First picture here is just before we boarded the COD (Carrier On-Deck Delivery) for a flight out to the carrier under way in the Gulf (no, the skinny guy is not me). You face backward in a three point harness, usually with no view, and its well over 100 with no ventilation.
Never been sure if it's because the pilots like flying a little crazy or if its the nature of these planes, but on approach to landing on the big deck, they bank so hard that you think you're going to roll completely over. Since you can't see what's happening outside or know when you're getting close to landing, you you learn to watch the crew in the back to see when they wave to each other -
then you know you better brace yourself several times as hard as any roller coaster you've ever been on, because you have about 5 seconds as the pilot guns it to shoot into one of the on-deck arresting wires and come to a stop in less than 400 feet. "Thanks for flying Rawhide," the crew member says, referring to his squadron name. Last picture is the view of the flight deck as the rear doors open to let you bail out.
Never been sure if it's because the pilots like flying a little crazy or if its the nature of these planes, but on approach to landing on the big deck, they bank so hard that you think you're going to roll completely over. Since you can't see what's happening outside or know when you're getting close to landing, you you learn to watch the crew in the back to see when they wave to each other - 
then you know you better brace yourself several times as hard as any roller coaster you've ever been on, because you have about 5 seconds as the pilot guns it to shoot into one of the on-deck arresting wires and come to a stop in less than 400 feet. "Thanks for flying Rawhide," the crew member says, referring to his squadron name. Last picture is the view of the flight deck as the rear doors open to let you bail out.
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