How To Land A Fighter On An Aircraft Carrier On A Stormy Night
For Navy fighter aircrews, the toughest part of any combat mission can be getting home. Here's how they do it.
By LCDR Joe “Smokin” RuzickaMay 19, 2016
The War ZoneCarrier OpsTrapsHow ToNight FlyingNaval Aviation
SHARE
It’s dark—scary dark. Like when you are five years old hiding under the covers to avoid monsters dark.
There might be a few stars in the sky and maybe a partial moon above a thick layer of clouds near the ocean floor. But below the cloud deck is just a vast expanse of black ocean; every once in a while a large tanker might break up the darkness with its running lights. While it's nice to see someone else out there with you, that distant tanker really can’t do anything to help you.
“Alone and unafraid”—that's the term Naval Aviators use in jest. Flying at night over the open ocean as a naval aviator has a certain haunting loneliness to it that only a few people have experienced. The critical task of landing a multi-million dollar aircraft onto a moving vessel belongs only to you. It is a lonely task that becomes even more difficult when the weather is uncooperative.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/3559/how-to-land-a-fighter-on-an-aircraft-carrier-on-a-stormy-night
