Posted on Feb 20, 2015
CPT Aaron Kletzing
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My heart seriously stopped beating during parts of this video. Some of these F/A-18 low-level maneuvers are insane to me. They are maneuvering literally right off the surface of the water at such ridiculous speed! I showed this to a Navy friend of mine and his reaction was, "I used to see jets almost every day, and this video still made me say 'holy s---'."

This clip also made me appreciate how little I understand about non-Army aviation assets, since this F/A-18 fighter aircraft is so different from the attack aviation assets I got to know during my time in service. I can't imagine the rush you must get while flying this F/A-18 in maneuvers like this, and to be honest it gave me a whole new level of respect for Navy pilots and those who operate in Navy aviation units. I hope we can get some comments from RP members who know a lot about Navy aviation -- share your knowledge on this aircraft and others!

** Question for RP members: Based on your actual experiences, which single aircraft left the biggest impression on you? **

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Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfOD2y_AD_w
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Responses: 10
CW4 Brian Haas
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I'll take my AH-64D anytime.
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CDR Michael Goldschmidt
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Pull some Gs, then get back to me.
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CDR Michael Goldschmidt
CDR Michael Goldschmidt
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I'd rather be a COD pilot. More of your colleagues are women. You still get to trap. You get to live in places like Rota and Sigonella, instead of at sea, but you still get sea pay. They can shoot the COD, but it is the only fixed-wing that can leave even if the cats are broken. Everyone's happy to see you, because you bring them their reliefs, their spare parts, and their mail, and fly them ashore when it's time to rotate. You still get to log every kind of flight time the jet guys do: multi-engine time, turbine (jet) time, instrument time, etc., and nobody thinks you're a hot dog, so the airlines are happy to hire you. I had bad vision, so I couldn't do this, but it would be my Navy dream job!
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SGT Jim Z.
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That video was awesome and the landings were insane I mean you land on an aircraft carrier that is moving and forward and up and down. No roller coaster or flight simulator can prepare you for this.
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