My head is so full it's hard to know where to start - our trip to USS RONALD REAGAN was phenomenal and I wish every American could get an opportunity to see the amazing capability of our Naval forces. So does the Navy. The reason they organize these trips is so we will take back our experiences and share our story. I only wish there was a way to download G forces! Here goes...
We began the day with a safety brief which quite honestly scared the heck out of me! By the time they were done I was sure I was going to either pass out or throw up. Our plane, it was explained, was not a sexy way to travel and they weren't kidding. By the time we had donned all of our float coats, cranial helmets, ear plugs, goggles and were strapped in with a 97 point harness system we couldn't talk, hear or move. Oh, there were no windows, and we were facing backwards. OK then!
Ok, I said the plane wasnt' sexy...I certainly was! That little envelope my friend is holding contained our handy little throw-up bag and a twist tie...you know...just in case! My mantra for the 1st 20 minutes was "don't throw up, don't throw up" until I realized the ride was very smooth and I was fine (for now anyway). Nothing to do but close your eyes and wait.
This is our actual plane and trap landing! They took this shot and gave us all a copy at the end of our trip. Believe it or not, this is our second attempt...yep, we missed the wire the first time and had to go back around! To tell you the truth the build up around the trap was so great that I have to say it wasn't as crazy as I expected. The hardest part was not being able to see out the window to know exactly when you were hitting the deck (literally)! The guys in front pump their hands in the air when you are close and yell "here we go, here we go" and that lets you know your approaching. When we missed the trap they circled their hands over their heads to indicate we were going around again. Disney has nothing on this folks!
I must say getting off a plane and finding yourself on the deck of a carrier (explained to us as the most dangerous place on the planet) was surreal. The thing shouldn't float. Really, it shouldn't. Nothing but crystal blue ocean around us...and a few magnificent destroyers in the distance (my husband will divorce me if I don't give a SWO shout out here soon). The deck was alive with activity and we were brought into the Captain's wardroom (dining room) and allowed to fluff out our helmet hair.
We were then treated to lunch and a tour of the ship. Big doesn't cover it! She is over 1,000ft long, 8 stories high in places and holds a crew of about 4,700. I would love to know how many miles we logged and stairs we climbed. Yes, you could feel it moving.
The ship was very busy doing flight ops but they did their best to show us a part of how it works while still trying to land a plane every 80 seconds! This is the "Ouiji board" and it was surprisingly low tech. They move around little wooden model planes and place different colored nuts and bolts on them to signify which need fuel, maintenance, etc. They keep track of the exact location of each plane and it's status at all times.
We then went up to the Bridge and watched a series of cat's and recoveries. This is one of the jets being "catapulted" off the deck. It really defies logic, they really just attach a hook to the plane and throw it off the deck! I was amazed at the short distance it took - I would have thought they used the entire deck for this. The raised panel you see is simply to keep the jet blast from killing those on deck - it's hot and powerful (I'll tell you how I know that in a minute!)
Here is a plane coming in for a trap or recovery. I took some great video that I will share later. Again, defies logic. They have 3 trap wires and believe it or not the pilots come in visually! This is not done via computer (unless it's at night and then the pilot gives up total controll and a computer system 3 decks down lands the plane). Which one would be more frightening? They say there are no atheists in fox holes, I bet you can add Navy pilots to that list!
If you look closely you can see this plane is hooked on the first wire. They say they shoot for the #2 but any trap is a good trap! Hard to describe the ballet taking place at this point. As I said, they had a plane coming in every 80 - 120 seconds and in the mean time they had to unhook the plane, reset the trap wire, move the plane out of the way without being run over by it (I love how they fold up the planes - like it's made of origami paper), clear the deck and be ready to do it again. All this is done with absolute precision and no talking. It is extremely loud out there even with double ear protection.
Helmet head aside, I loved that you couldn't go 10 feet without seeing a photo or monument of Ronald Reagan. This was inside the Reagan museum on board which had some fantastic photos of him and even some soundbites of the "tear down that wall" speech.
One of our tour guides was very proud to show us this seal created by the crew and what each thing represented. I think much to the chagrin of the public affairs officer who was trying to keep a schedule :)
Our "distinguished" group. I can tell you by this time we were a tired, hungry and thirsty group! Not sure if I could do a 4 year tour here.
At one point we got suited back up in our lovely gear and were taken out on deck to see up close and personal more traps and cats. I will show that to you via video later - still shots just can't capture that experience! Here we are back in the wardroom and 2 of these 3 Admirals were brought on board by the COT (carrier on board transport) that was taking us home. They were there to oversee some of the RIMPAC exercises still taking place. The gentleman in the middle is the Japanese Admiral.
We were then presented with our Honorary Naval Aviator Certificate and a Reagan ball cap! I love how it states that we have gained an "elementary" understanding!! And here I was thinking they might let me pilot the next flight out!
Next step...the catapult takeoff. At this point I might as well start typing random letters on my keyboard because there are no words in my vocabulary to describe this one! While the trap was somewhat less than the build up - the cat description didn't even come close. I told one of our group on the ride home that it would be hard to describe and she said..."maybe a car accident comes close?" Tru dat! Zero to 150 in 3 seconds, a big bang and then it almost felt like we stopped. All I could picture was when Wile Coyote gets hit in the stomach with a canon ball and his arms and legs shoot straight out as he is pushed back (remember we are sitting backwards on the plane).
Pretty uneventful after that. 45 minutes later we were again on solid ground at Hickam AFB. This was our view as we came out. Truly a magnificent day. As always, I am left with an amazing appreciation for our men and women in uniform. We are fortunate to be Americans...GO NAVY!
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