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02/06/2015 1:17 am
(PICS) 'Hunting', 'Interception'
photo no longer available
photo no longer available
02/06/2015 2:00 am
That 2nd photo is a Russian "Bear" bomber - we intercepted many of those when I was in the Navy...
As an air-search radar operator on USS Nimitz (CVN 68) back in '74-'78, there were dozens of times we intercepted these aircraft. Somewhere (probably in one of my "cruise books"), there are photos just like this one, except the "chase" aircraft was an F-4 (& later an F-14).
02/06/2015 5:24 am
Tererence, one of the top things on my bucket list is to personally witness naval aircraft...
... launch and recover operations on an aircraft carrier. I'm sure that's impossible for civilians, right?
02/06/2015 5:54 am
Absolutely right...I'd probably take that one out of your bucket list - the odds are slim to none.
The best you can hope for is to find a video (probably from History channel) whose topic is an aircraft carrier. They'll show you flight ops (launch/recovery) there. I've seen them (typically hour-long episodes) on Nimitz (my alma mater - CVN 68) & Reagan (CVN 76) plus a couple of others.
The only other way I know of (outside of enlisting in the USN) is to find a way to participate in what's called a "dependents day cruise" - a one day event that allows sailors to bring their family members/guests aboard. But even then, they restrict people from viewing "live" even from the upper decks in the island superstructure, where you're theoretically "safe" from actual contact with an aircraft.
Now, they might allow (during the dependent's cruise) for a few people at a time to visit the bridge/pilot house & view from there, but the number of civilians allowed at one time would probably be less than 20, if even allowed - they "drive" the ship from there, so too many people might be a hazard...
When I was a sailor ('74-'78), we were able to go out onto the superstructure's "catwalks" & observe the launch/recovery events, but that practice has long since been abandoned for safety reasons...
02/06/2015 7:06 am
As an avid fanatic of all vehicles, I've already seen the carrier documentaries...
... that have aired over the years. As you know, a video is one thing but live action is entirely something else. (sigh)
02/06/2015 7:26 am
Understood - but that's a pretty tall bucket you're trying to fill...
.