US Navy's Genius Method for Aircraft Carrier Landings at Night

What do you find most impressive or surprising about nighttime aircraft carrier landings? Share your thoughts in the comments below! ⬇ Please note that some footage in this video is not recorded at night in order to better illustrate the landing process. We appreciate your understanding as we aim to provide a clear understanding of nighttime aircraft carrier landings. Thank you for your support! 💙

More accurate and informative than most. With 2 exceptions: 1. Every recovery has dedicated organic tankers overhead (in other words, aircraft from the boat configured as tankers). Aircraft requiring tanking during a recovery will always tank from those Navy recovery tankers. The video show Air Force tankers (and even Air Force aircraft refueling), especially in the beginning of the video. Naval aircraft do tank off of heavy Air Force tankers, but it's most often on the way to/from a mission or overland . . . never as part of a recovery. The standard around the boat for recovery tanking is "plugged and receiving" within 90 seconds of a bolter - that is never going to happen on an Air Force tanker at typical Air Force tanker altitudes. The Carrier Air Wing trains specifically for this - in fact it's one of the checks in the box they have to demonstrate before deployment certification. 2. The video implies that a carrier arrested landing consists of separate sensations of touching down, a split second where you're waiting for the deceleration, then deceleration in your straps, the head, then your whole body. This is how people imagine carrier landings who don't have carrier landings. It's what I assumed before my first carrier landing. It's not correct. When my parents asked me what it felt like, I told them "Get in your car and accelerate to about 40 miles per hour. Then drive it into a tree. While soiling yourself." You wouldn't feel the bumper hit the tree, then notice the hood start to crumple, then the seatbelt digging in, etc. You would experience it all at once. It's the same for arrested landings - one moment you are flying, the next moment it feels like you crashed into a brick wall. Everything in the cockpit surges forward at the same time - hopefully into some kind of restraint. The tires hitting the deck (750 feet per minute vertical deceleration), and the hook catching the wire and resulting horizontal deceleration (150 mph to zero in 2 seconds) are both felt simultaneously and instantly. It's an overwhelming shock at first, but you get used to it after a while. Even if the hook just misses a wire (leaving the longest possible distance of about 50 feet before the next wire), at landing speeds it's still less than the blink of an eye (not a figure of speech - we're talking small fractions of a second) for the hook to cross to the next wire and catch it. Imperceptible for a pilot. If a carrier pilot notices touchdown without the "crashing into a wall" sensation, they already know they missed the wire and will be airborne again in the next few seconds. But the rest of this video is pretty good!

I spent 4 years on the carrier USS Constellation in the 70's working the flight deck as a power plant mechanic and plane captain. Night shift could be terrifying at times. Especially during a storm, pouring rain and high winds. Pilots had the ACLS system ( Automatic Carrier Landing System ) they could use it to land but they did not trust the " black box" to land the aircraft for them and would shut it off at the last second before hitting the deck. I had many a pilot climb out covered in sweat and shaking like a leaf after a poor landing in the dark. It was much harder for the rescue Helo's returning after the last plane was aboard to land. They were a very big part of night operations and should have been mentioned in your video. It could turn your hair white working nights for all of us.

All I can say is it took balls of steel for the pilots to do any carrier landing day or night. I salute them.

I served on the Nimitz in 1981 as an EOD tech and I witnessed many takeoffs and landings. Unfortunately, I was also witness to a night-time crash firsthand. May God bless all my shipmates who did not survive that terrible night.

THIS is the most informative YT on Carrier Air Ops I've viewed. Well done.

My first ever CO in a A7 squadron had a ramp strike during night flight ops during a storm; sheared off all landing gear and hook and slid over the wires and ejected, but wave action after he hit the water forced him against the ship and the propeller pulled him through where the water was about 10000+ feet; the pilot and plane were never recovered, only pieces of the chute. Many other pilots that had landed prior to him said they just missed having the same thing happen and said the deck was rising and falling about 20 feet! I had only been in the reserve squadron for a couple of months and had just met most of the pilots on a couple of drill weekends and squadron picnic prior to the 2 week deployment. Semper Fortis!

Spent 4 years of my life on Carriers. I miss the fun, and excitement, but not other things.

I flew model planes as a teen and watched this video twice, I’m ready.

For the most part this is pretty good. Brought back lots of memories. However, your mix of Air Force aircraft is confusing (especially the several clips of an F-16). And what’s with the two short segments of the MiG-29 in formation? You also have several segments where the video is transposed like you are looking thru a mirror. There are also some scenes which appear to be a shore based facility. We don’t wear short sleeves at sea (fire protection). And we don’t wear civilian attire unless we are leaving the ship to go on liberty. The video should have been scrubbed better by someone familiar with carrier aviation.

I went on board a CVA 60 years ago. Even then, how they got onboard at night was pretty amazing. Naval aviators ahve my utmost respect.

Respect to all naval aviators , operational crew, a privilege to see this, thank you

Yeah, I spent 3 years of my life watching carrier landings ( and launches with full afterburners ) 6 hours a day or night night; in every kind of weather imaginable. Hot, humid, raining, freezing water and snow ( off North Korea ) and 85 foot waves in a typhoon ( no flight ops then ). Experience of a life time.

I was approved in early 90's to enter the NAVCAD from the United States Airforce and ended up getting a medical disqualification just past the halfway point through the training and was reassigned back to my Airforce unit where I was subsequently medically discharged. I will always be supportive of Naval Aviation. Thank you for sharing this video. Hope this inspires young aviators to get involved. with Naval Aviation. I am still a pilot to this day. Just never could do it for the Navy but I was at least approved to try and gave it my best and learned to be a decent pilot as a result of the training I got.

My boss was a Naval Aviator. His recollection of his very first carrier landing was dominated by his reviewing the status of his life insurance while on the downwind leg of the pattern. That focus instantly transitioned to ONLY aircraft location and attitude when he assumed final. He obviously survived but ended up in P3 sub chasers after all the drama of successful carrier landings. I was a dry-land pilot and have a great admiration and respect for all Naval Aviators! Thanks to each of you for your incredible service!

If we're talking Navy Aviation, why are there occasional pics of F16.'s in this video?

I was on the Enterprise when she blew up in the Hawaiian Operating area. I was blown into the nets and busted both ear drums. Not a pretty site. We lost something like 134 brave men. I made it out with minor wounds.

Fair Winds and Following Seas shipmates from a retired OS1. I was stationed on USS Semmes DDG 18 1983-84. Provided Plane Guard for USS America CV 66 in 1983 in the Caribbean.

A very nice video and your "small glimpse " in this fascinating world is by far the best in YT in explaining all aspects of dangers, worries and operations above, on and below the flight deck. As a veteran conventional submariner I am highly impressed by the guts of those pilots. Love it

I am a pilot. Was a crew chief on a UH1D & UH1H in Vietnam 06/69 - 06/70. It ignited my passion for flight and later in life I learned to fly. Fantastic experience! I very quickly learned, in my opinion, that Naval pilots are the best in the world. I have tremendous admiration for them and the skill they had to have...along with balls of steel. Thank you for what you do!