VRT cutlines:

A pilot will see a similar view when using the Fresnel Lens Optical System on approach to the carrier.

Epifanio Padua, Code 6.1.8.3, a mechanic with the Voyage Repair Team, prepares an engine sheave of the arresting gear for replacement on board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). The arresting gear is the four cables on the ship’s deck that stop aircraft traveling 150 mph in approximately 320 feet.
Rich Gonzales, Code 6.1.8.3, a mechanic with the Voyage Repair Team, on board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), secures an arresting gear engine sheave in place so it can be lifted out and replaced.
VRT: NADEP’s biggest secret
Story and photos by J. Kinchen-Schneider

They are responsible for the performance of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, overhaul, repair, replacement, installation, and modification efforts requiring depot level skills. In direct support of the Naval Air Systems Command, they are also responsible for the Aircraft Launch and Recovery equipment, the Visual Landing Aid equipment, and the Air Capable Ship Aeronautical Equipment installation for both shipboard and shore-based locations worldwide. They are the Voyage Repair Team (VRT).

The concept of a field team or a fly-away team began some years ago when members of the Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet (AIRPAC) command decided aircraft carriers needed support for their catapults and arresting gear when at sea or in port overseas. AIRPAC is in charge of all Navy aircraft carriers assigned to the West Coast. Their counterpart, Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet, takes care of carriers assigned to the East Coast.

According to Buddy May, Code 6.1.8.3, VRT superintendent, the concept at that time was to be able to support and repair the carriers whenever their catapults and arresting gear broke down at sea or in port. “Anytime they had a casualty or something needed repair that couldn’t be fixed by the Sailors on the ship, then a six-man team was put together and flown out to the ship to do the repairs,” he said.
Since that time, 30 years ago, the concept is still in place. However, the concept for flying the field team out to the ships has been reduced to performing the work in port for the most part. Although the teams still fly out, they don’t fly out as much due to funding restraints, May explained. The VRT program is permanently headquarted at NADEP North Island, but the VRT teams will make occasional trips to Washington state and to Japan.

“Now all the work is usually done in port and it’s scheduled around the ship’s operations,” May said. “Most of our travel is to Washington state. There are two primary areas on the West Coast where the carriers tie up. One is Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Everett Naval Station in Washington, and the other is Naval Air Station North Island.”

The craft of the VRT team is unique – Catapult and Arresting Gear Repair. According to May, there’s no other place, except on the carrier, to get that kind of training and experience. Even the employees in a shipyard have not traditionally worked on catapults and arresting gear.

Typically, each carrier-based aircraft has a tailhook, a hook bolted to an 8-foot bar extending from the after part of the aircraft. It is with the tailhook that the pilot catches one of the four steel cables (the arresting gear) stretched across the deck of a ship, bringing the plane traveling at 150 miles per hour, to a complete stop in 320 feet. The cables are set to stop each aircraft at the same place on the deck, regardless of the size or weight of the plane.

There are also four steam-powered catapults that can thrust a 48,000-pound aircraft 300 feet, from zero to 165 miles per hour in two seconds. Each plane’s nose gear has a T-bar that locks into the catapult’s shuttle, which pulls the plane down the catapult. This system allows the flight deck crew the capability to launch two aircraft and land one every 37 seconds during daylight, and one per minute at night. VRT’s main job is to keep these two systems in working order. VRT is also responsible for repairing another carrier system – the Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System. “Meatballs” as they are sometimes called, are a series of lights that provide visual cues to guide and aid the pilot in establishing a line-up when approaching a carrier or expeditionary airfield.

“Our technical representatives, who work for Naval Air Systems Command, Lakehurst, N.J., are checking this equipment all the time. They work directly with the ships’ representatives,” May said. “The tech reps are the ones who make the call on whether we [VRT] need to take something apart and fix it.”
Although VRT’s main mission is to take care of the aircraft carrier equipment, they occasionally receive repair requests for special projects such as the periscope of a submarine or the lighting system on a helicopter. They are also certified to do component work on the VSTOL Optical Landing System, which is used on amphibious assault ships. This particular visual landing aid displays glide path and trend information to the VSTOL pilot preparing to land on ship. U.S. Marine Corps pilots, according to May, primarily use this system.

“We’re the only shop in the NADEP that works on carriers, boats and surface ships,” May said.