A team of shipbuilders has raised the fourth and final aircraft elevator for the last time on the former Enterprise (CVN 65), a major step in preparation for towing the famed ship from Newport News Shipbuilding a final time.

To handle the work, leaders gathered shipbuilders from across trades and programs. The level of expertise ranged from veterans to six apprentices.

“It was a fantastic demonstration of what can be done when we share and work together as a team,” said Alan Bomar (X72), superintendent.

Prior to raising the elevator, shipbuilders removed company-owned equipment and temporary services from the ship. They also conducted preliminary inspections of electrical equipment.

Raising the elevator required starting old pumps that hadn’t been operated for several years. Rob Check, vice president of In-Service Aircraft Carrier Programs, lauded the apprentices who worked on that task and did so safely.

“They learned the system and became new experts in that system,” he said.

Joshua Johnson, an X43 foreman, added: “Working alongside such a talented group of eager-to-learn apprentices has been a great opportunity. The teamwork displayed throughout the process is exactly what shipbuilding is all about. We all learned a lot from the experienced veterans from different areas of responsibility. As a second-generation shipbuilder, contributing to such a significant milestone on a ship my father helped overhaul in the 1990s as an inspector was a full-circle moment.”

Bomar said the job was challenging because the operation of aircraft carrier elevators is not common in the shipyard.

“Newport News Shipbuilding operates aircraft carrier elevators early on, in new construction,” he said. “Then we turn the systems over to the Navy. On overhaul ships, it is all Navy. There are only a handful of shipbuilders in the shipyard with experience operating ship’s machinery.”

Experts were brought in from In-Service Aircraft Carrier Programs, John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and elsewhere.

“We used the subject matter expertise to start teaching a new generation of shipbuilders how to operate this equipment,” Bomar said.

The other three aircraft elevators on the ship were raised years ago and permanently attached to flight deck for towing the ship to its final destination.

More work remains before the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can be safely towed away. That date has not been finalized.