Landing Commander: An Indispensable "C Position" on the Aircraft Carrier's Flight Deck

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 23rd Question: Landing Commander: The Indispensable "C Position" on the Aircraft Carrier's Flight Deck

　　Li Yun, Gao Rui, Zhao Nan

　　Today, 73 years ago, amid the rumbling of cannons as millions of soldiers crossed the river, the People's Navy was born at the Baima Temple in Taizhou, Jiangsu, and the People's Army started a new journey towards the vast sea.

　　73 years later, the release of the People's Navy's first aircraft carrier-themed propaganda film "Deep Blue Deep Blue" aroused strong repercussions.

In the promotional video, the high-flame scenes such as the aircraft carrier sailing to the dark blue and the pilot flying the carrier-based aircraft into the air have attracted a large number of netizens to leave comments and praise.

　　Carrier-based aircraft flight is difficult to take off and land, and the most difficult is to land.

The carrier-based aircraft pilots known as "knife tip dancers" are inseparable from the "C position" on the aircraft carrier's flight deck every time they successfully land on the ship - the landing commander.

　　On the shore of Bohai Bay, a base of Naval Aviation University, the signal lights on both sides of the runway echo the stars in the sky.

　　Simulating the tail of the aircraft carrier flight deck, 3 LSOs perform their respective duties, observe the crosswind situation, observe the flight attitude of the aircraft, and check the landing gear of the aircraft... LSO is the abbreviation of "Landing Signal Officer", which is translated as "Landing Signal Officer" in Chinese. , responsible for issuing instructions to the pilots of carrier-based aircraft, directing and guiding the pilots to land safely and efficiently on the aircraft carrier.

Only outstanding carrier-based aircraft pilots who have obtained the landing qualification can be eligible to take the LSO certificate.

　　On an aircraft carrier, LSO is one of the indispensable roles to ensure the safety of carrier-based aircraft and even the entire aircraft carrier.

"There is a jargon in the industry: No matter how good the pilot is, it is impossible to land successfully without the help of the landing commander." said Rohu Lidan, who has obtained the LSO certificate.

　　Since being transferred to the carrier-based aircraft unit, Rohu Lidan and his team have been exploring and solidifying the LSO command process, which is called the "walking LSO textbook".

　　In the night, the gleaming "stars" composed of the fighter's navigation lights moved from far to near, the fighter began to slide, and the LSO issued correction instructions to the pilot through the radio microphone.

After several years of exploration, they have formed a landing command password system that conforms to Chinese language habits.

　　"The command is lengthy, which is not conducive to the pilot's timely response. The command terminology should be concise, clear, intuitive, and unique, so that the pilot can receive and execute the command in the shortest time." Rohu Lidan said that when the fighter plane landed, time was left for the LSO commander. Only a few tens of seconds.

　　In the process of carrier-based aircraft landing, the LSO has absolute authority.

In the event of non-compliance with LSO orders, pilots face severe penalties, such as disqualification from flying.

　　Unlike land-based flight, in carrier-based flight, in the case of complex sea conditions and constant movement of aircraft carriers, as the second pair of eyes of carrier-based aircraft pilots, LSO needs to command fighters to accurately hang on them at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour. A blocking cord.

Some people describe it as difficult as instructing a driver to drive blindfolded on the highway.

　　The LSO, who undertakes important responsibilities, works in the LSO workstation that is only a few square meters.

The workstation is located at the rear of the port side of the aircraft carrier deck, close to the runway. Every time a fighter jet lands, the LSO has to withstand the impact of aircraft wake and huge noise.

In an open-air environment, cold winters and hot summers are also a major feature of this position.

　　As the core of the carrier-based aircraft team, the LSO also serves as an instructor.

During each landing training process, the LSO will score each pilot based on the flight status of each pilot. After the training, each pilot will be given targeted real-time comments based on the scoring status.

　　To become an LSO, three basic conditions are essential - excellent flight skills, the trust of the entire pilot group, and strong psychological endurance.

In addition, in addition to completing theoretical studies including aircraft principles, meteorological knowledge, psychological knowledge, etc., as well as a specified number of practical exercises, the entire LSO team must be unanimously approved in the end.

　　As a place for cultivating LSOs, a base at Naval Aviation University closely follows the needs of future operations. Through continuous exploration and solidification, it has simplified nearly a hundred LSO commands, updated command processes, and formulated scientific scoring standards to establish its own LSO command from scratch. system and talent training system.