The P3 "Orion" anti-submarine aircraft can be said to be a milestone in the world's fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft, since the successful test flight in 1959, until now no model can completely replace its main position. Admittedly, the P3's anti-submarine aircraft is second to none in terms of anti-submarine and search capabilities, and most weapons enthusiasts will also focus on the aircraft's advanced weapon system.
But what many people tend to overlook is that although the sword is good, it depends on who uses it. We may wish to look at the standards by which the US military operates P3 "Orion" from another perspective.
1. Flight mission
In addition to anti-submarine and reconnaissance, the P3 anti-submarine patrol aircraft is positioned as well as anti-surface and search and rescue. Therefore, the corresponding components of the aircraft are varied, and the preparation of the mission takes at least 3 hours before takeoff. After the plane lands, the technician is also responsible for saving and transferring the data collected by the on-board equipment, and the crew must summarize the task, and the whole process will take at least 1 hour or so. At this point, the mission can be considered to be completely completely completed. It can be seen that the time of a mission is also quite long.
Before the mission, the ground command station should carry out the prompt of the current flight mission. After that, all crew members complete a routine pre-flight inspection, which must be completed 45 minutes before departure. Because the commander will then gather other crew members for short mission briefings and aircraft safety tips. The short mission briefing was to let the crew know what the main purpose of the flight was to do, and everyone had to do their part.
This is followed by a safety tip, no doubt, before every take-off! Even though you have been working on P3 for many years, you still have to learn the knowledge that plane landing and parachuting need to deal with every time. Even when there is a fire alarm in different positions of the aircraft, who should be in what position and what to do must be introduced clearly.
Because each mission lasts a particularly long time, spanning at least two meals even the shortest working hours, members generally bring meals to work. There is a seating area in the rear of the aircraft, in addition to the heating device such as a microwave oven and toilet, there are also sleepers. It's not comfortable, but it's better than nothing. The crew have their own sleeping mats and can take turns resting on the sleeper or directly on the floor of the cabin.
2. Crew members
At present, the P3 "Orion" patrol aircraft crew in the United States will have a fixed establishment when facing important tasks, but will deliberately take turns to match personnel in different positions during daily training. The aircraft group is generally composed of 9 people, in addition to the main and co-pilots, there are also air mechanics, these 3 people are cockpit members. The Tactical Coordinator, Communications Navigator, Equipment Operator and Observers formed the Crew Members Group.
The front left of the cockpit is the front pilot, the side is the co-pilot, and the aircraft mechanic at the rear is responsible for ensuring the normal operation of the aircraft's control, engine, hydraulic, fuel and other systems. The first position outside the cockpit is the Tactical Coordinator, whose job is first of all responsible for the connection between the cockpit and the work module, and then the scheduling between the various posts in the work module.
Since the division of labor in P3 is very fine, if the reconnaissance, anti-submarine and other content are carried out at the same time, it is necessary to integrate the tactical coordinator to ensure the needs of the mission. The tactical coordinator belongs to the command of the entire aircraft, and he needs to determine in advance with the pilot in the cockpit the direction and target point required for the aircraft to fly to the mission site. At the same time, we must also worry about the images and other data obtained during the reconnaissance process, and it is necessary to sort out and analyze them so that further countermeasures can be provided to friendly units in a timely manner after landing.
He needs to think about how to complete the task with the fastest efficiency. This requires a full understanding of the equipment and restrictions of the aircraft, and at the same time to predict the details of the tasks such as anti-submarine, intelligence reconnaissance, and photography in the target area. Taking anti-submarine missions as an example, the tactical coordinator needs to know the hydrology, flow direction, flow rate, sonar buoy and other data, and then direct the implementation of anti-submarine tactics, or subsequently use other equipment on board such as radar for tactical combination.
Therefore, the P3 tactical coordinator must be familiar with the objectives of the mission, where the threat originates, other mission limitations, how high the aircraft position is, how far away the aircraft is, assess the various condition factors, and then make a plan to decide on the distance of the reconnaissance photograph near the target area, consider whether to perform the reconnaissance photograph near the target area, consider whether to perform in a circle or a racecourse, enter from the left or right side of the target, and the direction of the sun to obtain the best angle for shooting.
At the same time, it is also necessary to coordinate with the crew of the cockpit, according to the equipment restrictions on the aircraft, it is recommended that the heading, entry angle, speed and altitude, etc., such as the need to reduce the flight altitude due to the influence of the cloud screen or the climbing height of external communication. Next to the Tactical Coordinator is the Communications Navigator. The communications navigator is responsible for route planning, range calculation, and navigation and communication transmission.
When necessary, the communications navigator may assist the Tactical Coordinator in part of the work and help calibrate, coordinate, and control surface ships. The next few rows are the electronic equipment operators, who are responsible for the specific equipment operation of the P3 "Orion" anti-submarine aircraft, which will not be introduced here.
The last person is the observer. In general, the work of the observer is not the core, he is more like the artillery of the 5 gunners (holding the shells), or even the 7 gunners. However, the P3 observer is more like the ground crew stationed in the aircraft, responsible for solving the problem of operating equipment failure, and when the aircraft needs to drop sonar and smoke markers, he also operates.