DCS F-18 - Deck Crew Hand Signals & Shirt Colours

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Deck crew are coming soon. Best we get to grips with the hand signals they will be using. I have no idea how many of these will be implemented but her is a start:

Carrier Deck Crew Signals 1 Link

The main ones to know will be:

• 1. Afirm
• 2. Negative
• 4. This way
• 6. Turn Left
• 7. Turn Right
• 8. Move Ahead
• 9. Stop
• 10. Brakes
• 16. Insert Chocks
• 17. Remove Chocks
• 20. Connect Ground Electrical Power Supply
• 22. Start Engines
• 24. Cut Engines
• 27. Fold Wings
• 28. Spread Wings
• 29. Lock Wings
• 32. Take Off (Usually Kneeling)
• 33. FIRE - Although it does not say this
• 34. Engage Nose-wheel Steering
• 35. Disengage Nose-wheel Steering
• 36. Lower Wing Flaps
• 37. Raise Wing Flaps
• 38. Lower Hook
• 39. Raise Hook
• 40. Open Air Brake
• 41. Close AIr Brake
• 49. I have Control
• 52. Start APU
• 53. Stop APU
• 54. Ground Refuelling, All Tanks
• 55. Ground Refuelling, Internal Tanks
• 56. Extend / Retract Refuelling Probe
• 62. Pass Control - To next Director

Some of the motions are very specific, so please read the descriptions...

Reference; [a href="NATOPS 113"]NATOPS NAVAIR 00-80T-113[/a]. Particularly Chapter 4

... More to follow ...

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Flight Deck Handling Signals - Launching Signals

The Launch signals are from the middle of this diagram:

Carrier Deck Crew Hand Signals 2

Note the following:

• 2. Lower Launch Bar
• 3. Raise Launch Bar
• 4. Tension Aircraft on Catapult
• 5. Untension Aircraft on Catapult
• 6. First Turnup - Eng 1 Run up to Mil
• 7. Second Turnup - Eng 2 Run up to Mil
• 8. Afterburner
• 9. Launch
• 10. Suspend
• 11. Hangfire
• 12. Untension Aircraft on Catapult - Post Suspend or Hangfire
• 13. Shuttle Forward
• 14. Throttle Back

[VBF-12 Gosling]

As for shirt colours:

• Yellow - Worn by aircraft handlers and aircraft directors that shuttle aircraft around the carrier’s tight and chaotic deck. Catapult Officers and Arresting Gear Officers also wear yellow shirts
• Green - Run and maintain the ship’s catapults and arresting gear. Hook Runners make sure the ship’s cross-deck pendants (wires) make it back into position to trap another aircraft. Air wing maintenance personnel, cargo handling personnel, ground support equipment troubleshooters, enlisted helicopter landing signal personnel and photographer’s mates.
• Blue - Plane Handlers, wunder the direction of the yellow shirt wearing aircraft handlers, assist in moving aircraft around the deck. They also can operate the carrier’s massive aircraft elevators, drive tractors and work as messengers and verbal liaisons
• Purple - Purple shirts, better known as “Grapes,” are all about aviation fuels
• Red - Ordnancemen deal with building, moving and mounting weapons and arming the air wing’s aircraft.
  Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crews also wear red shirts along with crash and salvage crews
• Brown - Plane Captains responsible for overseeing the maintenance, launch and recovery and general well-being of their aircraft as well as the others in their squadron. The old adage is the plane captain is the one who truly “owns the jet,” and the pilot just borrows it for a couple hours at a time. Air wing line leading Petty Officers, the hands-on leadership of the air wing and its enlisted personnel, also wear brown shirts
• White - Landing Signal Officers (LSOs) who help talk down approaching aircraft while also making sure the deck is clear for their arrival. Also, quality and safety observers father air wing. Air Transfer Officers who are responsible for the handling and conveyance of all mail, cargo and passengers arriving via C-2 Greyhound Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) aircraft and helicopters. When VIPs or media are being escorted on the deck they also wear white. Crews who provide liquid oxygen to aircraft and medical personnel are also assigned white tops

[VBF-12 Sluggo]

Awesome thank you for posting.