099 - E-2 Hawkeye

[@58landman]

I was Navy enlisted from 70-74 and assigned to VF-41. Seems like we lived in the Med and during the 1st couple of years I was always up to my neck in trouble but the last two years I settled in and enjoyed everything about it. I got my degree after that tour and my greatest regret was that I didn't attend a Navy ROTC school, obtain a commission and then attend law school. I would have never been a tech guy; my aptitude for it was iffy, likely because my interest in tech was non-existent and I could never fly anyway because I'm incredibly color blind. But I loved serving in the airwings; those guys were some of the brightest, craziest and funniest characters I ever met and being around them was an amazing experience. Many of those pilots are gone now, as are many of my old enlisted chums, but they were a class unto themselves and I'm so fortunate to have known them.

[@yxeaviationphotog]

Funny thing talking about air shows.....I was at a show and a VAW-120 E-2 was there on static. Same thing that was mentioned...."is that a radar" or "what is that?". That went on for a while, then I had a chance to talk to the crew member and asked "does this one have the APS-125 radar or the new -145?". The crew member stopped and said "you know what this is?". I said yes, and I know what squadron and where you're based. Next thing I know, I am inside the ropes and inside the aircraft! I could not get over how cramped it is in the back. Even getting to and into the cockpit was tight. Thank god I was a teenager at that time! Oddly enough, a bunch of E-2 videos have been coming up in my recommendations. All POV footage from the boat and Pt. Mugu. Great episode!

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Pays to do a bit of research ahead of time for sure!

[@HabitualButtonPusher]

Have a buddy at Pax working at Force. They call the the E-2D with the refueling probe The Unicorn. I understand there have been a few interesting unauthorized patches floating about. Great interviews, love this stuff!

[@milspeccress8864]

Electronic warfare, Jam harder, Penetrate deeper, dispense longer😏

[@lezerp]

On the listener question on why the Tomcat doesn’t have ailerons, but uses spoilers to augment roll (at least with wings forward): I think a partial cause (at least) for the design decision was that Grumman gave the pilot the Direct Lift Control for use in the carrier approach, where the pilot could deploy the spoilers in steps, kinda like an airbrake, to adjust the flightpath without having to change AOA (which I gather you want to avoid, especially when in close), and with the DLC use of the spoilers, you could use that, and avoid the extra weight and complexity of ailerons - in addition to the elevons at the back, of course

[@pieandmashlover]

I Ioved the C-2 episode so much, I came and watched this one!! 😅 Another great show guys. We salute you. 😎7

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Thanks!

[@johnb7490]

You always had your head on a swivel when there was an E2 Taxiing on the flight deck. Another great episode and great job Jell-O.

[@wgoulding]

Proud to have worked at Grumman in Bethpage. Learned lots about aerostructures from the engineers who designed the E-2.

[@javaace9746]

This one took me waaaaaay back to Gulf War MiG Kill with Mongo. The little fact that the E2 guy was persistent with letting Mongo know (calling out his AC number) .....that this was about to get real! Understanding that Mongo was already mentally juggling several chainsaws, ....that little call out... dare I say... was crucial in resetting “Mongo’s SA”....and the rest is F/A-18 history. Maybe I’m over doing it a little? But it stuck out in my mind.

[@jimbrown5143]

That was my squadron. LT Joyce was the ACO on TigerTail 602 (VAW-125) if I remember correctly.

[@cooziehiker]

Great show, enjoy all of your episodes. Can't wait to get to episode 100.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Dec 30th!

[@dankuettel5063]

I took some night time shots of a visiting E-2 that I was told made it into the squadrons ready room. Love these and the COD’s!

[@E2Aviator77]

This was a great listen! Was a pleasure to work with Niles and the IOT&E team. Welcome to the Widget Jell-O.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Thanks, Ken.

[@ewenriordan6614]

If the E2 flies under the radar (dish) does that make it stealth?

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Ba dump, Ha!

[@skipssmn3754]

that got my lols.

[@joeblow5214]

I normally listen on Spotify but haven't seen this episode up yet so I listened to it here. Love the show.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Thanks Joe, welcome to the channel!

[@patrickchase5614]

I imagine that allowing the carrier and the air boss' cruiser to maintain EMCON is a pretty big benefit of having an E-2 up.

[@duncansanford3938]

My favorite description of the E-2 came courtesy of the tower at Nellis AFB when we were flying in for an exercise. Some Air Force guys in the landing pattern weren't sure what to look for, so the tower said "it's a little AWACS with propellers".

[@h.r.puffnstuff8705]

Brand new A7 turd shirt. About 10 seconds into my first steps on the roof during flight ops I some how managed to get within arm length of E2 prop arc. Last time I did that. Yikes!

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Oh man, keep that nugget on a swivel!

[@patrickchase5614]

It has been publicly announced that the E-2D's dome can be locked in a single position, allowing the APY-9 to continuously view a 120-degree sector using electronic scanning alone. In addition to that and single-scan track initiation (the capability you referenced), the other big thing that has been mentioned in public is precise sector blanking, i.e. the radar can avoid sending any energy in the direction of known adversary ESM/SEAD platforms. IIRC the E-2C could stop emitting on designated angles, but the adversary could still potentially see its sidelobes when it was emitting in other directions. The E-2D goes beyond that and also shapes/optimizes its beam to suppress sidelobe emissions etc down threat bearings.

[@GGGhostdog]

Out of all the podcasts out there this one is thr best!! I second the episode suggestion for the bronco, cheers!

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Thanks, GD. 👍

[@vtwinbuilder3129]

Another awesome episode Jell-O and crew! Keep it up!

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Thanks!

[@tabascoindy5005]

Once again great episode and very informative. I dont miss fish n chips from my time in England, pls let me know if anyone finds more tasteless food than this. This podcast is addictive.

[@TorToroPorco]

The airframe is not as sexy as the fast jets but its tasking and its capabilities especially with the E-2D is amazing. Its contributions in terms of situational awareness and tactical coordination are invaluable. With CEC it can provide over the horizon guidance for the SM6 missile. And it can do the same for AMRAAM missiles against targets potentially beyond the range of the launch aircraft’s own radar or enable the stealthy F35C to leave its radar off to elude passive detection.

[@molnibalage83]

18:10 I do not understand. If 3 from 4 tails act as a rudder it means asymmetric rudder placement...

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Right, which counteracts the asymmetric thrust of both propellers turning in the same direction.

[@1jwebber]

Grumman designed the E2 with 3 rudders. The physical location of the 3rd rudder was driven by yaw controllability issues encountered when yaw was caused by the failure of the left engine. The yaw due to a failure of the left engine is greater than the yaw due to a failure of the right engine, so instead of placing the 3rd rudder on the fuselage centerline, the 3rd rudder was placed in the slipstream of the right engine making it more effective under a left-engine-failed/right-engine-operating scenario. Grumman was satisfied with the result, but an Admiral thought it looked funny, so although not needed, Grumman added the 4th surface on the left side: a vertical stabilizer with no rudder. Disclaimer: This story was relayed to me in 1969 when I was brand new to the E2 so who knows? I still believe it!

[@robertdownie6574]

Hi Jell-O. Can I nominate an aircraft for the pod cast, how about the OV - 10 Bronco? One of my favourite planes from the Vietnam era.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

It’s on our list, like many others...just need the right guest.

[@javaace9746]

@@FighterPilotPodcast: His/her name must be either Billy or Buck ... or maybe even Elway? Yikes, did I actually hit send? My apologies.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

@@javaace9746 🤪

[@robertdownie6574]

@@FighterPilotPodcast haha. So many fascinating and different planes to podcast about! I enjoy the show and the pilot's stories! 😊

[@jra4e]

Christmas jams, love it.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Courtesy of our awesome musician, Jaime Lopez from Spain.

[@BKetch]

Glad I'm not the only one asking about the B36(I emailed before about it). Hope there is someone out there! Feels like one Airplane we never really hear anything about.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

We’re working it Herps, just looking for the right guest to talk about it!

[@BKetch]

@@FighterPilotPodcast I wish I knew someone. I have just seen it once at the SAC Museum south of Omaha. Didnt really know anything about it so I didnt look too close. Next time I'm there I will for sure.

[@couchfighter]

8 blades dang had to go see a picture of that.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

It’s like a ninja!

[@UncleFester84]

One thing i dont understand is why they didn't go the same way they did with the tracker/tracer/trader and make an ASW version along the AEW and the COD ones. Especially since ASW was needed, as indicated by the making of the S3 Viking.

[@paulbork7647]

It seems that precision controlling a plane with small, precise hand and arm movements, well timed; isn’t too different from music performance. Perhaps the development of fine motor skills is more transferable than one might initially think.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Perhaps. Of course, the consequences of a mistake are a bit different.

[@wntu4]

To translate what he's saying at 41:09...he's describing a Yagi antenna.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

That explains it. 😉

[@jameslawson5237]

Thought u were playing start of A-Team intro at the beginning there 😅

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Hah, wishful thinking maybe!

[@leeadams5941]

Vibration? Try a KC 130 for 14 hours from Hawaii to the Philippines

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Ok.

[@flightsimstuff5417]

To: The Comment Bot Great stuff!

[@spencerstevens2175]

What is cooler? Launching a missile or guiding into a target dozens of miles away?

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

The sound of a launching missile is pretty cool.

[@dewizle5026]

Executive Decision VAW-117 Movie appearance..

[@bobthompson4319]

Hey you never know!!! A EF-111 that has the same weapons as a E-2 NOTHING. And theres 1 EF-111 with a air to air KILL. It's a maneuvering kill but a kill nonetheless.

[@BENKYism]

American AEW aircraft are cool

[@CarpDaily]

one more till F-100 :D

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Well, not exactly. The F-100 is the one exception during our 'Century Series' run--it'll be on episode 103.

[@bobthompson4319]

WOW an F-35 has capabilities that the e2 has.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Maybe some, but definitely not all!

[@linusa2996]

It costs more to fly the F-35 than the E-2. You can fly an E-2D for 3 1/2 hours for what it costs to fly 1 F-35 for 1 hour.

[@antr7493]

LOL no beach volleyball to keep in shape? Dammit Top Gun. Another lie.

[@TJ-wo1xt]

Nice one