(1) I have received lots of questions about the Coronado Home Front Project. If you are interested in getting an address added, please send a note to http://coronadohistory.org/. If you want to buy a sign to put on your own front lawn, wherever you live, look at http://cgi.ebay.com/Naval-Aviator-Sign-/260757220328?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb6576be8.

(2) This is the link to the Centennial of Aviation presentation video: http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/centennial/Pages/welcome.aspx

This video was made to enable someone who is speaking about the Centennial to a broad audience to get them fired up a little before they start speaking. It is not intended to be the definitive history of Naval Aviation in a four miunte presentation. Please feel free to use this video in your community presentations.

(3) We have now produced seven Centennial magazines. Link as follows: http://www.cnaf.navy.mil/.

Type Centennial in the search section and you will see the magazines. We want to have this magazine have as many stories as possible paying homage to those that have come before us - if you have an article you would like to see in the magazine please email your submission to CAPT Rich Dann (richard.dann@navy.mil ) and LCDR Alli Myrick-Ellison (allison.myrick@navy.mil ). If you do not feel that your aircraft/era/mission/ has been adequately addressed, you are likely the best person to address that oversight. Thank you all for you input.

INDEX

US Naval Aviation Back on the Rise

Naval Aviation Leadership Changes

P8 in The News

F-35A Schedule Slip

Ely Photos

US naval aviation back on the rise

Flightglobal (Monday, April 4, 2011) has essay featuring observations of Vice Admiral Robert Dunn, USN (ret.) on naval aviation being back on the rise.

Excerpts: A 2005 study by Rand's project air force analysed the results of these two approaches.

The Lockheed Martin F-22 introduced a fighter that combined stealth, supercruise and integrated avionics, including all-new airframe, structural materials, engine, radar and cockpit systems. The F/A-18E/F was based on an existing airframe, engine and avionics. While the F-22's development cost was $7.2 billion over budget, the F/A-18E/F was delivered on cost, the Rand report concludes.

USAF Carrier deck circa 2020, Northrop Grumman

Retired Vice Adm Robert Dunn remembers being called to the Secretary of the Navy's office. It was 1989 and the US Navy was still at the peak of its Cold War, 600-ship glory. Defence spending, however, was already in decline and the navy's top civilian, Henry Garrett, had a tough decision to make. As deputy chief of naval operations for aviation, Dunn's portfolio included two projects for a carrier-based, long-range strike aircraft - a re-engined Grumman A-6E Intruder called the A-6F - and a far more ambitious project called the McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II.

"We can't afford the A-12 and the A-6F," Garrett told Dunn. "Which one do you want?" "I think we better go with the A-12 because that is going to be a more capable aircraft," Dunn said. Almost 22 years on, however, Dunn says: "In retrospect, I don't know if it was good advice or not." In fairness, there were few options. An era of naval aviation was coming to a close. In 1989, navy leaders could choose between two projects for a long-range strike aircraft; by the end of the next decade there were no such projects in development or anything similar in service.

On 7 January 1991, Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney cancelled the A-12, citing design shortfalls and cost overruns. Six years later, the navy retired the last A-6E with no true replacement. The navy was changing in 1989 and the future became about limiting schedule delays, cost overruns and high operating costs. At the time of Dunn's meeting with Garrett, however, it still seemed right to advocate for a revolutionary aircraft. "There was a time when the navy was pushing the envelope much more," says Eric Wertheim, author of the US Naval Institute's "Combat Fleets of the World". If there was any doubting the shift in strategy, in December 1992 the navy awarded Boeing a $3.72 billion contract to develop the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which meant abandoning the Grumman F-14 contract. "The basic problem with the F-14 - not that it wasn't a good aircraft, it was a superb aircraft - but the cost per hour of the F-14 was twice that of the F-18 and at that time, with the budgets coming down, it was a matter of affordability," Dunn says.

SUPER HORNET

"No question about it," says Norman Polmar, a naval consultant and author. "The F-14 in its time was one of the most versatile and capable fighter aircraft in the world. They proceeded with the Super Hornet at the direction of the Department of Defense in order to save maintenance money. I can assure you the F-14 was the preferred aircraft." Norman Friedman, another author and naval strategist, notes that the F-14 decision was in step with the navy's new operational vision, which implied a shift in emphasis from deep attack to littoral warfare.

"The key issue at the time was money - it often is," Friedman says. "There was also a conscious choice that the navy would not be doing heavy-duty deep strikes; those would be left to the air force, with Tomahawks doing the precision strikes. On that basis, the shorter-range F/A-18 was very attractive."

A major element in naval aviation identity to emerge after the early 1990s was a grudging reliance on other branches of the US military.

"Today the navy is content to depend on land-based tankers, whether they are air force or allied to do their work in Afghanistan or Iraq," Dunn says. "But we wanted to be self-contained in those days. [Aircraft] like the A-16, A-12 and F-14 were very attractive because they were long range. They didn't require as much refuelling as the [Vietnam-era Ling-Temco-Vought] A-7s and later the F-18s.

US Navy aircraft carrier, US Navy

"More and more, with the kind of missions popping up around the world today, there's a dependency on land-based tankers. Somewhere along the way we have to work with our sister services. We can't be self-contained all the time." With the retirement of the last F-14D in 2006, the F/A-18A-D Hornet and the F/A-18E/F became the only tactical fighters on carrier decks fulfilling the key roles - air superiority and attack. The consolidation of the carrier deck was not limited to fighters. The retirement of the A-6 also meant the loss of the KA-6, the tanker variant that dramatically extended the range of carrier-based air attacks.

Some still think the navy's consolidation went too far, especially when the Lockheed S-3B Viking was retired and replaced by helicopters for anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol missions. "NAVAIR and the navy have made a significant effort to reduce their logistics chains on carrier decks," Wertheim says, but retiring the Vikings "takes away a capability that you just don't replace. You can't argue that you aren't losing capability." Dunn, however, thinks the navy made the right decisions about consolidation. "I've been in favour of reducing the number of types of aircraft because it so simplifies the logistics and maintenance support, which in many ways are the long poles in the tent," Dunn says.

He also stresses that the S-3B's capabilities were not only replaced by helicopters. "Don't forget the satellites that we're depending upon," Dunn says. "As far as [anti-submarine warfare], they're depending more and more on [attack submarines] that are part of the battle group." It is a lesson that epitomises a slogan of modern management - do more with less. By contrast, the US Air Force took an entirely different approach in the early 1990s - it launched the F-22 programme.

A 2005 study by Rand's project air force analysed the results of these two approaches.

"If you were to go back in time to 1990 and say this is how your acquisition strategy is going to end up in 2011, how are you going to feel about it? My feeling is the air force would really be rethinking it," Wertheim says.

"The navy invested in EA-18 Growlers instead of just putting all their investment in stealth," he adds. "The navy waited for that technology to mature somewhat. You're seeing some of the issues you're having with the F-22 with their reliability because of the maintenance requirement. Their reliability is not what they hoped for." Not everyone is convinced the navy's approach was the right one. Polmar says the F/A-18E/F strategy worked but it helps that the navy has not faced a more capable adversary. "So far we've not met any opponents that have been able to beat a formation of F-18s," he says.

LONG-RANGE BOMBER

That situation seems to be changing rapidly. In December, the US military acknowledged China had fielded an anti-ship ballistic missile. Both Russia and China have also revealed prototypes for fifth-generation fighters to compete with the F-22 and Lockheed Martin F-35. Meanwhile, US navy and air force strategies on next-generation combat aircraft seem to be going in opposite directions. The air force is developing a new long-range bomber, while the navy plans to introduce the F-35C on carrier decks by the end of the decade, along with a possibly revolutionary system called the unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) system. The navy may also replace the F/A-18E/F with the FA-XX in the mid-2020s. If the navy eventually combines the F-35C, UCLASS and FA-XX on to a single carrier deck, the capabilities of such a force would probably be recognisable to the fleet Dunn envisaged when he sealed the fate of the A-6F in Garrett's office in 1989.

"That's what it's all about," Dunn says. "Any thinking naval aviator will say the air force has the punch and the stay-ability if they have the bases. They don't often have the bases, so that's why the navy has to be ready."

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Naval Aviation Leadership On the Move

WELCOME THE NEW COMMANDER, NAVAL AIR FORCES ATLANTIC

NORFOLK -

Rear Adm. Ted Branch relieved Rear Adm. Richard O'Hanlon, who retired as scheduled after more than three decades of service, the Navy said in a news release.

Based in Norfolk, Naval Air Force Atlantic oversees most of the Navy's East Coast-based air forces, including five aircraft carriers and more than 1,200 aircraft.

Branch most recently commanded Carrier Strike Group 1 in San Diego. O'Hanlon has commanded Naval Air Force Atlantic since January 2009.

Rear Admiral Ted N. Branch

Rear Admiral Branch, a native of Long Beach, Miss., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1979 and earned a master’s degree in International Relations from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

A naval aviator, his operational assignments include Light Attack Squadrons 15 and 37, USS Forrestal (CV 59), and Strike Fighter Squadron 37. He served as executive and commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 15, executive officer in USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), commanding officer in USS Coronado (AGF 11) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68), and commander of Carrier Strike Group One/Carl Vinson Strike Group. During those tours, Branch deployed with both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets and has logged combat time in A7s and F18s over Grenada, Lebanon, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Iraq. He participated in Operations Urgent Fury, Ernest Will, Southern Watch, Deliberate Force, Iraqi Freedom, and led the initial Navy efforts for Haiti earthquake relief in Operation Unified Response.

Ashore, Branch has served as an instructor in the A7 and F18 Fleet Replacement Squadrons, the Joint Staff in Washington, completed Navy Nuclear Power Training, served as executive assistant to the commander U.S. Pacific Fleet, and as director of Operations and Plans (N31) on the chief of Naval Operations staff in Washington.

Decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Strike Flight Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, Navy Achievement Medal, and various unit and campaign awards.

************************************************************* Rear Admiral Donald P. Quinn

Rear Adm. Donald P. Quinn is being assigned as commander, Naval Education and Training Command, Pensacola, Fla. Quinn has been serving as commander, Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tenn.

Rear Admiral Donald P. Quinn

Commander, Navy Personnel Command
Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel

Rear Admiral Quinn is a native of East Rochester, N.Y., and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Oceanography. He was designated a naval flight officer in 1980.

Quinn completed operational assignments with the “Knightriders” of VA 52, including deployments aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); the “Nighthawks” of VA 185, based in Atsugi, Japan, and deploying aboard USS Midway (CV 41); the “Fighting Tigers” of VA 65, deploying in USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) for combat Operations Desert Storm and Provide Comfort; and he served as deputy chief of operations for Commander, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, directing Operation Southern Watch.

His shore tours include Instructor duty in the A-6 Fleet Replacement Squadron (VA 128); a tour as aide to Commander, Medium Attack Tactical Electronic Warfare Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet; in-residence education at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.; joint duty in the Targeting Division of the Atlantic Intelligence Command in Norfolk, and a tour in Millington, Tenn., as director of the Aviation Officer Distribution Division. He holds a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies and a Master of Science degree in General Management.

In 1993, Quinn was chosen for transition into the EA-6B Community, commanding VAQ-139, VAQ-129 and Carrier Air Wing 9. He led the Air Wing during portions of both the 2002 deployment in USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and the 2003 deployment in USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), including combat Operations Enduring Freedom and Anaconda.

In September 2005, Quinn was promoted to flag rank. He has commanded the Naval Air Training Command and Strike Force Training, Atlantic. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.

****************************************************************** Rear Admiral Troy M. "Mike" Shoemaker

Rear Adm. (lower half) Troy M. Shoemaker is being assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group Nine, Everett, Wash. Shoemaker is currently serving as assistant commander, Navy Personnel Command for career management, PERS-4, Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tenn.

Rear Admiral Troy M. "Mike" Shoemaker

Assistant Commander, Navy Personnel Command for Career Management (PERS 4)

Rear Admiral Troy M. (Mike) Shoemaker, a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., graduated with honors from the United States Naval Academy in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Systems Engineering and was designated a Naval aviator in July 1984.

Shoemaker’s operational assignments include tours with Light Attack Squadron 105 (VA-105), Strike Fighter Squadron 105 (VFA-105), Carrier Air Wing 3 and Carrier Air Wing 17. He has completed seven deployments aboard USS Forrestal (CV 59), USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS George Washington (CVN 73). He has over 4000 flight hours, primarily in the A-7E Corsair and the F/A-18C Hornet, and 1033 carrier arrested landings.

Shoemaker commanded Strike Fighter Squadron 105 (VFA-105), Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106) and Carrier Air Wing 17.

His shore assignments include tours with Light Attack Squadron 174 (VA-174), Light Attack Squadron 122 (VA-122) and Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106). He was also assigned to Navy Personnel Command, served as aide to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, and executive assistant to Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet prior to assuming his current assignment. He has completed the Naval War College Non-Resident Program and is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College.

Shoemaker’s personal decorations include Legion of Merit (2), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3), Air Medal (3) (one individual award with combat “V” and two strike/flight awards) and other personal, campaign and service ribbons.

********************************************************

Rear Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin

Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph P. Aucoin, who has been selected for promotion to rear admiral, is being assigned as director, Programming Division, N80, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Aucoin is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Three, Bremerton, Wash.

Rear Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin

Commander, Carrier Strike Group 3

Rear Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and received his commission through the University of North Carolina NROTC program in 1980. He was designated a naval flight officer in 1981 and reported to Fighter Squadron (VF) 101 for initial training in the F-14 Tomcat.

Aucoin served in VF-33 “Tarsiers” embarked aboard USS America (CV 66), VF-101 as an instructor, VF-84 “Jolly Rogers” embarked aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and VF-41 “Black Aces” embarked aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). He served as Carrier Air Wing 8 operations officer embarked aboard Theodore Roosevelt and returned to VF-41 as commanding officer embarked aboard USS Kennedy (CV 67) and Theodore Roosevelt. He commanded Carrier Air Wing 5 forward deployed in Japan and embarked aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).

Ashore, he has served in the Program Planning and Development Branch (N801), OPNAV staff; Programming and Budget Division (PBAD), J8, Joint Staff; Aviation Strike Warfare Requirements (N880); head, Program Planning and Development Branch (N801); head, Maritime, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Aviation Training Plans and Programs (N882) and deputy director, Air Warfare (N88B).

Aucoin has accumulated more than 4700 hours and more than 1300 carrier arrested landings. His personal awards include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with V and Bronze Stars. He is an Arthur S. Moreau Scholar and holds masters degrees in Public Administration from Harvard University and in National Security Studies and Strategic Affairs from the Naval War College.

************************************************

Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Change of Command

By Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer N. Barnes, USS Harry S. Truman Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 held a change of command ceremony aboard Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., (in which) Rear Adm. Herman Shelanski relieved Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll as Commander, Carrier Strike Group 10. Driscoll had commanded CSG 10 since April 2009.

"I am one of those lucky people who stumbled upon what they were meant to do in life and was able to live it," Driscoll said. "I love naval aviation. I love the people, the aircraft, the carrier flying and the service we provide to the nation. It is honorable work. Over the years I have observed many carrier strike group commanders and tried to learn as much as I could in the unlikely event that I would win the naval aviation lottery and actually command one someday. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity."

In May 2010, CCSG-10 deployed with USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), USS Normandy (CG 60), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, and Destroyer Squadron 26 in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. As commander of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, CSG 10 was responsible for the tactical operation and maintenance of ten U.S. ships, several coalition Navy ships, and the integration of surface, subsurface, and air assets to execute assigned tasking.

Driscoll will report as the deputy chief of staff for Operations and Fleet/Joint Training aboard U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va.

Shelanski served as the director of the Navy's Environmental Readiness Division since June 2009, and joined the Secretary of Defense Special Task Force to study the effects on the military by the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in February 2010. He previously commanded USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

"Now this is an adventure I am truly humbled to become a part of," Shelanski said. "Even though I was member of Strike Group 10 just two short years ago, its reputation and accomplishments have risen to new heights. I have huge shoes to fill. To all the Sailors of Carrier Strike Group 10, although our first year together will be one of shipyards and maintenance, or squadron transition and turnaround training; how we do it will set the course true for the successful accomplishment of real world operations. We must [continue to develop] our tactical and operational way of thinking and training to be ready."

Carrier Strike Group 10's origins stem from Destroyer Flotilla 2, which was established during World War I in Newport, R.I., and served throughout the 1930s as a caretaker of Reserve destroyers.
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P8 in The News

US Navy Authorises Low Rate Production Of P-8A Poseidon

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $1.6 billion contract to Boeing for low rate production of the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

The US Naval Air Systems Command made the announcement on Monday, paving way for low rate initial production at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, facility towards the middle of the year. The $1.6 billion contract also includes spares, logistics and training devices.

"In 2004, the US Navy and the Boeing Company made a commitment to deliver the next generation maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft to support a 2013 Initial Operational Capability (IOC)," said Captain Mike Moran, PMA 290 Programme Manager. "This contract and these aircraft keep that commitment on track."

The P-8A first flew on April 25, 2009. Three of the six flight test aircraft, built as part of the System Development and Demonstration contract awarded to Boeing in 2004, are in various stages of testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. The Integrated Test Team has conducted sonobuoy releases and counter measures deployments.

Recently, one of two static test planes completed full scale testing on the P-8A airframe. The first static test aircraft underwent 154 different tests with no failure of the primary structure. The second aircraft will begin fatigue testing this year.

The US Navy plans to purchase 117 production P-8A aircraft to replace its ageing Lockheed P-3 Orion Fleet. IOC is planned for 2013 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.

The P-8A emerged from the cancelled P-7 Long Range Air Anti-Submarine Warfare Capable Aircraft programme that was begun in 1988, which envisioned an improved P-3. However, cost overruns, slow progress and interest in opening the competition to commercial designs led to the P-7’s cancellation in 1990. It was succeeded by the Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) programme, which was begun in March 2000. In May 2004 Boeing beat Lockheed’s Orion 21 proposal (a new build version of the P-3) with its modified 737-800 passenger jet. BAE Systems also briefly entered the competition with its Nimrod MRA4, but dropped out in 2002 after failing to find a US partner.

The P-8A is based on the stretched 737-800 with 737-900-based wings. It also includes six additional fuel tanks for extended range. The aircraft’s main role will be anti-submarine warfare and shipping interdiction, as well as electronic intelligence (ELINT). As a result, it will carry torpedoes, depth charges, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons, as well as sonobuoys.

Boeing expects to sell around 200 P-8As to foreign countries and has so far received one firm order, from India. In January 2009 the Indian Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with Boeing for eight P-8Is at a cost of SU$2.1 billion to replace the Indian Navy’s Tupolev Tu-142M maritime surveillance aircraft. In October 2010 India ordered another four aircraft. Indian P-8s will feature a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD), which was deleted off the American aircraft to save weight.

Other countries that have shown interest include Australia, which wants to acquire P-8As in 2016, and New Zealand, which may buy four aircraft.

Powerful Poseidon Plane Makes Landing At Jacksonville Naval Air Station

Futuristic aircraft is one of only 3 flying; will be permanent soon.

(FLORIDA TIMES-UNION 05 APR 11) ... Jeff Brumley

Navy pilot Shannon Hoover obviously had been well-briefed not to say too much about the P-8A that she landed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station on Monday afternoon.

The plane that represents the future of naval patrol and reconnaissance aviation - and that of the base itself - is in its early testing stages, with only three actual Maryland-based models flying.

So when pressed by reporters about its performance and how it compares to the P-3 patrol plane it will eventually replace, Lt. Cmdr. Hoover would say only that "we're really having a good time flying it," that "it's a really exciting air frame" and that "we're still early on" in flight testing.

But the fact the plane landed in Jacksonville this early in its development was meant to tell the community on and around the base that the coming of the Poseidon is no myth, Rear Adm. Michael Hewitt said.

"Today, I see this as an introduction to the fleet," said Hewitt, commanding officer of the Navy's airborne patrol and reconnaissance force.

Navy leaders pushed to have the plane visit during the ongoing Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force Symposium that runs through Wednesday at the air station. On Monday there was a fly-in by historic naval patrol aircraft and by three P-3s painted in Navy paint schemes from bygone eras. The symposium also paid tribute to the ongoing celebration of 100 years of naval aviation.

The star of the show was the P-8. Civilian employees and naval aviators emerged from hangars and other buildings lining the runway when the P-8 touched down. A group of student and instructor pilots, who had arrived moments before on a training mission, remained by their single-engine propeller planes awaiting the Poseidon's arrival.

"This will be the first time I've ever seen a P-8," said Cmdr. John Hensel, one of the instructor pilots and a former P-3 aviator.

They stayed until the P-8 landed and taxied to a stop, then walked around the aircraft, gawking, as did dozens of others.

It won't be long before the First Coast begins seeing P-8s in larger numbers.

The base will be the only East Coast home for the plane, which will replace the aging P-3 turboprops in phases from 2013 to 2018. However, Hewitt said one Jacksonville-based squadron may get its first Poseidon as early as the summer of 2012.

The plane will be familiar to air travelers. It has the same fuselage design as the Boeing 737 used by many airlines, but with a beefier frame, a bomb bay and the electronics and weapons capable of tracking and attacking targets.

Like the P-3, the Poseidon is designed to operate in rugged conditions and to loiter over ocean or land for hours, Hewitt said. Unlike the P-3, it has reclining chairs for crew rest during long-duration flights.

It also has a bathroom, Hoover quickly added.

"I'm enjoying that aspect of it," she said.

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F35A IOC Schedule Slip

From AFA 4/22/11

F-35A IOC Slip Confirmed: It's unlikely that the Air Force will have its first unit of combat-configured F-35A strike fighters available for use in 2016, Vice Adm. David Venlet, F-35 program executive officer, told reporters Thursday. Discussing the F-35 program's status during a press conference at his office in Arlington, Va., Venlet said it will be up to the service Chiefs to make the call when their respective F-35 models are ready for operations. However, based on the schedule flowing from last year's F-35 technical baseline review, which re-set F-35 schedules and dollars, 2016 isn't in the cards for USAF—or the Navy, for that matter, he said. "Last year, they had the [initial operational capability] dates in '16. Our TBR schedule now has development test completing in '16, so, realistically, I don't see [IOC] being in '16 for the Air Force and Navy," said Venlet. His remarks echoed those of Air Force senior leaders who told Congress recently that the F-35A's IOC date would slip from 2016. They said this milestone might not happen until as late as 2018—a critical difference since the F-35's in-service date will determine whether the Air Force must extend the service lives of some legacy fighters.

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Centennial Photos

A number of members have asked that we resend the photo series of Ely – so, there they are, with a couple of the Curtis Pusher replica thrown in.

100 Years Ago, January, in San Francisco , when Eugene Ely invented naval aviation.

One hundred years is a very long time. Yet in the hierarchy of modern marvels, the ability to recover and launch aircraft from the deck of a moving ship stands out as one of our signature accomplishments. Which just goes to show you: Some tricks never grow old.

Naval aviation was invented one hundred years ago, on January 18, 1911, when a 24 year-old barnstormer pilot named Eugene B. Ely completed the world's first successful landing on a ship. It happened in San Francisco Bay , aboard the cruiser USS Pennsylvania, which had a temporary 133-foot wooden landing strip built above her afterdeck and gun turret as part of the experiment.

Ely accomplished his feat just eight years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk . His aircraft was rudimentary: a Curtiss Model D "Pusher" biplane, equipped with a 60 hp V-8 engine that gave the aircraft a 50 mph airspeed. To get a sense of how simple it was, behold a contemporary replica of Ely's 1911 Curtiss Pusher that was built to celebrate this 100th anniversary:

But back then, innovation was afoot. Ely's Curtis Pusher had been fitted with a clever new invention called a tailhook. The idea was to quickly halt the aircraft after landing by using the tailhook to catch one or two of 22 rope lines -- each propped up a foot above the deck and weighted by 50-pound sandbags tied to each end -- strung three feet apart along the Pennsylvania 's temporary flight deck.

Mark J. Denger of the California Center for Military History has written a tidy biography of Eugene Ely which narrates the historic day: On the morning of January 18, 1911, Eugene Ely, in a Curtiss pusher biplane specially equipped with arresting hooks on its axle, took off from Selfridge Field (Tanforan Racetrack, in San Bruno, Calif.) and headed for the San Francisco Bay. After about 10 minutes flying North toward Goat Island (now Yerba Buena), Eugene spotted his target through the gray haze – the PENNSYLVANIA .

Ely's plane was first sighted one-half mile from the PENNSYLVANIA's bridge at an altitude of 1,500 feet, cruising at a speed of approximately 60 mph. Now ten miles out from Tanforan, he circled the several vessels of the Pacific Fleet at anchor in San Francisco Bay . The aeroplane dipped to 400 feet as it passed directly over the MARYLAND and, still dropping, flew over the WEST VIRGINIA 's bow at an height of only 100 feet. With a crosswind of almost 15 knots, he flew past the cruiser and then banked some 500 yards from the PENNSYLVANIA 's starboard quarter to set up his landing approach. Ely now headed straight for the ship, cutting his engine when he was only 75 feet from the fantail, and allowed the wind to glide the aircraft onto the landing deck. At a speed of 40 mph Ely landed on the centerline of the PENNSYLVANIA 's deck at 11:01 a.m.

The forward momentum of his plane was quickly retarded by the ropes stretched between the large movable bags of sand that had been placed along the entire length of the runway. As the plane landed, the hooks on the undercarriage caught the ropes exactly as planned, which brought the plane to a complete stop.

Once on board the PENNSYLVANIA, sheer pandemonium brook loose as Ely was greeted with a bombardment of cheers, boat horns and whistles, both aboard the PENNSYLVANIA and from the surrounding vessels.

Ely was immediately greeted by his wife, Mabel, who greeted him with an enthusiastic "I knew you could do it," and then by Captain Pond, Commanding Officer of the PENNSYLVANIA . Then it was time for interviews and a few photographs for the reporters.

Everything had gone exactly as planned. Pond called it "the most important landing of a bird since the dove flew back to Noah's ark." Pond would later report, "Nothing damaged, and not a bolt or brace startled, and Ely the coolest man on board." (NOTE: Safety first! Check out Ely's inner-tube life preserver!)

After completing several interviews, Ely was escorted to the Captain's cabin where he and his wife were the honored guests at an officers lunch. While they dined, the landing platform was cleared and the plane turned around in preparation for takeoff. Then the Elys, Pond and the others posed for photographs. 57 minutes later, he made a perfect take-off from the platform, returning to Selfridge Field at the Tanforan racetrack where another tremendous ovation awaited him.

Both the landing and take off were witnessed by several distinguished members of both U.S. Army and Navy, as well as state military officials. Ely had successfully demonstrated the possibility of the aircraft carrier.

Indeed. The US Navy's first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley, was commissioned in 1922, eleven years later. But Ely didn't live to witness the milestone; he died just a few months after his historic flight, on October 11, 1911, when he was thrown from his aircraft during a crash at an air show. But 100 years ago, he merged the power of naval warships and aviation in ways that remain cutting-edge, even today.

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