Experience of a Lifetime
A visit onboard the nuclear carrier USS Eisenhower, 200 miles at sea, off the shore of North Carolina
By John Zutavern, '51
SPECS OF THE EISENHOWER: Nuclear power, Commissioned 10/17/07, 1092 feet long, 258 feet wide, 95,000 tons, 387 foot draft, 4 acre flight deck, speed: 30 plus knots, 4 screws, 2 rudders, 2 anchors (each 30 tons), 4 catapults, 3000 crew on board (space for 6287), capable of housing 100 aircraft.
This saga began several years ago when some officers and crew from the USS Eisenhower came to Abilene, Kansas, at the invitation of the Eisenhower Foundation for observance of our late President Eisenhower's birthday. This year, the officers of the Eisenhower Foundation were invited to be Distinguished Visitors on the carrier.
The visit to the carrier began on Tuesday, November 6, when we were picked up by the US Navy Fleet public relations officer, and taken from our motel to the Naval Air Station at Norfolk, Virginia, about 8 am. The USS Eisenhower was at sea on a training mission about 200 miles east of North Carolina.
We were greeted by Navy officials and received a briefing on what would happen on our visit to the ship. A "COD" C-2A Greyhound (carrier-on-board delivery aircraft) awaited us on the tarmac at the Naval Air Station. We were briefed on the safety precautions. We put on "Mae Wests," helmets with ear protection and goggles. Earplugs were given to each person, and we boarded the aircraft for our flight out to the carrier.
A bit about the aircraft: It was made by Grumann Aerospace Corporation, and cost $38.96 million. It is powered by two Allison T-56-A-425 turboprop engines, each with 4600 horsepower. The wingspan is 80 feet 7 inches, and it is 56 feet 10 inches long. It weighed 36,000 pounds empty. The maximum payload for carrier operation is 8600 pounds. Maximum speed is 345 mph, and cruising speed is 296 mph.
After our baggage was loaded by the ground crew, we boarded the aircraft from the rear, up a ramp and to our seats which all faced the rear. There were two crew members on the flight deck and three in the area where we were seated. We sat down and started the "buckle up" procedure, which really was a chore, considering all the equipment and helmets we were wearing. Lap belts and two shoulder harnesses were hooked up. After the aft ramp was closed, we awaited take-off. There were only two windows through which you could look outside. The interior was literally stuffed with life rafts, oxygen, and other safety gear. I might point out that military aircraft have no soundproof lining and we received all the "benefit" of engine noise, etc. Conversation was "0", and I think only one person took a "relief bag." There were nine of us from the Foundation and an Annapolis classmate of the Admiral who brought two friends…for a total of 12 passengers.
After a noisy trip we started our approach to the flight deck of the Eisenhower. We had been told about The Break Turn, a maneuver which in war time is used to avert attackers' bullets. I honestly believe they took us through this maneuver, which is a hard, flat turn of last resort, and depletes your energy rapidly. It is an aileron roll followed by sharp, backward, pressure on the stick. We dropped and raised and went from right to left, before finally starting our roll on the deck with our tail hook dragging. When it caught us, you can imagine the pressure felt by our belts on our bodies. I am not sure which of the four cables caught us, but I assume it was the third, which is the perfect landing. What a thrill that was!!!