Have you heard carrier pilots and astronauts discuss their landings?

2015-06-30T02:28:27-04:00

U.S. Navy Sailor Astronauts Q/A #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64xcB-A8B0c

U.S. Navy Capt. Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Cmdr. Reid Wiseman answer the question, "How does re-entry into Earth's atmosphere compare to a carrier landing as ...

Response by SSG John Jensen made Jun 30 at 2015 2:52 AM

2015-06-30T02:52:05-04:00

no, but I heard war stories from deck crews -
off the coast of Vietnam, the deck of the carrier is ready for hot reloads, the deck is covered with bombs; suddenly a sound like a 10 lb hammer on a slab of concrete, then from the loudspeakers "we have a live bomb, we have a live bomb, this is not a drill" people are going nuts, tearing their hair out, jumping over the side; the bomb handlers walk out, whistling "not this one, not this one", suddenly "here it is !" unscrews the fuse, and throws it over the side. And the carrier has to put incoming jets on hold while they pick up sailors who jumped overboard.
grew up in Lemoore CA, the bedroom community for Lemoore NAS

Response by PO1 Jason Taylor made Jun 30 at 2015 5:48 AM

2015-06-30T05:48:13-04:00

No but I bet they have some amazing stories:)

Response by CDR Michael Goldschmidt made Jun 30 at 2015 8:36 AM

2015-06-30T08:36:44-04:00

"There I was, on my back at 30,000 feet, ..."

Response by PO2 Robert Hunter made Jun 30 at 2015 3:05 PM

2015-06-30T15:05:13-04:00

That was great...

Response by PO1 Mike Edgecomb made Jun 30 at 2015 3:33 PM

2015-06-30T15:33:40-04:00

4.5 Years on the USS America CV-66 I heard them discuss landings all the time. Every landing is graded and put on a status board for all to see. Nothing more than a controlled crash.

Watched them successfully launch an F-14 Tomcat with locked brakes. The Captain calmly picked up the phone and called pri-fly to request that they contact the pilot and make sure he released the brakes before he tried to land.

Response by PO3 Mitchell Haynie made Jul 1 at 2015 10:51 PM

2015-07-01T22:51:47-04:00

I was aboard CV 62 USS Independence. That is me on the left in the bottom photo and sitting with my back to the camera top. I was a Plane Captain and so I talked with my crew daily, especially the flight Commander and I got a lot of first hand feedback about things that happened on a daily basis. Also I have watched some pretty high "pucker factor" moments while working the flight deck.

Response by CAPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 1 at 2015 11:00 PM

2015-07-01T23:00:27-04:00

Great video. Being along for the ride is much tougher than being in control. Night carrier landings are sporty, especially in bad weather. But at least you have some control. Of course, if you screw it up, you're dead AND it's your fault. I'd sure like the chance to compare them with a reentry from space. Good stuff.