flight operations on a carrier are notoriously tough getting on an office ship is the definitive skill that sets naval aviators apart from all others the reason the runway on land pilots have more than 2,000 feet to takeoff and land on a carrier they have just 300 naval aviation is pretty unforgiving if you're not focused and you're not prepared then you're not gonna be doing this business for very long to take off on such a short deck pilots have to generate extra speed the solution a catapult a cat shot can launch a sixty thousand pound aircraft from zero to 150 miles per hour in just two seconds it's kind of like being shot out of a gun it wakes you up it gets your adrenaline going and and it's pretty exciting taking off from a carrier is hard complicating the matter the flight deck it doesn't stay still it heaves and sways with the sea in the seconds before touchdown pilots have to make countless small changes to get the aircraft to line up perfectly with the deck in f18 typically hits the deck at over 150 miles an hour to slow down pilots rely on a system of arresting wires catching one is called a trap we have three wires we can catch when our hook grabs one of those wires it's the appropriate amount of cable to stop you before you would go off the end of the landing area it takes years to become a naval aviator the good ones make it look easy it looks graceful and it's beautiful but you don't see it's all the practice and repetition that goes into making that look that way [Music] you