The lights of a F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 streak past the Landing Signal Officer's shack during night field carrier landing practice (FCLP) on the island of Iwo To. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew R. White) IWO TO, Japan (NNS) -- Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 conducted night field carrier landing practice (FCLP) on the island of Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima), March 14 to sharpen their landing skills prior to embarking USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).
"Landing on a ship isn't exactly the easiest thing to do in the world," said Lt. Raymond Bieze, an F/A-18 E Super Hornet pilot for the "Royal Maces" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 27.
"We don't get a lot of practice to do that in Japan because of the pattern restrictions. That's why we come down here to Iwo To," he added.
Conducting night FCLP at Iwo To provides pilots with a more realistic training environment than if they were practicing at Naval Air Station Atsugi.
"They turn off all the runway lights," Bieze said. "You get kind of a sense of what it's like to land on a ship [because] there's no cultural lighting at all."
"At Atsugi you have the opposite problem," he added. "The cultural lighting is so strong that the runway is the darkest area around, which isn't realistic to carrier landing at all," Bieze continued.
Beside lighting conditions, practicing at Iwo To allows pilots use the same landing pattern they'd use for an actual carrier landing. Bieze noted the landing pattern at Atsugi is much higher than at Iwo To due to the large population of the surrounding community.
"It's not the same landing at Atsugi," he said. "It's a lot more advantageous to practice at Iwo To."
Bieze and other pilots know FCLP is not only a requirement, but a very helpful tool to keep them sharp and prepared.
"FCLP is done every time before you embark on a ship," said Beieze. "It gets you in the mindset to be able to land aboard the ship and gets pilots back into the groove."
FCLP isn't just for the pilots. Ground crews play a vital role in keeping the aircraft in the air and the pilots safe.
"I am the squadron's first line to notice if anything is wrong with the aircraft," said Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Michael Martin, a plane captain for Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102. "The plane captain is in charge of the jet," he said.
"If I find something I report it as quick as possible so they can get it fixed before it goes back up or down it so they can get another jet ready," Martin said.
Martin said the biggest part of his job is safety. He added that it's a good feeling to know he is responsible for the aircraft.
VFA 27 and VFA 102 are two of CVW 5's eight squadrons. CVW 5 is the Navy's only forward deployed air wing.