As the last guys finish their dinner, we all look at each other with similar glances. Not a word needs to be said but everyone is thinking the exact same thing. The expressions say it all. It’s time to walk upstairs and play ball. We’ve been preparing ourselves for this for years now, and it’s what sets a Naval Aviator apart from every other pilot in the world. If you can’t do it, the years of training leading up to this point are no good to you. As one of our paddles said, if you can’t succeed at this you’re useless to us as a Hornet pilot because we fly, and fight, in the dark. We have to go land this thing on the boat … at night.
We’ve all been behind the boat during the day. You do it in the training command in the mighty T-45. It’s nerve-wracking the first few times, but once you get over the initial nerves and start getting the hang of operating around the ship it becomes a lot of fun. Day CQ in the Hornet was even better. We’d all been here before and were looking forward to coming back. Landing on the boat is what we do as Naval Aviators. It’s one of the most amazing things you can experience, yet it’s one of the smallest clubs in aviation. It’s something you can do well, but never perfect. Every single pass is critiqued by the Landing Signal Officers (LSOs), and you’re graded no matter what your rank or who you are. Being good around the boat is what everyone prides themselves on. Now it was our turn. Time to really join the club, and prove that we can do this safely, with the sun down.
