The radar operator may be one of the navigators. He keeps his eye on the
scope. Many queer shapes come and go as the plane speeds along and the
radar man has to know how to interpret them. He keeps the weather
officer informed. Also, it may be his job to help the navigator guide
the pilot around places where turbulence is likely to be excessive. Now
and then, he or another crew member releases a dropsonde to get
temperature, pressure, and humidity in the air between the plane and the
sea.
The photographer has his troubles. Conditions are far from favorable and
oftentimes impossible for taking pictures. One of his important jobs,
and one that has been done exceedingly well by Navy photographers in the
squadron headquartered at Jacksonville, is to get photos of the sea
surface in winds of various forces from eight knots up to one hundred
thirty knots. These photos are extremely useful in estimating the force
of the wind by watching the effects on the sea.
In addition, there is an engineer. He looks after the overall operation
of the plane and watches the many instruments on the panel. Usually he
is a man of long experience who has worked up from crew chief. He
adjusts power to fit the fuel load. If an engine catches on fire, he
knows how to put it out. If a bail-out is imminent, he is the man on the
job. Sitting behind the second pilot, he has his restless eyes
concentrated on the mechanical equipment. All of these men on the plane
work as a team, any of them being ready to help somebody else in an
emergency, and alert and resourceful to take quick action when the
unexpected happens, and it often does.
The crews are usually organized as follows: The senior pilot is in
command—in the Navy he has the title of “Plane Commander” and the other
pilot is the “Co-Pilot.” In the Air Force the man in charge is the
“Aircraft Commander” and his assistant is “Pilot.” In any case, both of
these men are heavily engaged in keeping the aircraft under control when
the weather is rough. The pilots, together with two other men, the
engineer and the crew chief, keep the plane in the air, though these
latter two jobs may be combined, in which case the crew chief has an
assistant—a flight mechanic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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