Sadly, I only brought my camera phone. If I had known that we would be allowed to grope the Superhornets I would have brought the big gun lens with me.
I was impressed by the mechanics of the supercarrier. Everything was supersized. The doors were larger than the floor area of my flat. The four lifts from the lower deck could each carry several planes and could move up and down in seconds. I was told that they had been set to a very slow speed so that they would carry the visitors safely up and down without anyone falling off the edge. I wish I could do justice to my description of how it felt to ride the lift. There were no railings so you stood looking out at the ocean. Then as the lift began to ascend you had a feeling of being on a giant stage rising through the air, quickly. Soon the flight deck came into view and suddenly you were standing under the stars in a totally different setting despite not having taken a single step. Dozens of fighter planes loomed with a few combat helicopters and a Growler. Cool.
The Navy pilots were standing on the flight deck to answer our questions. You can easily identify a fighter pilot- they all have a certain look about them. Je ne sais quoi. They are obviously clean cut, not too tall in stature, physically fit and have that expressions that range from confident to arrogant. There is also that thing that must come from the actual occupation. I suspect the pilot look is self selecting. Anyone willing to be sling-shot into the air and land on a moving patch of metal in the ocean must already come with that look. The helicopter pilots are more laid back. They teased us that helicopters are far better than fighter jets. I may have to agree, but I wasn't about to give up my chance to get nose to nose with either piece of machinery.
I was impressed by the mechanics of the supercarrier. Everything was supersized. The doors were larger than the floor area of my flat. The four lifts from the lower deck could each carry several planes and could move up and down in seconds. I was told that they had been set to a very slow speed so that they would carry the visitors safely up and down without anyone falling off the edge. I wish I could do justice to my description of how it felt to ride the lift. There were no railings so you stood looking out at the ocean. Then as the lift began to ascend you had a feeling of being on a giant stage rising through the air, quickly. Soon the flight deck came into view and suddenly you were standing under the stars in a totally different setting despite not having taken a single step. Dozens of fighter planes loomed with a few combat helicopters and a Growler. Cool.
The Navy pilots were standing on the flight deck to answer our questions. You can easily identify a fighter pilot- they all have a certain look about them. Je ne sais quoi. They are obviously clean cut, not too tall in stature, physically fit and have that expressions that range from confident to arrogant. There is also that thing that must come from the actual occupation. I suspect the pilot look is self selecting. Anyone willing to be sling-shot into the air and land on a moving patch of metal in the ocean must already come with that look. The helicopter pilots are more laid back. They teased us that helicopters are far better than fighter jets. I may have to agree, but I wasn't about to give up my chance to get nose to nose with either piece of machinery.
Comments