June's Program
By Michael Mossman
Don Roberts, a retired Noblesville schoolteacher, says that he grew up as a plain and simple farm boy from Indiana. His family was very poor and mother died when he was 15; his father died when he was 16. He managed to graduate from high school in 1956 then went to Ball State, where he earned a degree in Industrial Education. He says that everything that he owned he could carry in an A&P shopping bag.
When Roberts was close to graduating from Ball State, he got his draft notice, sending him into a panic. He went to all of the recruiting offices across town, trying to work out a deal. The Navy said that if he joined they would let him finish and graduate before he would be sent to training so he signed up. When Don left Ball State for basic training in the Navy (with degree in hand), it was the first time that he had been out of the state. His total earthly possessions had doubled: everything he owned he could carry in two bags.
Roberts had been fascinated by airplanes since he was a little kid, so when the Navy started asked about what assignments he might be able to do, he jumped at the chance to get into Naval aviation. His first assignment was to the aircraft carrier Essex, which was based at Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
Commissioned in 1942 for duty in World War II, the Essex was originally an attack carrier. In 1959, just one year before Roberts joined the Navy, the Essex was converted to a submarine patrol carrier. At the time it was one of 28 carriers in active duty at the time and the oldest in the Navy. The Essex's 3.5-acre deck was made of wood and metal, and carried two squadrons of FLF Trackers, H34 Sikorsky helicopters, and Skyraiders, all in pursuit of Cold War-era Soviet submarines.
One of the Navy's main aircraft at the time was the Douglas Skyraider, which had a 3,300-h.p. radial engine. Because of the tremendous torque of that massive engine, the airplanes had a tendency to veer to the left so they built the carrier's island on the right side of the ship. Although jet aircraft don't have the same torque problems, the newer carriers are all built with the island on the right.
Within those 3.5 acres of flight deck there were many high-powered propeller aircraft in operation, plus Jeeps, tugs, and all kinds of power equipment — danger was everywhere. Roberts saw several guys get killed on the carrier, all of these deaths were in peacetime. In one instance he was talking to a guy while an airplane came in for a landing. The pilot thought that he missed the arresting cable and throttled up for a go around. Unfortunately, the tail hook caught and the airplane nosed over. The propeller came off and killed the guy that Roberts was talking to.
Because of the dangers, he asked for — and received — a transfer from the flight deck to catapaults. He says that it was so noisy you could scream but not hear anyone and they operated without hearing protection. The catapaults were designed to send a 35,000-pound airplane into the air in three seconds. While testing the catapaults they used to round up some abandoned cars and hurl them out into the sea. He says that they could throw them a quarter mile.
After working in catapaults, Roberts went to Arresting Gear. He continued to see people getting killed so he next went to Fuels, then to the Hangar Deck. He recalls the time when he was ordered to get five very specific bolts for an aircraft nose gear and was told by the supply personnel that there simply were none on the ship. He asked if he could look on his own, so they let him. He didn't find enough so he took some over-size bolts, re-threaded them and cut them down to the proper length (he acknowledged that this wasn't a proper procedure). He brought them back and was given an "atta boy" by his commanding officer, which was about the best positive reinforcement that could be expected. After his work on the hangar deck he was sent back to the flight deck.
Roberts had his share of close calls. He once was operating a Jeep on the carrier. Due to the extremely high noise on the carrier during aircraft operations, it was impossible to hear what someone was saying, so they developed a system of hand signals to assist with movements. The hand taps on a shoulder would tell them to go left or right, but not necessary forward or backward. He backed his Jeep into an aircraft propeller, doing a lot of damage. The guy he was working with was screaming at him to stop but he simply couldn't hear him.
Once, while above the Arctic Circle, Roberts had a job where he had to turn off the equipment along the flight deck at night so that the electrical cables wouldn't fall into the sea or start a fire. To keep from slipping off of the deck he had to hold a flashlight in his mouth to see where he was going and hold onto the rail with both hands, all while checking and turning off equipment.
Reminiscing on the constant dangers, Roberts commented that every evening he got a lecture on farm safety from his father, which probably helped to keep him alive; he claims that they never got them from the Navy.
Always looking for a safer job, he once applied for a job that required a top secret clearance. The Navy did its background research on him and found out that he had a 29-mph speeding ticket back in Noblesville, which automatically disqualified him from getting the clearance. He commented that it was a darn shame that a former Boy Scout couldn't qualify for the job. When the Navy learned that he had been a Boy Scout, they relented by giving him the clearance. Because of the high probability of sailors with clearances being approached by spies or other unfriendly agents, he had to be escorted or be with a buddy any time he was off of the ship.
Although the sailors at that time got special shoes for their work on the ship, they didn't get hard hats and didn't receive any extra hazard pay or life insurance. Always looking for ways to earn a little extra money, his sister sent him a pair of hair clippers from home. He says that he made 50 cents a head cutting hair.
All in all, Roberts worked on each of these sections: V1 Flight Deck, V2 Catapault & Arresting, V3 Hangar Deck, V4 Fuels, and V6 Aircraft Maintenance (V5 section hasn't been used since WW-II).
When carriers put out to sea, they were joined in a task force consisting of the carrier, destroyers, submarines, cruisers and oilers. The oilers were the fuel ships — they carried high octane aviation fuel, Jet A fuel and black oil for the ships' boilers. Because of its size, the carrier was a little bit of each of these types. Each Navy ship had six departments: Operations, Supply, Gunnery, Medical, Engineering and Navigation; The carriers had a seventh, which was the air department. Once, while at sea, Roberts counted 77 ships; there may have been more in the task force that he couldn't see.
During the times the Essex was on submarine patrol, Roberts claims that they caught about 85% of the submarines that they were looking for. Due to the type of communication that the Soviet subs were using, it was too easy for them to find out when they were putting out to see and where they were going. Once, though, they didn't find the sub that they were looking for. Roberts told the story about the time that a guy was on the back of the carrier, smoking a cigarette, when a Soviet sub came up, took a photo of the guy smoking the cigarette, then sent the photo to the Navy to embarrass them.
Roberts claims that the Navy also had their share of opportunities to embarrass the Soviets. One of their favorite exercises was to drop practice depth charges on submarines. Another time, during an exercise, they saw a Russian trawler cruising in towards them, disregarding their warnings to back off. The Navy sent in a destroyer to cut it in half. He says that when it was only 100 yards away it changed course.
The Essex had its share of mishaps, too. Once the carrier hit a whale; Roberts recalled that there was blood and guts everywhere. Another time they got a cable wrapped around one of the ship's propellers. The propellers were solid brass screws weighing tens of thousands of pounds, so it's not possible to remove them at sea to get a cable unsnagged. Roberts says that they backed up the carrier 12 miles to unwind them. Yet another time they got the 33,000-pound anchor cables crossed while in Saudia Arabia.
But the Essex had its share of successful missions. Although the Essex was the oldest carrier in the fleet at the time, they were sent to Cuba for the Bay of Pigs invasion. After that mission, they came back feeling like heroes. But they learned that their sister ship, the Lake Champlain, had been sent out on a very high profile mission, which was picking up Alan Sheppard after his historic orbit around the earth. The Lake Champlain got all of the glory and the Essex's role was nearly forgotten. When the crew asked why they got the most difficult job and the Lake Champlain got the glory work, they were told that it was because the Navy knew that the Essex could always get the job done.
Roberts says that whenever the Essex put out to sea, they always got orders to stay out longer because the Lake Champlain wasn't ready to put out to sea. He claims that he never saw the Lake Champlain have any airplanes on its deck. Once the Essex was at sea for 68 days without seeing land. They pulled into Portugal, where he got a week's vacation, then they went back out to look for submarines.
Roberts had many memorable experiences while on the Essex. He says that they got to teach the Iranian Navy (when they were our ally) how to keep the sea lanes open in time of war. He was in Berlin during the Cold War when the Soviets built the Berlin Wall. He got to travel through the Strait of Gibraltar and see both Spain and Morocco at the same time. He stood on the nose of the ship while at sea (like Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic"). He got to stand in deck in dress uniform as the Essex went past the Statue of Liberty, which he says was a very patriotic gesture. When they went to Pakistan, the terrible smell and extreme poverty made him appreciate his small town Noblesville that he had tried to escape.
During his 78,000 miles of traveling on the Essex, they went to the Equator, where the temperature would be 130 degrees F. He once saw a tsunami, which almost rolled the massive ship over. On the same tour, he might find himself working outdoors while above the Arctic Circle, where the temperature was 40 degrees below zero. Roberts says that the North Atlantic in the winter has the roughest seas anywhere, which are as bad as you hear about. He says that the highest waves ever recorded were 90 feet, 3 inches at an oil derrick in the North Sea. But the Essex regularly had waves that would wash over the flight deck, which was 63 feet above the surface of the water. Those waves had to be at least 70 feet to do that.
One of the most important lessons that Roberts learned in the Navy was the value of leadership. He says that the military conducted its leadership in an orderly fashion. Everyone on the carrier knew what their jobs were; regardless of the job, everyone's objective was to get 100 airplanes off of the carrier then back onto the deck safely. Later in life, Roberts parlayed those leadership lessons into the classroom, where he taught Auto Mechanics and Industrial Arts for 25 years. He also was a past president of EAA Chapter 67 in Noblesville for four years.
Because everyone was so focused on getting those airplane out and back, the mentality of the Navy crew was that they did what they had to when they had to do it, with no regards for eating or sleeping. They would often work 20 hours straight of very strenuous work and miss many meals. Roberts says that he would lose 20 pounds every time they pulled out to sea.
Commenting on the PBS mini series "Carrier," Roberts claims that there was a lot of Hollywood in that production. There are a lot of differences between when he served from 1960 to 1964 and today's Navy. During his service they had no TV on board, no computers, no email, and regular mail went out only about once every two weeks. They didn't have any women serving on board at that time, either. When Roberts got out, the Navy changed the way that they look for submarines. He says that right now the Russian Navy is in a very sad state. Vladimir Putin is trying to put it back together but their economy has been in a shambles. But one think hasn't changed: the flight deck is still dangerous.
In conclusion, Roberts says that if someone is interested in aviation, you can't beat Naval aviation. It's a wonderful experience but you pay the price.
For more information on the carriers listed, visit the web site http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/cv-list1.html
Planning the Fly-In Circuit
My favorite time of the year has arrived — Fly-In season! If you have an aircraft and are looking for places to go, we've got some great locations and events. The following is a list of fly-ins and other aviation events located in Indiana and adjacent states. If you don't have an aircraft but are willing to drive, the list below is round-trip "do-able" in a day. We can't guarantee that every fly-in is listed. Also, we strongly recommend that you contact the event before committing your 100LL. However, we guarantee that if you visit some of these you'll have some great fun.
June 19-22 (Thu-Sun) — Cincinnati — Ford Tri-Motor Tour Stop, Lunken Field (LUK), hosted by EAA Chapter 174, http://www.eaa174.org/, contact EAA 800-843-3612, flytheford@eaa.org
June 20-1 (Fri-Sat) — Marysville OH — Ohio Aerobatic Open, Union County Airport (MRT), 8 a.m.-8 p.m., free event, lunch available, http://www.iac34.com, contact Lorrie Penner, 513-791-7331, penn.lorr@yahoo.com
June 20-22 (Fri-Sun) — Benton Harbor MI — Lest We Forget, Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH), WWII aircraft on display & rides available, B-17 & B25, reenactments throughout the weekend, http://www.swmiairport.com, contact Lee Scherwitz 269-927-3194 x11
June 21 (Sat) — Fourth Annual "Affordable Flying" Open House, Boone County Airport (6I4), Lebanon IN Young Eagles, hog roast, ultralights, R/C models, rides, more. For more information see http://www.booneairport.org
June 21 (Sat) — Midwest Taildraggers Rendezvous — Indianapolis Post Air Airport (7L8), Indianapolis IN. 8:30 to 2 p.m. Continental breakfast and lunch cookout by EAA Chapter 900 Central Indiana Sport Flyers Assocation
June 21 (Sun) — Delaware OH — EAA Vintage 27 Fly In Breakfast, Delaware Municipal (DLZ), 8-10, contact Woody McIntire 614-565-2887, wjmcintire@cs.com
June 22 (Sun) — Franklin IN — JCPA Fly-In Breakfast, Franklin Flying Field (3FK), 8-noon, http://www.franklinflyingfield.com, contact Roy Farris 317-460-5916, info@franklinflyingfield.com
June 22 (Sun) — Niles MI — 22nd Annual Fly-In Breakfast, Jerry Tyler Memorial (3TR) EAA Chapter 865 Hangar, pancakes, sausage, biscuits and sausage gravy, orange juice, coffee and milk, 7-noon. Door prizes, airplane and helicopter rides, http://www.eaachapter865.org, contact Ralph Ballard 269-684-0972, raphyboi02@sbcglobal.net
June 26-29 — Dayton OH — Ford Tri-Motor Tour Stop TBD, Dayton International (DAY), Hosted by EAA Chapter 48, 9-5, http://www.greaterdaytoneaa.org/EAA48Home.htm, http://flytheford.org, contact EAA 1-800-843-3612, flytheford@eaa.org
June 26 (Thu) — Evansville IN — Evansville Freedom Festival, contact Patty Cox 812-455-6642
June 26-29 (Thu-Sun) — Evansville IN — Evansville Freedom Festival, Evansville Regional Airport (EVV), aerial acrobatics and aeronautics, hot air balloons, and Thunder racing that rocks the river. http://www.evansvillefreedomfestival.org/Festival_2008/index.html 812-424-2986
June 27 (Fri) — Dayton OH — Freedom Call Military Tattoo at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., information Sarah Swan at 937-255-3286 or email nationalmuseum.mup@wpafb.af.mil, http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
June 28 (Sat) — Noblesville IN — Chapter 67 Annual Pancake Breakfast, Noblesville Airport. Contact Jon Ogle 317-443-7235, jogle@ori.net, http://www.eaa67.org
June 29 (Sun) — Hillsdale, MI — Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, Hillsdale Municipal Airport, (JYM) pancakes, sausage, coffee, juice and milk, Centennial Car Club Display, all new Flight Design CTLS, Saturday evening camping, contact James Scheibner 517-437-4755, james@hillsdaleaero.com
June 29-July 5 (Sun-Sat) — Dayton OH — American Navion Society, Ltd National Convention Moraine Airpark (I73), contact Alyce Rankin 360-910-7895, flynavion@yahoo.com, http://www.navionsociety.org
July 4 (Fri) — Mattoon IL — Coles County Airport Day, contact Andrew Fern 217-234-7120
July 4-6 (Fri-Sun) — Battle Creek MI — Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show & Balloon Festival, contact Barbara Haluzkwa 269-962-0592
July 5 (Sat) — Rensselear IN — EAA Chapter 828 Fly-In, Jasper County Airport (RZL), Ham and bean dinner start serving at 11 a.m., classic car show adjacent to airport, contact Richard Smith 219-253-7609, rsmith@vogel-real-estate.com
July 5-6 (Sat-Sun) — Traverse City MI — National Cherry Festival Airshow, contact Robert Buttlemen 231-463-6903
July 11-12 (Fri-Sat) — Mattoon IL — Wings Weekend, Coles County Airport (MTO), information Dale Rust 217-524-5269 or e-mail Dale.Rust@illinois.gov
July 11-13 (Fri-Sun) — Detroit MI — Detroit APBA Gold Cup, contact Bill Rands 313-881-0271
July 12 (Sat) — Kankakee IL — EAA Chapter #1159 Fly-in Hog Roast, Greater Kankakee Airport (KIKK), http://www.airnav.com/airport/KIKK, http://www.theultralightplace.com/2008_fly_INhtm
July 12 (Sat) — Mt. Vernon IL — Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast, Mt. Vernon Airport (KMVN), Biscuits & gravy, pancakes and sausage 8-11 a.m., $5 per person, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMVN
July 19 (Sat) — Gary IN — 2008 South Shore Air Show, contact Adrienne Shoka 219-989-7770
July 19-20 (Sat-Sun) — Dayton OH — Vectren Dayton Air Show, http://usats.org/home.html or Brenda Kerfoot 937-898-5901 ext. 1
July 28-Aug. 3 (Mon-Sun) — Oshkosh, WS — AirVenture 2008, http://www.airventure.org/
Aug. 2 (Sat) — Mt. Vernon IL — Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast, Mt. Vernon Airport (KMVN), Biscuits & gravy, pancakes and sausage, 8-11 a.m., $5 per person, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMVN
Aug. 9 (Sat) — Westfield IN — Indy-Flyer's Fly-in, Westfield, Indiana Airport (I72), http://www.airnav.com/airport/I72
Aug. 9-10 (Sat-Sun) — Ypsilanti MI — Thunder Over Michigan, contact Kevin Walsh 734-637-8880
Aug. 10 (Sun) — Sandusky OH — EAA Chapter 50 12th Annual Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, Griffing-Sandusky Airport (SKY), Scrambled eggs, sausage, orange juice, pancakes and coffee. $5, Kids $3, http://www.airnav.com/airport/SKY, 3115 Cleveland Rd. Sandusky OH, contact Don Hostetler 440-258-1761, loclas@hotmaILcom, Website: http://www.eaa50.org/calendar.htm
Aug. 16-17 (Sat-Sun) — Chicago IL — City of Chicago Air & Water Show, contact Rudy Malnati 312-744-9537
Aug. 20 (Wed) — Paoli IN — Paoli Airport Aviation Day, Paoli Airport (I42), 8 a.m. 4 p.m., http://www.paoliairport.homestead.com/AviationDay2005.html
Aug. 23-24 (Sat-Sun) — Mansfield OH — Mid Eastern Fly-in, Web Site http://www.merfi.info/
Aug. 23-24 (Sat-Sun) — Indianapolis IN — Indianapolis Air Show, Mt. Comfort Airport (KMQJ), Light Aircraft Information: http://www.geocities.com/indyflyers2/airshow.html, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMQJ, Information: http://www.indyairshow.org/
Aug. 23 (Sat) — Alpena MI — Wings Over Alpena Air Show. Details pending.
Aug. 29 (Fri) — Dayton OH — Giant Scale Radio Controlled Model Aircraft Airshow, information Sarah Swan 937-255-3286 or e-mail nationalmuseum.usaf@wpafb.mil, Website: http://wwwnationalmuseum.af.mil
Aug. 30 (Sat) — Marion IN — 18th Annual Fly/in Cruise/IN, Marion Municipal Airport (MZZ), 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., information http://www.FlyInCruiseINcom
Aug. 31 (Sun) — Cleveland OH — Cleveland National Air Show, Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL), http://www.airnav.com/airport/BKL, contact Dan Biggs 216-781-0747 or email info@clevelandlandairshow.com, Website: www.clevelandairshow.com
Sept. 1-7 (Mon-Sun) — Galesburg IL — National Stearman Fly-In, Galesburg Municipal Airport (KGBG), http://www.airnav.com/airport/KGBG, Website: http://www.stearmanflyINcom/
Sept. 6 (Sat) — Nulltown IN — Nulltown Wing Nuts Hog Roast/Fly-in, Nulltown Wingnuts Ultralight Flightpark, (73II), http://www.airnav.com/airport/73II
Sept. 6 (Sat) — Waukegan IL — Waukegan Regional Air Show. Details pending.
Sept. 6 (Sat) — Mt. Vernon IL — Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast, Mt. Vernon Airport (KMVN), Biscuits & gravy, pancakes and sausage, 8-11 a.m., $5 per person, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMVN
Sept. 12-14 (Fri-Sun) — Hastings MI — Michigan Air Tour 2008, Hastings Airport (9D9), Information Chet & Patti Uncapher 616-748-1013, http://www.airnav.com/airport/9D9, miaviation.org
Sept. 13-24 (Sat-Wed) — Monument Valley, Utah — Indy-Flyer's Monument Valley trip. Contact Mark Poliak mpoliak@netdirect.net or Dean Batman wdbatman@juno.com
Sept. 13-14 (Sat-Sun) — Cincinnati OH — Blue Ash Airport Days, contact Cheryl Popp 513-489-2022
Sept. 13 (Sat) — Frankenmuth MI — Frankenmuth Campout, Tiny Zahnder Field (66G), Last blast of the flying season, http://www.airnav.com/airport/66G, Information 989-288-3090
Sept. 20-21 (Sat-Sun) — Scott AFB IL — Scott Air Show, contact Robert Simpson 618-256-3609
Sept. 20 (Sat)— Coshocton OH — Coshocton Air Show. Details pending.
Sept. 21 (Sun) — Owosso MI — Owosso Airport Association Fall Fly-In, Owosso Community Airport (KRNP), Fall Fly-In- Pancakes, sausage, eggs, and lots of planes, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KRNP. Contact Julie MacKay 989-743-4519, lelittle@charter.net
Sept. 27 (Sat) — Wood, Fabric & Tailwheels Fly-In — Lee Bottom Field, Hanover IN (64I)
Sept. 29 (Mon) — Berrien Springs MI — Pancake Breakfast and Fly-In, Andrews University Airpark (C20), http://www.airnav.com/airport/C20, Information 269-471-3120
Oct. 4 (Sat) — Mt. Vernon IL — Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast, Mt. Vernon Airport (KMVN), Biscuits & gravy. pancakes and sausage, 8-11 a.m., $5 per person, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMVN
Oct. 11 (Sat) — Noblesville IN — EAA Chapter 67 Fly In/Drive-in BBQ, Noblesville Airport, food served during open hours. Normal aircraft attendance 40 planes with a mixture of homebuilts and factory examples, warbirds, Stearmans, T-6 and Yaks. Contact Jon Ogle 317-443-7235, jogle@ori.net, http://www.eaa67.org
Oct. 11 — Seymour Airport Awareness Day — Seymour IN. Details pending
Nov. 1 (Sat) — Mt. Vernon IL — Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast, Mt. Vernon Airport (KMVN), Biscuits & gravy. pancakes and sausage, 8-11 a.m., $5 per person, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMVN
Dec 17 (Sat) — Mt. Vernon IL — Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast, Mt. Vernon Airport (KMVN), Biscuits & gravy. pancakes and sausage, 8-11 a.m., $5 per person, http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMVN
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