Ok, who here thinks Naval aviation rocks?  Well, as implied by my name, I LOVE Naval Aviation, for several reasons.  1. The F/A-18 Hornet, 2. Blue Angels, 3. Big ships, 4. landing on big ships, and 5. the best pilots around.  (slightly partial to that opinion though)  

anyway, once back in 1997 my father and I got the very rare, and amazing offer to go on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and witness flight ops aboard the ship from the flight deck while it came into Elliott Bay here in Seattle for SeaFair.  (I have no relatives in the Navy, but my dad was a principal of a local high school and the recruiter got us the spots)  

Anyway, at this time I was 13, and only a couple months later was when I took my first flight lesson.  Before this point I had ALWAYS loved Naval aviation, and wanted to fly the F/A-18 Hornet all my life...  these are just a few of the pictures (that turned out anyway) from that day...  we mostly got video of the events.



So, here it begins...


Here they are earlier in the day testing out Cats 3 and 4 (the waist catipults) where they just fire them without any aircraft attached.  Let me tell you, that was a sight to see!  When the Shuttle (the little thing the nose wheel connects to for launch) would hit the water-break at the end of the track you could feel (and hear) a huge thum even through the mettle deck, and then hear the steam pressure release and see it come up through the tracks.  The steel part of the catipult gets so hot it melts the soles of your shoes!   Beautiful helicopters in the background too.


This next one shows them launching the two rescue helos prior to the jets arriving later in the day.  One thing to mention, after each launch/recovery cycle the carrier would do a complete 180 degree turn to keep the 30+ knots of wind over the deck, and man, I couldn't believe how easily that thing turned around!  It was amazing!  One turn was particularly tight, tilting the ship a good 15 degrees on its side!  You couldn't even see the land over one side, it was awesome!  And even as the jets were landing the ship was still turning.. pretty amazing...  


This is one of my favorites, of one of the Destoryers that was part of the fleet that day, and one of the Ferries that goes to Seattle.  Next to this 1,000+ foot monster, those "big" ferries sure don't look so big!


Here is one of a S-3B Viking on Cat 3, and an EA-6B Prowler on Cat 4, ready for launch with blast shields up.  We got to see 2 Vikings, 2 Prowlers, and 2 Hornets each do 3 launches and recoveries.  Now airshow on earth can come even close to this experience!  As each jet launched, you could still feel that shuttle hit the break at the end of its track, and the sound was just amazing!  Never been as close to jets at full power in my life!  


Here is a Viking just as its wings are unfolding, and being directed to taxi into position for the catipult.  (You can see the yellow-shirt guy out there who is directing it with his arms up)  You can also see a Prowler in the background with its wings folded also.

Interesting, the destroyer in shot #3 appears to be a Canadian "Tribal" class DDG.

Great shots of the deck ops.

Great shots Boss & very interesting. I'm fascinated by naval aviation myself. Unfortunately I never had this sort of chance even when the Royal Navy had proper carriers.

Don't know how I missed this thread or I would have commented before.

PS. All being well I'm off to RNAS Yeovilton tomorrow. I think this is the biggest naval aviation show in Europe. http://www.yeoviltonairday.co.uk/

Great pictures Boss...very nice

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug