Naval aviation is one of the best jobs you could have although it can get pretty stressful sometimes. Today we will share an interesting video of a naval aviator named Rob Roy, who is doing his first catapult shot off an aircraft carrier.

If you do not know already, an aircraft catapult is a device that allows an aircraft to take off from a very short distance, such as an aircraft carrier. Even if this technique is highly used in aircraft carriers, sometimes it can also be seen installed on land-based runways.

About The Pilot Rob Roy

Rob Roy is a navy pilot who flew the C-2A Greyhound for the VRC-40 logistic support squadron. Grumman C-2 Greyhound is a cargo aircraft of the United States Navy that is used for carrying supplies, mail, and passengers to and from aircraft carriers.

Rob shares awesome moments in his pilot life with aviation lovers like us using his Youtube channel. All his videos are very interesting to watch as he shares mostly carrier-based aircraft videos. We don’t get to see how things are done in aircraft carriers easily.

The following video is recorded in 2013 during his initial carrier qualification in the T-45 Goshawk.

The T-45 Goshawk

The McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk is a carrier-based jet trainer aircraft. This aircraft is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based trainer jet.

The role of this United States Navy T-45 is to train Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

After landing on the carrier, he was taxied right away to the catapult. Beginning of the video you can see he was asked to taxi forward. He was asked, using the hand signals to put down his launch bar down so that it can be attached to the catapult.

After all the safety checks are done he is good to go. You can listen to how his breathing speed is increasing showing us how stressful is the first catapult launch from an aircraft carrier. In an interview with the Aviationist he said that,

” Do a wipe out of the controls and then I’m basically sitting on a loaded gun once the catapult is ‘in tension’ “

After successful take-off of the aircraft, you can hear how relieved he is. Enjoy this rare HUD video where you can experience just a bit of the everyday tension of a naval pilot.