actuate suspend and direct the water brake
station to release the water brake suspend.
The
operator
initiating
the
suspend
must
immediately inform the launching officer of the reason
for the suspend. The launching officer shall determine
the action to be taken for resolution. If the suspend
action occurs prior to aircraft hookup, the aircraft shall
be held short of the hookup position until the problem
has been rectified or the catapult is placed in the down
status. If a suspend occurs after an aircraft has been
tensioned, the following apply:
1.
The launching officer signals suspend to the
pilot and other members of the aircraft
launching team.
2.
The deckedge operator shall immediately
actuate the suspend switch and give the
suspend signal.
3.
The launching officer signals the deckedge
operator to maneuver aft.
4.
After the shuttle has moved aft, the launching
officer signals the pilot to raise launch bar.
5.
For aircraft with NGL selector switch (F/A 18
and S-3):
1) With the launch bar raised, the launching
officer gives the bridle tension signal to the
deckedge operator.
2) The deckedge operator depresses the
bridle tension pushbutton to position the
shuttle forward of the launch bar. When the
shuttle has moved forward of the launch
bar, the deckedge operator shall momen-
tarily press the maneuver aft pushbutton.
3) The launching officer shall step in front of
the aircraft and in view of the pilot, give the
throttle back signal.
6.
For aircraft with manual launch bar (E-2 and
C-2):
1) After the shuttle has moved aft, the
launching officer shall ensure that the
catapult is in the suspend condition, step in
front of the aircraft and in full view of the
pilot, give the throttle back signal.
2) With the aircraft at idle power the
launching officer directs the topside safety
petty officer to approach the aircraft and
manually hold the launch bar high enough
to permit shuttle clearance.
3) With the launch bar held clear, the
launching officer gives the bridle tension
signal to the deckedge operator.
4) The deckedge operator depresses the
bridle tension pushbutton to position the
shuttle forward of the launch bar. When the
shuttle has moved forward of the launch
bar,
the
deckedge
operator
shall
momentarily depress the maneuver aft
pushbutton.
7.
At this time, if the condition that initiated the
suspend action has been corrected and the
aircraft and catapult are both up, the shuttle
may be maneuvered aft, launch bar lowered
and the aircraft hooked up to the catapult.
INTEGRATED CATAPULT CONTROL
STATION (ICCS) HANGFIRE
PROCEDURES
In the event the catapult does not fire within 10
seconds after the fire pushbutton is depressed, a
hangfire exists. At this time, the launch sequence must
be safety stopped and the aircraft removed from the
catapult. The actions to be taken and the order in which
they are accomplished are paramount to the success of
the procedure.
WARNING
If a hangfire occurs, the execution of the
hangfire procedure must be accomplished.
Even if the cause of the hangfire is quickly
determined and can be easily resolved, the
actions of all topside crew members and pilot
are not known and interrupted firing of the
catapult could have catastrophic consequences.
The only corrective action authorized is the
performance of the hangfire procedure.
1.
The launching officer depresses the suspend
switch and transmits to the charging panel
operator via the monitor operator, rotate the
emergency cutout valve, rotate the emergency
cutout valve. The launching officer shall then
inform the safety observer of the hangfire
condition verbally and by hand signals in
daytime or the red wand hangfire signal at
night.
2.
The safety observer shall remain in the
crouched position and shall not take any action
toward the removal of the aircraft until the
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