Join a veteran carrier pilot on a 3 to 3.5 hour tour and explore the ship and her spaces from the perspective of a pilot! This tour incorporates a discussion and tour of specific spaces of the ship that deal with air operations and the interaction the pilot has with each of those areas. It would include the air group, squadrons, detachments of different squadron’s (sharing of ready rooms), and how they interacted with each other.
Overview:
Spaces Visited May Include
– Forward Catapult room
– Bomb locker/Torpedo locker
– Wardroom
– Sick Bay
– Ready Room 4
– Pilots staterooms
– Clementine & Flight gear display
– Cockpit manning
– Flight Deck tour
– Flight deck control
– Primary flight control
– Aerology
– Combat Information Center
– Arresting gear room
Times
The tour takes place the first Tuesday of every month and starts at 10 AM.
Rates
Meet your tour guide: Rich Keefer, Naval Aviator
Seven years in the Navy, six of those flying the F-8 D/E Crusader all weather fighter planes off USS Independence and USS Shangri-La. Rich accumulated about 1,000 hours in the aircraft and some 390 carrier landings, day and night. The later part of his career was spent at the Naval Flight Test Center in Lakehurst New Jersey, flying the F-8, testing new ordinance racks and airframe modifications off of ground-based catapults.
