Wilson and Dubose went through the post-start checks in familiar sequence, and when complete, a nearby yellow shirt hurried over to take control of 301. Dubose and two blue shirts scurried underneath the jet to remove the chocks and tie-down chains, and when Dubose reappeared, the chains were draped around his neck, adding another layer of flight deck grime to his already filthy brown float coat. He pointed to the yellow shirt and saluted Wilson, control of 301 now in the able hands of the young flight deck controller.
Obeying the yellow shirt’s hand signals, Wilson eased out of his spot, passing dozens of sailors tending other jets waiting their turn. He was passed off to another yellow shirt who took him along the foul line past the island. It seemed Wilson was being taken to the bow behind Weed, who had taxied ahead of him.
Weed was positioned on Cat 1, and, as the Jet Blast Deflector slowly rose out of the flight deck, Wilson stopped behind it, mere feet from the steel shield. Troubleshooters ducked under the jets and walked along the fuselages, making last-minute checks of their charges with practiced eye and loving hands.
The Hawkeye was shot early off Cat 2 with a resonating whooommm. After a short lull, and with the other aircraft positioned behind them, the catapult crews began hooking up the jets to the shuttles. Red-shirted ordnancemen pulled pins to “arm” the practice ordnance and the 20mm cannons of the fighters. Off the waist, a tanker-configured Super Hornet roared into the air to take position overhead Coral Sea to transfer fuel to thirsty jets.
The crew waited through a five-minute break for the Air Boss to give a green deck. The goal was to shoot the first airplane at exactly 1430, to the second. Circling overhead, small formations of aircraft from the previous event waited for their turn to land and watched the progress of the launch so they could enter the break as soon as the angled deck became clear.
The ship steadied on launch heading — with the squall now right in front of it. Concentrating on the dangerous task set before them, the sailors didn’t seem to notice the foul weather ahead — which would soon drench them.
On the other side of the JBD, Weed added some power, and Wilson knew that soon his friend would be placed in tension. Seconds later the twin F414 engines of the Rhino thundered to full strength. The waves of kerosene exhaust pounding on the JBD caused everything in the vicinity to vibrate. Wilson was buffeted in place and would have been blown over the side were it not for the JBD.