Helo Flight from the USS John C. Stennis

On morning of November 12, 2001, the super carrier John C. Stennis, departed San Diego’s North Island . This was a quick turn-around. 9/11 had just happened 2 months earlier and Stennis was needed in the Arabian Sea. The schedule was tight enough that the air wing hadn’t been flown of to a shore base.

The ship’s Captain had called Stan requesting that he he get aboard the ship to take photos of the ship with a flight deck full of aircraft. Detail to be worked out later.

Everything had fallen into place, so Stan found himself attached to one of the helicopters that was to be flying security while the ship got underway. There were two security helicopter flying a circle around the ship approximately 180 degrees apart from each other. They were fully armed. Every now and then, Stan’s helo would pass right over the flight deck always varying the altitude. Surprising to Stan, the crew made every effort to have him sit in the doorway of the helicopter, feet dangling out but otherwise nicely strapped in. He was able to keep shooting photos for about 45 minutes. Amazing!

Then, a quick flight back to terra firma at North Island, drop Stan off, and hightail it back to the ship.