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How We Land on Aircraft Carriers
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- Опубліковано 19 січ 2021
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This is a video of me coming into the break, to then land a Navy C-2A Greyhound on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, somewhere over the Persian Gulf a few years back. The C-2 is the Navy's premier logistics and transport aircraft and is arguably one of the hardest planes to land on the boat. Naval Aviation has been synonymous with aircraft landing at sea for over 100 years.
This video was actually recorded while I was on deployment and at a time in my flying career when I really started to feel comfortable behind the boat. So much so, that we were definitely pushing the envelope on this particular pass (for as much as you can in a C-2, ha!) by coming in fast and breaking extremely early.
Typically for a carrier break in an E-2 or C-2, you turn about one mile past the ship. For this pass though, it might have been 1/5 that distance. This is why I’m repeatedly looking out the window, as I’m trying to gauge just how far abeam we are from the boat and making sure that we are setting ourselves up to intercept a typical approach turn portfolio, which finally occurs just before I get on glide slope and start flying the ball.
Also, the co-pilot in this video is an incredibly skilled pilot who was senior to me at the time. He backed me up throughout the entire approach and I absolutely could not have successfully attempted this pass without him. And it’s been a few years since this video was recorded, but I miss flying on and off of aircraft carriers every day.
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I’m stoked when I pull my truck in the garage and don’t clip the mirror....
😂 this is the same. (NOT EVEN CLOSE)
I wish you are still flying where you shine.
Buy a smaller car and you’ll be stoked all the time!
Lol yup!
Now imagine managing that while going 150 MPH doing a wheelie and hoping the hook catches so that you don't smash through the back wall
i'm going to date myself, but in 1991 my first deployment out to sea, we took a COD out to the USS America and i remember that hard bank and dive for the approach to the carrier. it was the best roller coaster ride of my life!!! however, my shipmate next to me started barfing up and he was high side and it was all sliding down towards me...lol... never got catapulted off, which is a bummer...later on in my enlistment, i went to NACCS and had the pleasure of going to SERE at wonder Warner Springs....boots boots boots. great video!!! thanks for reminding me how much i miss the navy!!
Balls of steel and landings on a carrier make 'em clank. Thanks for this!
As a soldier on the ground in Afghanistan there was NOTHING more calming than having the flyboys overhead. We were invincible with air cover. Thanks Rob.
Thanks Flaccid!
"Were" is definitely the key word nowadays
@@badcornflakes6374 we were still effectively invincible, but the Taliban were unstoppable. They could've fought for 50 more years
Like the old "unstoppable force meets an immovable object"
"he who controls the air, controls the conflict.." - General Giulio Douhet (1921)
yea those C-2s were really giving them a pounding
You are flying the plane into the deck of the carrier. Naval aviators as commercial pilots, you know who they are when it’s raining or snowing. They plant it firmly on/into the runway with zero bounce, reverse thrust immediately, no messing around. Respect.
I was one of the ground crew back in the day that maintained your aircraft, its nice seeing it from the inside thank you.
The final 30 seconds before touchdown looks pretty intense. The deck operations look to be nerve wracking too. Good job capturing it.
I don’t care what you fly . If it’s off of a carrier in the middle of the ocean it’s absolutely amazing! All Navy pilots and crewmen, greatly admired by me.
Since there are no comms, you should consider doing some commentary over the video describing some of what you are you doing etc. Or, if you don't want to interrupt the awesome sounds of the aircraft and engines you could at least put a few captions. Just a suggestion, I think it would be cool. Thanks for the videos, I love watching the incredible skill it takes to fly these aircraft in the way you guys do.
No... these videos are perfect. You want to know what he’s doing, educate yourself.... besides, he’s teaching you things here... pay attention!
I think having something in the CC, kinda like primitive technology did, would be awesome. That way you can have the extra context if you wanted, but it wouldn't interrupt the experience.
I say no commentary, that video is intense. UNLESS you pull a Quagmire...>_< Giggity.
@@reforger839 Note that a "perfect" video would be one where no one makes suggestions to do something different. And the "pay attention" was totally uncalled for; There's no need to be insulting.
Cole Slaw If I understood one of Rob Roy's postings correctly, he is no longer in the "business", so there won't be any new[active duty]content. Given that, I think you have a great idea and I have seen it done elsewhere to the delight of all kinds of viewers. It just boils down to if Rob Roy, feels inclined to re-do and Save a particular, previous video, and upload that updated version, with captions and/or voice over. What some of the knuckleheads out here are not dialed into, is that there would now be two, count them, two videos versions to choose from, to watch...the unadulterated, engine noise infused original and the updated second one with with the engine noise low in the background, maybe, with the voice over or captions. Personally, I approve of your message and for those few some others, they can unsass the bad attitudes....In My Humble Opinion, of course, lol lol.
You’re a awesome pilot! Amazing how you are always so calm! God bless our military! 🇺🇸
Thanks Jeff!
@@flyrobroy Are there more women or men in the American army? sorry for the question, Answer please 🇺🇲
@@flyrobroy that was a bad ass landing dude!!! Thanks for all the explanation.
@@tanks6868 Would still be kinda weird if women were more numerous, even today, don't ya think? Not that I did my research, but I'm assuming because it's boys who are more interested in this kinda thing from an early age, I guess that would carry on... Not to mention the "historic" association. My bet would be, women are 30% at most.
Definitely more men, but thankfully there’s more and more women signing up every go-around!
I WAS a flight deck troubleshooter un USS INTREPID VAW 121 really like your videos brings back a hole lot of memories! Thank you Fred
I was also a final checker for VAW-122 '84-'90
Your face no stress in the intro is not even the same guy who's landing that plane, I served 6 years in the army so I know that face. Total concentration
I love how you are describing the most technically precise, all-muscle-clenching maneuver in the most serene woods I've ever seen. Thanks for your vids, man- very impressive!
I'm not a pilot, but damn, I love these videos. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, and hopefully, sparking that imagination of the the next generation of aviators. Semper Fi.
I watched your first landing, your take-offs, mustache and non-mustache and gone back and watched them again and again. So much head movement for the ship, instruments, back and forth a thousand times a landing. Glad you always kept the greasy side down and take-off and landing numbers were equal.
3 years on the USS Oriskany (CVA-34) as a black shoe and I never tired watching flight ops from the O-8 level, especially the landings. Back then we had F-8’s, A-7’s, and C-1’s. Very fond & vivid memories of those days, and tremendous admiration & respect for the creme de la creme of pilots….bz, Rob
Hi Gregory, Bill Spadafora here. What years were you on O Boat? I was in V2 Division Cat Crew (Green Shirts) from 01/71 through 07/74.
@@wspad2136 Yup, we were shipmates, then, for sure-I was
‘onner from ‘71-73-about 3 years (Can’t remember the months).
I was a blackshoe in OPS Division, working in Main Comm. Slept
right above the fo'c's'le, and immediately below the
starboard side Cat....Were you onboard when
an A-7 Nosegear T-bar broke--half way down the
Cat, and the plane didn't have enough air speed
and plunged into the ocean right in front of the ship? thanks
We lost a squadron Commander that day. I was
eating chow on the mess deck when I heard the
pipe of a man overboard. Sad day....
Hey shipmate.
Your birthing compartment was pretty noisy for sure.
Regarding the A7 I was on deck when that happened. You can never un-see that.
v2 birthing compartment was under and just forward of #4 arresting gear cable. Fortunately when planes were landing we were generally manning the cats
My dad was in the crew that worked on F-8's from 1965 to 1969, two tours in Vietnam
@@gregorywoodward6468 I probably delivered your mail on Yankee Station...
These landings on aircraft carriers are so awesome! I’m a 79 year old retired teacher of behavior disorder kids but flying plane was a dream I never realized
That's a great career! It's not too late to take a flying lesson or two though.
You made an important contribution. That matters.
@@gerardmoran9560 thank you for saying that!
That career was more complicated than flying airplanes. Thank you for your service.
Absolutely phenomenal….thank you SIR for your incredible courage and service! Well done!
You and your colleagues are blessed with unbelievable skills. Thanks for the great video!
New here Rob. Thank You so much. You are living my dream, back in the 80's scheduled to go to OCS to follow in my family tradition, mom got Cancer my dad asked me to stick around, my slot was gone since I was pushing the age limit anyway. I did have an engineering degree so they liked that but no bueno. Funny later ran into a guy flying footo mat film to the processor if your old enough to remember film.... years ago sorry. The guy told me he flunked out because he could not keep it in the box on final......All that work gone. You got talent. Thanks. Mike
4 years, 2 on Independence CV62, 2 on Ranger CV61 Fuels, 2 year NAS Miramar. Loved watching you guys launch and recover. Thanks man!
Want some cool pilot merch for your collection? robroy.myspreadshop.com/all
It's the best way to support my channel and my personal favorite is the "Mustachio" patch!
Great explanation of all the moving parts that goes into these landings. Thanks for putting these vids together, they're very much appreciated, especially for us DCS fans. And of course hats off to all the Navy pilots and crews who do an incredible job out there on the world's oceans.
Used to fly a PBY Catalina owned by a friend in the early 90's in Northern California. Majority of time flying in right seat including landings.
104' wingspan, 75 kts on final. Lots of flight control input. A real workout. Large patterns. Love your close in pattern.
Great flying! Thanks for posting.
Being prior military really enjoyed that. Well done. The professionalism is always worth noting.
Thank you so much for explaining what I was seeing, it made a huge difference in my ability to understand what you were doing and why. It was really fun! Happy trails!
Thank you for watching Elizabeth!
Rob, Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Was a jet mech on H-2's back in the 70's.. Most of my time was spent on floating corks (Tin Can's). had the pleasure of a launch and a couple touch and goes taking a trip back to subic. Do your daily FOD walk and be good to your Plane Captain andHe'll take care of you.
I was wondering about all the mechanics and people on deck. Are you amazed every time a plane lands successfully, or does it just get routine? Another day at the office? Like anything, it probably gets routine when you see it every day, but that's hard to imagine.
@@KevinKoperski At first it can scare the shit out of ya, especial at 17 years old. It gets to be routine after awhile but your always on your toes
Love watching those small adjustments and movements just feathering the controls until you on your final and those movements become far more vigorous and demanding lovely to watch
Exactly. Thanks Tim!
Another Great Video. And Great explanation too. My brother was a Marine on the Nimitz and said he worked on some gizmo that let planes follow the pitch of the ships deck up and down as they approached...
Sweet video! Thanks for the explanation of your landing process. I come from a family of aviation enthusiasts... My dad served as a quartermaster on an small service oiler-turned-carrier in WW2 (USS Santee) and shared some great stories, so I’ve always been intrigued! Thank you for your expertise and your naval service!
Thank you so much for the kind words Lori!
Your Dad and everyone who served in WWII are my heros!
Loved that, Rob! Thanks for posting and thanks for your service in the USN. Our daughter recently married a naval aviator! They are just being sent overseas to Bahrain as his last station before retirement. Thanks again. Looking forward to more of these videos!!! Jack
You guys bring everyone their mail and packages from home. Thanks for brining happiness to all of us on the ship!!!
Hey no problem! Happy to do it!
These carrierlandings and videos of them are so incredible to watch, unreal skills, been loving them forever, but your explanation made me realize for the first time the added complexity of the angled deck and the ship full steam ahead making the deck shift away, *mind blown*
Thank you for your service and great flying 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
You have turned the C-2 into one of my favorite aircraft. The cool factor is through the roof!
H thanks David!! Someone’s gotta fly these things...
You are a terrific young man. Beautiful job. Thank you for your service. Blessings to you and your family and may you continue sharing. YOU are the BEST...
Awesome videos, Rob! Deep respect for your incredible pilot training and skills! Landing on an aircraft carrier is one of the most difficult tasks a pilot can master - and you make it look easy. God bless and thanks for your service.
Are you an aircraft owner and need to sell your plane? I'll make an awesome video of your airplane to post on my UA-cam channel to help get it SOLD! Send me an email if you want to learn more: rob@royalaviationgroup.com
Brings back memories. I did my carrier qualifications in training in 1969 in a T28 and then in a TS2. Was never assigned to a carrier squadron so flight training qualifications was the limit of my carrier experience. But it is something that I will never forget.
I just came across your channel and love it. I was a passenger on a COD in the seventies. We landed on the USS America back in the 70's. It brought a smile to my face when we were about to touch down and I noticed the air crew all had rabbits feet or luckey dice attached to their flight suits and one of them even made the sign of the cross. Good Times!
Just love this footage. I could watch it all day! Thanks for the detailed explanation of everything that’s happening too. Great stuff.
Wow... since I was USAF ... I wasn’t aware of “The Burble”. HOLY COW... now I see it as you get into it. I was a Crew Chief in the AF ... a plane captain if you will ... but I was a Yellow Shirt too. HATS OFF TO CARRIER OPS!!!!!
I was a Navy Chief and spent a lot of years on the Flight Deck of different carriers. Mostly A6 Intruder squadrons. Engage in a WWII flight sim these days and characteristics are pretty realistic. Have a few real flight officers in the outfit. They say the game is a bit harder with no ball to adjust too. Enjoyed your video. Thank you for sharing.
I was a jet mechanic on the A6 squadron onboard the Midway and Carl Vinson.
Thank you for your service Chief!!🇺🇸
@@repairman99 Sir thank you for your service Sir!🇺🇸
Every respect to you, big aircraft, small runway, and passengers to worry about. Amazing, absolute skill.
Rob awesome video! Thanks for your service and keeping us safe. God bless all who have or are serving!!!
Not sure if I can watch many like this. I can't hold my breath that long. :-) Awesome video!
Haha! Practice makes better 🤣
Nice keep’em coming.
This was really cool to learn, I never had a clue how you badasses landed on carriers. Thanks for sharing Rob!
Love it when UA-cam recommends great content. Thank you for taking the time to post your video’s. And thank you for your service. Regards from the uk 🇬🇧👍
Wanted to say that y'all have some pretty insane pilots too.
Greeting from Japan🙋
I can't believe u can land, taxing and take off on the small deck with such a big airliner style plane.
Awesome!
I will miss C-2A because of replacement by CMV-22.
Sorry for my poor english.
Thank u for rare videos.
英語上手いよ!
@@firstaddz8100 ありがとうw
高校英語ですが。
@@YT-wl8ts イギリス人です!福岡に住んでいます😎
@@firstaddz8100 イギリス人、マジか！
日本に来てくれてありがとうw
I could just imagine you landing the COD on the USS Midway. The smallest carrier during my time and I was stationed onboard twice.
Are talking to the now museum ship USS MIDWAY now berthed in San Diego??? Yes it’s small
Nice job! I’m a proud Liberty Bell that flew the Hawkeye aboard the Midway during the first Gulf War. That had to be one of the best ship/air wing teams to ever grace the high seas. Tip of the spear with the help of our totally dependable Japanese hosts.
Good explanation of an intricate process involving high risk and low tolerance for error by every component.
Balls of steel!! Much respect for you guys!!!
Wish you guys well!! Be safe!!
Man thank you so much for your service and for your passion to do what it takes to learn this skill of flying these birds and landing safely. This was my dream that sadly never happened. I'm now 43 and these videos always get me everytime. I had always dreamed of being a fighter pilot on the Enterprise. Now I am am a full time RVer and have a camper van. So that is one dream that came true.
That’s awesome too!
ua-cam.com/video/1w4NVjT-Hs4/v-deo.html
Love these videos. Thank you for your service, Rob.
Thank you!
That is amazing to watch..loved it!! Thanks for your service!!
I’m a second generation Marine and Nam Vet, Chu Lai 68-69 1st MAW MAG 12 and love watching carrier launches and landing videos. Thanks for posting.
Thank you Phil!
good job!
Thank you!
I was an AO in a A-7E squadron. I spent my whole enlistment TAD to AIMD. The only time I got close to the flight deck was when I went up to vultures row. Truthfully, that's as close as I wanted to get. I loved planes and I loved planes. My only regret was not sticking with it.
aww man you could have hung out on the catwalks and watched flight ops up close and personal!
@@jayhansen9705 I watched a lot of flight ops from vultures row.
So proud of you all Rob!!!!
That's got to be one he** of a rush. Thanks for sharing and your service.
If you like this video, then you'll love my podcast 🤓
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Are there more women or men in the American army? sorry for the question,🇺🇲 Answer please 🖐
@@tanks6868
If I may, I was a junior enlisted soldier and I like the numbers.
The United States Army has around 450,000 soldiers as of 2017, the last current year available.
The US Army typically averages about 15% female soldiers, though I believe that number is rising. We'll get to see if it is when the next data is available.
450,000 multiplied by .15 gives us 67,500 total female soldiers.
And while Mr. Rob Roy here is an exceptional pilot he is also a Navy man and as such he is probably not the best authority on the US Army. 🇺🇲
Canadian here, so I'll never land on an Aircraft carrier, but I may make it to Pilot one day if I bust my ass, and I'm super lucky.
What, is the most useful, but surprising skill a pilot could need? As in, is there something I could learn now that would help me later, but that often goes under the radar?
Mix in Aviation and trails, you can inspire generations.
An annotated, second by second version of this (like your "Can't get any closer cat launch" vid) would be great. As in, 1) how much altitude goes away at the moment if the carrier break (that looks crazier than shots I've seen in F-18s, the sea comes up QUICK;
2) do you lose speed at that moment? Do you feel gs pushing out from the turn (4:36)? It looks like it would feel like you're falling towards the inside of the turn, which again combined with the ocean coming = vertigo...
You immediately start putting in opposite trim, then lots of trim input but not really yoke?
3) in race car driving they call lots if steering input "sawing"; are you feeling control surfaces reacting/weight through the yoke, or is the "sawing" from reacting to the xyz g force sensations?
4) can you immediately feel the trim control?
5) it looks like you adding in a nose down trim mostly?
6) at one point at the start of the approach it looks like you're drifting right and nose high, is that from coming off the break wide, or looking at the ball, or "?" In other words, do you expect to come out of the 180 turn lined up perfectly to the course of the ship, or the landing? Do you set up for the carrier break running perfectly parallel to the ship, or take into account the offset angle you're going to need after coming around?
7) at (5:32) that's throttle input going up and down, or turbulence? At (5:36) rpm momentarily goes up, is that from the "burble" from the tower?
8) the shows you glide path, but are you actively looking at AOA indicator or judging it visually? Are or when do you check rate if descent, or is visual estimation?
TAOT if you happen to see this....
Action starts at 3:31 😎
Well... how about stepping it up a notch or three..... land a C-130 on the deck .... or at least drop a video of it doing so.
@@francisschweitzer8431 I would if they gave me one!
I was the ATO on CVN 77 2013-2015, spent quite a bit of time working with the COD. Good to see it from the other end!
THANKS FOR ALLOWING US TO SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE. THIS IS EXCITING AND STRESSFUL TO WATCH AT MY AGE OF 85 YEARS. AND TO THINK I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A NAVAL AVIATOR WHEN I WAS YOUNG..
Doesn't matter when the video was taken always enjoy the cockpit view of landing on a carrier
Surprised they made it without mustaches.
I was about to say! lol
The mustaches were shaved off and saved in hermetically sealed pouches and then sewn into a secret pocket inside the flight suit.
Wish you all the luck on your channel...I love the aviation culture..I used hang at a drop zone 30 years ago with all the pilots and party like rock stars...loved it!
Like many others have said, your videos bring back a LOT of memories. Thank you for that Rob and thank you for your service
Thanks Jeff, I appreciate that! Always good to hear from a hummer driver.
I love flying my C172SP but a flight on your C-2A would be pretty awesome. Are you still flying for the Navy ?
Unfortunately not any more :-/
Hey Rob, love the videos!
How did you commission into the Navy? Did you always want to be a Naval Aviator or did you also consider the Air Force? Did you choose your airframe or was it assigned?
I'll be commissioning next year into the Air Force and will find out next month if I get a pilot slot! I just got my private pilot's license a few days ago and can't wait to fly in the military.
Keep up the great content and fly safe!
That would be interesting to hear about 👍🏼
This has got to be the absolute rush. Hats off to you sir. Impressive to say the least.
Thank you for your service! Amazing job
Great videos ! In 1998 as a civilian I flew out to the USS John Stennis on a C2. She was somewhere out in the Atlantic and it took about 2 hours to get there. I was allowed to tour the ship, spend the night aboard and then flew out the next day on a C2. Extremely awesome experience. So glad I found your videos, brought back very fond memories of a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you for your service to our country. >>> Mike
Does your helmet design / coloring signify anything?
It just my squadron's colors and design.
Thank you for your service, the greyhound is quite aa aircraft, I would bet you would handle the A-3 skywarrior very well , my squadron VAH-4 operated on the Essex class carriers in the early and mid 60’s and that bird was a handful to land on those small attack carriers!
Bravo Zulu Rob! Thanks for your service, one USN vet to another. I was in 9 years got out in 1987. My dad also did 22 years, he got out in 1975. He was maintenance officer at his last 2 commands VA-113 & VA-125. Yeah, love them old Corsair A7E's. LoL Was much different then.
Out in the NW moss discussing US Navy flight shop talk............. love it!!............you kids stickin the wire makes my day and confirms my love for the US Military protecting us at home. Salutes to you and your brothers in arms my friend
Watched several several of your videos and they are fantastic! Thank you.
These videos are awesome....thanks for the videos, your service greatly appreciated!
mad respect for that awesome landing! Thank you for your services and sharing your flights!
Love watching these amazing skills. Friend mine son is naval f 18 jock took him up in my piper, he got nervous when I pulled power and slowed to 70 knots for final.
Wow, you make this look so routine even though each aircraft carrier landing is unique and challenging. Thank you for having the forsight to record these amazing videos and sharing them for our enjoyment. Most of us will never know how it feels to fly a military aircraft but at least we can get a sense of a pilots perspective thanks to your hard work.
Thanks for sharing the views, carrier ops never get old! 😍👌🏻
I enjoy your channel very much. The first time landing on a carrier must be incredibly intense. Great job
Spent my 4 year hitch on USS Midway & Kitty Hawk operating and maintaining arresting gear. Thanks for reviving my nearly 50 year old memories. Shows why Navy pilots are the best🇺🇸
Thanks for your service! First time see you, it was great, Cheers! (FDR-CVA-42 1966)
Was in the USN '74 - '79 BT2 DD-876 out of Portland. We chased the USS Coral Sea for plane guard off Cali. . . . . . Very cool video !
Big balls Rob Roy. God bless ya and thanks for your service.
Thank Matt; appreciate ya!
This is so so awesome thank you so much for your service and this badazz video
Man thank you for these videos, I watch them with my family and we enjoy them. And thank you for your service.
So much skill. Much respect.
One old skipper I had was a Greyhound driver. He gave it up and found his way to our CSD squadron. Awesome man. Did us a lot of favors. Poor guy died of cancer at 48.
The Sky Kings.....way to Go Rob Roy! Thank you for showing us how the Professionals Rule the Blue Skies!!!
Awesome job. That's a lot of work. Thank you for all you do. Semper Fi.
Awesome video as always. Keep em coming! Thanks for taking the time to make them, and thank you for your service. Nothing but respect for you!
Thank you so much!
Thank you Sir for your service!
It almost midnight and yet here I am, watching one video after another and I'm mesmerized by landing on a ship! Damn that was cool! Greetings from South Africa! 🇿🇦
Where else, other than the military, can you go and have this much fun. I was no lifer dog, but I’m sure glad I got to experience the things that I did. Thanks for the videos brother, very cool!
Rob so good to see you in person without the helmet. Great help explaining what to watch for - find this really fascinating - my brother owns/flies a small plane in upper Wisconsin.
Didn't really see the ball.......hmmm
Awesome explanation, thanks Rob
Right on! That was the best aircraft in the fleet, we knew that when the C-2 trapped, we were going to get mail, yes snail mail, and care packages from home. Thank you for your service! Bravo Zulu!