Calling all USS Enterprise CVN-65 fans

Post by **ModelMonkey** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:58 pm

THREE nuclear-powered aircraft carriers together at sea:

Atlantic Ocean (Nov. 3, 2005) � The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75),
center, sails alongside the Military Sealift Command (MSC) fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8 ),
followed by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65), right, and the Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), left, during an early morning vertical replenishment
and underway replenishment. Truman, Enterprise and Eisenhower are currently underway in the Atlantic
Ocean conducting ammunition offloads and underway replenishments. U.S. Navy photos by Photographer's
Mates 3rd Class Kristopher Wilson, Josh Kinter, & Rob Gaston and Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice
Justin Losack

Warning to Dial-up users: very large files, LONG DOWNLOAD TIMES

http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 5W-055.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 5W-032.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 5W-133.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 8K-003.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 8K-001.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 5L-069.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 9G-249.jpg
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/pho ... 9G-160.jpg

stu_fishing · Post by **stu_fishing** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:13 pm

wow..those are some great shots..thx for sharing!

anybody here who wants to do that as a dio?

..except me

jmathews · Post by **jmathews** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:29 pm

Has the Enterprise changed the surface of her elevators?

I remember older photos showing that they were mostly a "see-through" grate. Now I see photos captioned as being the Enterprise and it looks like the entire elevator is now the same "non-skid" surface as the flight deck.

Anyone know if that's the case? And if so, when was the change?

Thanks!
Jack

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:14 am

They have been replaced. Enterprise's elevators are solid now, not perforated. I asked the question some time ago and IIRC they were replaced in the 90's sometime in 2 stages (2 lifts each time)

jmathews · Post by **jmathews** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:15 am

Thanks for the info and the lead!

Jack

Seasick · Post by **Seasick** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:35 pm

The change on the Enterprises elevators was in 1996, they were switched out durring maintance after she finished a deployment.

Post by **Timmy C** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:13 pm

What are the dark stripes on the flight deck here, that makes the deck look like tiles?

AndrexP · Post by **AndrexP** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:25 pm

Timmy C wrote:What are the dark stripes on the flight deck here, that makes the deck look like tiles?

They are merely a product of the angle of reflection. The �grain� if you will.

Non-skid is applied with a roller. In order to ensure that the weld beads that join the steel deck panels are adequately covered, we first roll a swath covering the weld, in a direction perpendicular to the weld. Then the rest of the flat surface is filled in. What you're seeing is the resulting 'grain' where some strokes run in one direction and the rest of the panel in another. In the picture, you don�t see the dark lines on weld beads that run in the athwart ship direction because they are parallel to the direction used to fill in the panel.

Read on for more detail:

Navy non-skid is a thick, jet black, tar-like coating that comes in 5-gallon plastic buckets and must be applied just so in a mysterious ritual of surface preparation with expensive hydroblasting equipment and large vacuum hoppers (to suck up the resulting grit). Critically important are the right conditions of temperature, weather, humidity, surface preparation profile, etc. You must apply the primer perfectly in accordance with the instructions, and with great amounts of humility, patience, kindness and one or two voodoo sacrifice. Without the latter, and despite all efforts by the Air Boss�s rabid �wet-non skid� Gestapo, several boot prints will invariably appear in the fresh �skid overnight, right in the middle of the flight deck where it�s impossible for someone to have walked without being seen. Then a big, fat jet drops a tailhook on it and tears off a foot-long strip of our beloved, priceless fresco non-skid... but I digress.

The coating is applied to the flight deck by civilian contractors at great expense (in the order of $1M to completely resurface a CVN). Carriers are entirely re-coated once per deployment cycle, usually early in the training phase. The landing area � the part that takes the abuse from tailhooks � gets re-done again just prior to deployment. There may also be some patch repair work here and there. Island walkways, the fantail and internal decks areas (and non-aviation surfaces on smaller ships) aren�t subject to the same tight NAVAIR standards and may be done by the crew, typically without the specialized training or hydroblasting equipment, etc. The result is all too often brown non-skid (rust creeping through) or a pink sheen poking through (primer bleeding through), etc.

The stuff is so thick that it forms ridges as high as ~10mm along the path of the roller. The resulting surface is semi-gloss and very close to black tar in color when new. And, like road tar, in a matter of weeks it has faded noticeably into progressively lighter shades of gray. Add to this the weathering effect of hydraulic fluids, fuel, rubber boots, etc.

And now you know� the rest of the story�

Post by **Timmy C** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:37 pm

Thanks Andrew. That explained it quite well, hehe.

maccrage · Post by **maccrage** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:55 pm

It also smells like overripe onions when wet.

Wolfman · Post by **Wolfman** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:49 pm

I didn't need to know that.

maccrage · Post by **maccrage** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:38 pm

Two yard periods and an emergency stop in Guam because they messed up the flight deck. I'll never forget that smell.

KV_Pharaoh · Post by **KV_Pharaoh** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:15 pm

Timmy,

something else to consider, with regard to the lines on the deck in the photo, is temperature. I know on the focsle of our ship when it is cold outside, we get similar lines on the deck. It is particularily noticeable with a light covering of snow, I believe it is due to there being more steel beneath the "snowless" lines, therefore holding the heat of the ship better, and therefore melting the snow above it.

Luca Bevilacqua · Post by **Luca Bevilacqua** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:13 am

Hi all,

for the first time in my modelling life, I have the chance to start a build of the CVN 65 from the mitical 1:350 Tamiya kit.

I went checking this great site for references and advice, and just could not believe there is no thread on her, yet.

May be it was lost on the hijacking attack some time ago ?

Anyway, let's resume it...

To start I'd like fro someone to propose to us all some of 3 general compilation of resources:

A) review of available online free resources, especially as far as the kit's shortcomings and inaccuracies are concerned,
B) more material on her that could be bought (books, Cds),
C) aftermarket products available for her.

More specifically we could also start discussing my case.
It is quite typical I would think and hence could be of some quite genearl use, I think.
I began by buying the GMM's P/E set and perforated elevators for her.

I think that the latter sto be used one has to model a rather early configuration of the ship (before 1978-80 refit ?).
Some goes for the Hi-viz air arm decals from L'Arsenal, which I do not own yet, but that I plan to get since I think Hi wiz planes would look great.

But to model her in this period one should convert the island.
It used to be that a kit was available with her first configuration (I assume it was one of the inexpensive but not so good Tamiya clones, it does not seem to be available anymore, in Italy at least).
What happened to it elsewhere ?

Something other portion of the kit should be backdated ?

I also noticed no one seems to offer perforated catwalks for her (unlike what happens for the Nimitz..).

Actually I have one big free space on my shelves and I am considering filling it with a CVN 65 + CVN 67 diorama, maybe in port.

Did the 2 ever be close together ?
Or was CVN 65 (in "old" configuration) with some other early Nimitz class (that should be easy to convert..)

Thanks in advance for all the help.

Ciao to all
Yours
Luca

metalnpolymer · Post by **metalnpolymer** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:30 pm

Hi Luca,

Great to see yet another builder of CVN-65. Like yourself, I found tons of material available at this website which have been tremendously helpful.

In terms of references, the following are very helpful for me...

1. The forum thread called 'Calling all modern CVN fans'. Some of the very high res photos from Steve Larsen are expecially helpful.

2. My copy of Detail and Scale Vol 39 'The USS Enterprise - The World's First Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier CVAN-65 to CVN-65' is so over used that pages are falling out from it.

3. Many builts in the gallery, in particular, Pekka Rautajoki's built is amazing.

My build started in Dec 2005. I am hoping to complete it this year. In addition to the Tamiya kit, I am using the Trumpeter's planes (mainly because of their clear canopy. WEM, GMM and Tom's PE sets. GMM's decals for the carrier and the airwing plus some custom made decals that turned out reasonably well. It will be built to the 1988 time frame.

When it is ready for the camera, I will self-post them to this website. That is after I figure out how to properly FTP to this site.

One photo I found that may be of interest to you... it is the Enterprise sailing beside the Carl Vinson; photo was dated in 2001. Again, I will post this photo once I figured out how to FTP to this site.

Good luck with your build!

Luca Bevilacqua · Post by **Luca Bevilacqua** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:30 am

Hi Jim,

thanks for the great info.

I'll check them all out. Carefully.

Just one quick question. She did have perforated catwalk did not she ?

Ciao and thanks a lot

Yours
Luca

Charles Landrum · Post by **Charles Landrum** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:53 pm

Yes the catwalks on ENTERPRISE are and have been perforated. I was onboard 1996-1998.

Luca Bevilacqua · Post by **Luca Bevilacqua** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:52 am

Hi Jim,
yes, they do look great indeed.
As most often, if not always, happens with Loren's stuff...

Being obliged to model her in the time period prior to conversion to solid elevators is an acceptable price to pay to have those great looking elevators in place...

Also I think the Hi-Wiz Marking decal sheet L'Arsenal sells should look great, but in this case their use pose more serios problems because of the bee hive shaped old island that has be used.

Not so much for the shape itself, that could be scratch built.
Or may be one could consider the Mini Hobby Models kit (H-80502) that (so I read, at least) should portray the USS Enterprise CVN-65 in the original, As-Built configuration.

The real problem would be the vast array of radars, antennas and sensor she had back then...
I do not know wheter the WEM CVN P/E fret has them. I'll go checking...
I am almost sure that the GMM P/E fret does not have them.

Are you aware of someone decribing in detail the modifications that should be made to the sponsons to correct them ?

Ciao

Yours
Luca

Luca Bevilacqua · Post by **Luca Bevilacqua** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:57 am

Hi Charles thanks for the eye witness confirmation.

I wonder if one could try "adapting" some perforated catwalk P/E to her.

I guess it should be "textured" more like the GMM perforated catwalk for the Nimitz than like WWII style perforated catwalks available for many WWII carriers.

Aniway I am trying to put perforated catwalks on the Trumpeter Nimitz and is not that easy (requires time and patience not to destroy the outward bulwark, while removing the floor).

Adapting P/E not specifically designed for the CVN 65 looks like an overly complex task for my skills...

Ciao

Luca

BTW
How was serving and living onboard her ?
Any significant difference with more recent (nimitz class) carriers ?

I am quite scared of nuclear technology.
I would not sleep confortably with 8 reactors close to me....
Not the 2 would make me fell that much better...

Charles Landrum · Post by **Charles Landrum** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:16 am

Ah Bella Napoli - I have spent a lot of time in Napoli including the out-of-the-way places of Napoli. I even have my combat badge to drive! I was in Napoli in December 1996 on ENTERPRISE - horrible weather. I had to run the boats. I did go to Roma to see Pope John Paul II.

ENTERPRISE is in many ways much different than the Nimitz class, it is closer to the design of the KITTY HAWK class. I was the Deck Officer (First Lieutenant) and so I was responsible for seamanship and replenishment evolutions. I also served on the bridge as the Office of the Deck responsible for maneuvers and navigation.

I lived below the main deck above the reactors. Much preferred to being under the flight deck!! The ventilation ducts that passed through my stateroom were "monitored" for radiation leakage. I had a personal dosimeter that was read monthly for radiation exposure. To be honest I recieved more gamma radiation from the sun than I received radiation from the reactors.

ciao

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