sweat form on their foreheads. They check gauges looking at the steam pressure and levels. Sweat begins to roll down their back, while they log information from the past hour. As the catapult sounds overhead, they know they are doing something important.

Machinist’s mates working in the catapult steam shop, or ‘Steam Snipes,’ operate as the go-between for Reactor and Air departments to launch aircraft aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).

“There are two positions as a Steam Snipe,” said Machinist Mate 2nd Class Elliot Schumacher, from Engineering Department. “Catapult supervisors are the watch supervisors and technical experts. They are in charge of maintaining all the equipment to store steam in order to launch birds. Catapult machinists operate the catapult valves, stand watch, and maintain piping valves and air reducing stations. They reduce the air pressure that Reactor sends in order to have the correct pressure to operate the components.”

Steam Snipes reduce the high air

pressure from Reactor. They monitor the different valves and gauges to ensure there isn’t a steam leak, which can severely injure personnel and damage equipment.

“Our shop has a lot of talent,” said Schumacher. “We advanced the most people in our division and we are the smallest shop.”

Machinist’s Mate Fireman Ashley Gunnoe just qualified as catapult supervisor and is the only fireman on board to have that qualification. Sailors showing proficiency as a catapult mechanic must prove their knowledge in

a board to become fully qualified as a catapult supervisor.

“It’s more of a privilege than anything,” said Gunnoe. “You have to know everything about the systems, because when your catapult mechanic has a question, you need to be able to answer it or know exactly where to find the information to answer it. It’s an honor that they trust me with that. I’m proud to say I’m the only Fireman Catapult Supervisor on this vessel.”

Steam Snipes have an important and rare job aboard aircraft carriers. Before nuclear energy, engineers did all the steam work for the catapults.

“We receive steam from Reactor

and give it to V-2 in order to operate the catapults,” said Schumacher.

“Originally, when carriers didn’t have Reactor, Engineering was it, but now we maintain the equipment and take on the middleman role. Working with main steam as a machinist’s mate doesn’t really happen, so this is as close as I can

get without being in Reactor.”

Steam Snipes play a vital role in the overall mission of George Washington.

Without them, aviation boatswain’s mates wouldn’t be able to launch aircraft from the flight deck.

“The whole point of an aircraft carrier is to launch aircraft,” said Gunnoe. “We work hard, long hours, and it’s hot, but it’s worth it because we launch planes. We see what we do and ensure the mission is complete.”

“I have been working as a mechanic my whole life,” said Schumacher. “I can’t imagine a time when I wasn’t turning wrenches.

I love my job. It plays a huge part of launching aircraft. I get to help protect my country and, without the catapults, we couldn’t do any of that.”

By M C 3 B r ya n M a i

MAINTAINING THELIGHTNING S U STA I N I N G T H E N AV Y ’ S N E W EST A I R C RA F T

I

n the 100-plus years since it was introduced, U.S. naval aviation has gone through many generations of various aircraft. Each generation of aircraft has always needed Sailors to maintain the functionality and mission readiness of the Navy’s squadrons.

The Navy’s newest aircraft, the F-35C Lightning II carrier variant, is no different than its predecessors.

It was even designed with sustainment in mind by having key components easily accessible to maintainers to cut down on the aircraft downtime, such as the reverse orientation of the canopy, which enables easier access to remove or maintain the ejection seat.

“There are some things easier and some things harder when it comes to maintenance on the F-35 when compared to the F/A-18 Super Hornet,” said Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Matthew Knox, assigned to the Grim Reapers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101. “For example,

we went back to a tank style fuel tank for the F-35C instead of a bladder style fuel tank, which makes maintenance a lot easier whereas removing an engine is a lot easier for an F/A-18.”

The F-35C is currently in its third developmental testing phase (DT– III) aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), which

involves the last phase of Fleet carrier tests. The Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 are conducting DT-III, while VFA-101 aircraft and pilots conducted initial at-sea qualifications, Aug. 14-17.

“You need more people to work on an F-35C, whereas you can use a

smaller crew to work on an F/A-18,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Charles Ayala, of VFA-101.

Since the F-35C is still in its developmental testing phases, the engineers who designed the aircraft will take feedback from maintainers like Knox and Ayala into consideration to refine it further.

“The F-35C doesn’t break as often as the F/A-18 does,” said Ayala.

The F-35C L i g h t n i n g II will be complemented by the F/A18E/F Super Hornet and will replace legacy aircraft F/A18C/D Hornets.

“The biggest lesson we learned by coming out to the George Washington was that we could do this,” said Ayala. “Of course, there are hiccups and there are things that need to be addressed, like problems of being at sea and the work equipment, but it’s definitely not going to fail. It’s not going to be just an expeditionary jet because it’ll be replacing the Hornets.”

CVN MAZE

GAMES CROSSWORD

HARD SUDOKU SUDOKU

Department: Supply/S-2 Most Memorable Moment :

Learning the kitchen

Hobbies: Swimming, cooking and playing video games

Department: Admin/X-1 Favorite Sports Team: Ohio State Buckeyes Hobbies: Reading books about History and going to museums

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June 25TH 2016

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The Washington Surveyor is an authorized publication for Sailors serving aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73).

Contents herein are not the visions of, or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of USS George Washington. All news releases, photos or information for publication in The Washington Surveyor must be submitted to the Public Affairs Officer (7726).