There are things in life that you really have to do to know what they are really like; landing on an aircraft carrier is one of them. Additionally; of the most exhilarating activities I have done, I would rank Carrier Qualification as co-equal with...not Airborne training at Fort Benning George, not repelling out of helicopters when I was at Camp Pendleton with 1st Recon...I'll tell you at the end of this article.
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I started Naval Flight Training at Pensacola Florida in August of 1969, I was the last class to fly the F-9. It was the height of Viet Nam, they couldn't train pilots fast enough. How should I say this...there were "mishaps", primarily involving carrier qualification. I "Hit the Boat" with the F-9 (hitting the boat is Navy jargon for becoming carrier qualified), at the time it was the USS Lexington.
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I remember a story (there are probably 1000 about aircraft carriers and landing there upon): The squadron hosted a luncheon for the pilots in training, for the married officers, for their wives. This was at the O Club, a Lieutenant Commander being the host. One of the young brides asks:
"Excuse me Commander, it is my understanding that when our husbands land on the Lexington...they are going to be the only one in the plane...it that correct?"
The Commander replies: "Lady, would you want to be sitting in the back seat of an airplane with a pilot attempting his first carrier landing?"
That is right; this is a "Right of Passage" in Naval Flight Training, when you "Hit the Boat"...you are solo.
The simulator that I built allows me to reenact some of these memories. A sidelight; I would say that for a computerized representation of flying an airplane, my simulator is about 95% accurate. For carrier operations I would estimate about 50%, there is no way any simulator can duplicate the acceleration of a catapult launch or the opposite of an arrested landing. But; it is still fun to fly, and it really does hone your pilot skills.
I will start my virtual carrier flight on the hanger deck of the USS George Washington, CV-73. The airplane is the same F-14 in the movie "Top Gun". You leave the ready room, go to the hanger deck, pre-flight the plane and strap in. You get towed to the aft starboard elevator. Up to the flight deck...you start up and do the initial power on checks.
A digression about taxing on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, one of the things they tell you in ground training is about taxing, which is: look at the taxi director and only at the taxi director. The emphasis is on the only. They tell you, "If you have to, hold your hands to your head like blinders on a horse." They also tell you, "We really can't teach this, you have to learn it for yourself." Why? It's tight quarters on the deck of a carrier, even the George Washington...you get directed around and sometimes your wheels are 3 feet from going over the edge...your wing is hanging way over the water...which you are 75 feet above! That is why! (and besides, not all that many planes get taxied off the deck).
As you are taxing around they need to put you someplace out of the way until it is your turn to be launched. I got spotted on the far port side of the bow (bow...what brown shoes call the pointed end...the back of the ship is the round end). The catapult in use at the time was the forward one on the starboard side. This was an absolutely perfect place to observe the catapult operation! The deck hands marshaled the aircraft to the catapult, connected the plane, the blast deflector goes up, then the standardized procedures between the pilot and the catapult officer; the final gesture being the catapult officer giving the launch command: He kneels down on one knee, so as the wing of the plane will go over his head, and points toward the bow of the ship, and...there is no word in the English language that adequately conveys the sensation of the next two seconds.The plane passes directly in front of me (I know it was farther than my perception...which was about 3' from the nose).
I watched about three planes get launched. Now it is my turn. There is a whole ritual in being connected to a catapult, the last step prior to being positioned over the cat, is a deck hand will hold up a sigh showing what he thinks is the weight of the aircraft, you give him an Ok, up or down, the weight is in 500 lb increments.
Now approaches the moment of truth, my first catapult shot. I was spotted on the deck long enough that the plane burned about 500 pounds of fuel (the engine was running). I gave the deck hand a down 500 sign. I get marshaled over the catapult and connected. The catapult officer gives me the "run up" signal, one of the last steps prior to launch is what is called "take tension" on the catapult. All the clock and dial gauges twirl around, you hear the engine sound change from a purr to a roar, the plane squats down as the power comes on, the fuel flow gauge almost hits the peg.
The procedures of these last steps are: There is a grip just in front of the throttle, you have the throttle lever in the palm of your hand and in the full forward position, you wrap your fingers around the grip...and hold tight...if you don't the throttle will jerk aft when the cat goes off. One last check of the engine instruments, you salute the catapult officer, put your head contacting the seat's head rest (if you don't it will bonk your head when the cat goes off), you hold the stick with your elbow against your belly (if you don't the stick will jerk back when the cat goes off...resulting in an over rotation...very bad, very-very bad)...And...
This is one of those things that is impossible to reduce to writing. The best I can say is: You don't know what acceleration is unless you have been shot off of a catapult. Zero to One Hundred and Twenty (knots) in two seconds! To say it puts you back in the seat is an understatement! Your feet come up off of the rudder pedals.
You almost lunge forward as the plane departs the ship. This is good, it facilitates the next control movement. The acceleration abruptly stops allowing a very easy transfer of your left hand from the throttle to the landing gear handle. You retract the gear.
Did you ever notice, if you are watching any movie or video of a jet being launched from either of the two forward catapults, that the plane will immediately turn. Let me tell you why that is. If the engine decides to quit (because of the somewhat great G-forces being placed thereon), it is most likely to be right then. What does the pilot do? He (or she in today's Navy) applies the universal emergency procedures...eject. What would happen if the plane did not turn under the same conditions? The pilot would land in the water a couple of hundred of yards directly in front of the ship. What would happen next?
Oh, this is one of the other tidbits of carrier operation they will tell you in ground school (if it will do your heart any good). If for any reason that you and/or your plane are deposited in the ocean directly in front of the ship, with the ship bearing down on you...they will stop the propellers. Not that they care about you, they don't want to nick their precious propellers (when they run you over).
It used to be if you were a Navy Pilot; it meant that you were carrier qualified. Not any more, I don't know when that changed.
One of the Two Most Exhilarating Things I Have Done in My Life - Carrier Qualification - Part One
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