How Many Do You Want?

[Double"O"]

^^^ i believe Wally Shirra had something to do with the testing of the angled deck...i know you know who that is

Capt dennis campbell (royal navy).invented the concept

 

[01yellercobra]

Yup...same here 1 trap and 1 cat...and ill never forget them

Had i known that would been the last time i rode a carrier i woulda done a thing or two differently

Damn that was north of 20 years ago lol..makes me miss my buddies...back when the Navy was a lot of fun

Unfortunately mine was because I had to go on emergency leave and then they flew me back on afterwards. I just wish I had a window to watch everything.

The trap is what never ceases to amaze me. Throw any airplane fast enough, it'll fly. That's just physics and aerodynamics. Trim it out right, the pilot probably doesn't even have to do anything. The landing, though? Holy crap. Managing the speed of the ship, the speed of the planes, the speed of the wind, and don't even get me started if it's stormy, and night time, and even the carrier is pitching with the waves. Four wires, and they always want the number three, right? My hat will always be off to the pilots who bring their birds in on sunny, calm days because even then everything is working against you. The ones that can do it at night, in a storm? That's some amazing flying skill, there. And for another pilot to go up, to try and bring in a guy having trouble? Seriously, those guys must clank when they walk.

The F-18's actually have a system for landing. The pilot just has to control the throttle. Granted they have to qualify without it first.

My first deployment we were in some rough seas and they had a bunch of planes coming in. It was literally a case of the boat would roll one way and after the plane corrected it would roll the other way. I watched a Hornet catch one of the wires then touch down on one wheel before the other two slammed down. I can only imagine how much adrenaline that pilot had going through his veins.

 

[James Snover]

^^^ i believe Wally Shirra had something to do with the testing of the angled deck...i know you know who that is

Capt dennis campbell (royal navy).invented the concept

I do. I named one of my dogs Gordo Cooper, even. Fastest little SOB you ever saw, it seemed like a natural name for the pup.