2015-05-29 Vice Admiral Shoemaker, USN Declaration With Exhibit

"Landing a tactical aircraft on a moving aircraft carrier at sea poses enormous challenges for even the Navy's most experienced aviators. Aviators must perform a series of maneuvers in a precise sequence, at specific altitudes, speeds, and power settings, which are very different from a conventional landing. To land on an aircraft carrier, aviators first fly 180 degree descending turns in an oblong "racetrack" pattern over the aircraft carrier. They enter the racetrack flight pattern at 800 feet above sea level and then descend to 600 feet. Aviators then turn and descend at 100-200 feet per minute to arrive at the stmt point of the final descent. During the final seconds of the landing, aviators make constant power corrections to achieve the exact descent angle, alignment and airspeed so that the aircraft arresting hook touches down in a precise location on an aircraft carrier runway that is moving away from them and can be pitching up and down, while also rolling side to side. The aircraft arresting hook then catches an arresting wire, stopping the aircraft, which is moving at over 150 miles per hour, in less than 300 feet. When the aircraft touches the flight deck, aviators actually add power (rather than braking) so that the aircraft can immediately take off again if the aircraft's arresting hook misses the arresting wire."