Landing: Air Force vs Navy

The Navy paid for the full suspension, they’re going to use the full suspension.

Top pic is F-15 landing gear. Bottom pic is F-18. One is designed for long smooth runways. One is designed to be planted on the boat.

When they teach you to land on an aircraft carrier, you don't flare, you just fly right into the deck in a controlled crash. The Navy tracks the number of landings and replaces their landing gear frequently because of this.

It's easy to tell every time you are on an airliner. Do the overhead luggage cabinets blast open upon landing? Navy.

Naval guys on carrier do not have the luxury of the 9000 feet long runway. They have to do a firm landing otherwise their arresting hook will not engage and they will either have to go around or plunge in the sea.

If you tried launching an f-16 off a carrier deck the only thing leaving the boat would be a front tire. One is designed for carrier landings. The other is fragile and bends easily.

Navy planes are built for a harder landing.

The air force lands, the Navy arrives! I love them both. Our veterans protect our freedom and way of life.

That's why the skid marks on the runaway at a Naval Air Station are all in one spot. Gotta fly that "Meatball"!

To be fair the navy guys typically land on a moving target….with a much smaller runway.

Flare to land = squat to pee.

Landing all airlines vs Ryanair

Naval aircraft have gear that's far more robust, built to take the punishment of arrested landings at sea.

@CcibChris I watched a documentary about the training of F-18 pilots in Canada. One woman was criticised that her landings were too light and she was flaring too much. The instructor explained the F-18 didn’t react well to flared touchdowns so hit hard. No carriers in Canada 🇨🇦!

The Navy is a controlled crash

Most AF airplanes (and airliners) fly a “frontside” approach at an airspeed higher than touchdown speed. The flare is required to dissipate that speed difference. Navy flys “backside” approach at touchdown speed-no flare required. Flare is difficult and results in

Difference between flare to land and on speed AOA.

The F-16 just does not want to stop flying. Ya gotta kill that speed by keeping the nose up.

Because we have spindly and very light landing gears, so our aircraft can be more agile and carry heavier loads.

It’s a clear difference between standing to pee or sitting to pee

THat's because we build our planes to take a beating. Your planes are sissies. ;p

I had a naval aviator tell me. “Flair to land, Squat to pee.”

Wait til the Marine lands‼️

Understandable for the NAVY if you hit the ground to late it usually results in you taking a swim

Why there is a study of TBI in naval aviators…

Constant speed, constant AoA, constant sink rate.

We've seen this before but it's so good.

Yup, when you have a long runway and can flare, operationally it’s the thing to do as it reduces wear and tear on the landing gear and fuselage. The F-18 could flare too. But on a carrier where your runway is moving, you stick the landing so that the hook can get the wire.

So now you know how to identify commercial pilots who were formerly navy!

That’s why we always want to “Clear Navy Final” when cleared for takeoff. ☺️

2nd was navy, that type of landing is only done on carriers. Just one chance and make it count👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

@MCCCANM Accurate.

Future Ryanair pilot spotted.

If that F-16 landed like that FA-18 did, that'd be a dual-strut change for sure! The pilot would owe a case of beer to the crew chief for that one!

An F16 can't handle a hard landing like an F18. They're not design for that