First WTI Arresting Gear landing exercise of WTI successful

[thedrifter]

First WTI Arresting Gear landing exercise of WTI successful
Submitted by: MCAS Yuma
Story Identification Number: 200310913036
Story by Pfc. Natasha S. Green



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz.(Oct. 9,2003) -- Two machines attached by a cable and anchored on opposite sides of a landing strip prepare to stop an F-18 weighing thousands of pounds -- in mid-flight.

Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron-473 train nearly every day to make sure the landing is a success.

Sept. 25 was the first M-21 Arresting Gear exercise for the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course.

A group of Marine Wing Support Group-47 Marines were given the chance to get an intimate look at the first "trap," or arrestment, of WTI by watching the action from the gear site.

During the exercise the gear is tested and Marines train to use the gear for emergency situations and aircraft carrier landing, said Sgt. Scott Zank, an MWSS-473 expeditionary airfield specialist.

The M-21 stops aircraft in a shorter time period and with less landing space, said Zank. The aircraft's tail hook grabs a cable, which is attached to two machines. When the tail hook is secured, the machines hold the cable while it stretches to accommodate the aircraft's speed and weight, and eventually stops the aircraft.

The Marines on the ground have to practice setting the gear up quickly and accurately. The pilots must get into the correct position for the aircraft's tail hook to grab the cable. When these two things are accomplished, the M-21 can conduct a landing safely.

"We try to get out there everyday for the training," said Zank.

The purpose of conducting arrestments is to prepare the Marines for real situations, where an aircraft may need to make an emergency landing or abort a take-off, he said. The gear may also be used to land aircraft on runways that do not have enough landing space.

"It is easier to use this gear instead of going out to the middle of nowhere and building a long runway. The M-21 can help land the aircraft on a short runway," said Zank. When the Marines are ready to leave the area, they can pack up the M-21 gear and go.

"The arrestments help to get these Marines familiar with the equipment," said Zank. "These are reservists out here. They don't get to do this all of the time."

The M-21 can be used on the entire inventory of Navy and Marine Corps fixed-winged aircraft with tail hooks, he added. The gear can also be easily transported; the M-21 can go anywhere the aircraft can go.

These may be among the last M-21 training exercises. The Marine Corps is replacing the M-21 with the M-31, which some Marines have already began training with.

The main difference between the M-21 and the M-31 is the M-21 requires the gear adjustments and throttle setting to bo done manually. The M-31 self adjusts according to the speed of the aircraft, said Lance Cpl. Shane Proulx, an MWSS-374 expeditionary airfield specialist.

The Marine Corps plans to replace the M-21 with the M-31 by the year 2005, according to Proulx.




An F-18 Hornet snags the M-21 Arresting Gear cable during Yuma?s Weapons and Tactics Instructor course Sept. 25.
Photo by: Sgt. Jay C. McDaniel


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...8?opendocument


Sempers,

Roger