011 - Aircraft Carriers (part 1)

The nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier: the largest, most lethal warship to ever sail the high seas. And the U.S. has 11 of them, each equipped with a myriad of advanced combat aircraft. Together they can cover two-thirds of the earth’s surface and strike most of the remaining third, all in the name of enforcing freedom of navigation on the world’s seas and implementing America’s resolve anywhere it is needed.
This week, on the first installment of a multi-part series exploring aircraft carriers and air operations on them, former USS Carl Vinson ‘Big XO’ Captain Eric, “Pappy” Anduze, US Navy, joins us to explain just how big these carriers are, how fast they go, and how operations safely take place in the hangar bay and on the flight deck.
In the announcements section we touch briefly on the recent spate of fatal mishaps in the U.S. During the Q&A segment we discuss whether a passion for aviation is required to be a fighter pilot, the different visors aircrew wear, more callsign questions, and how aircrew (male, specifically) “take care of business” in flight.
If you enjoy these episodes, please subscribe to our KZbin channel. For exclusive Fighter Pilot Podcast content and behind-the-scenes material, check out our Patreon Page: / ftrpltpdcst .

[@marcusbyron4195]

Love the podcast so much that I have been going back and listening to all the older episodes. Very interesting and lots to learn about!

[@OhItsThat]

This is a great show. All the right questions are asked. All the guests are interesting.

[@highadmiral613]

Dude you make such well made and thought through podcasts. I hope you know I’m going to do what I can to give you some popularity.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Well thank you very much!

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Rock on!

[@antr7493]

USS Yorktown is in Charleston. I went there it's awesome. There is a ferry that takes you to Fort Sumter too. USS Lexington is in Corpus Christi. The recovered CSS Hunley is also in Charleston. That was cool to see.

[@jasonsong86]

Amazing episode. I am always fascinated by the operation of an aircraft carrier.

[@lawminx6213]

I've never commented here before, but as a latent aviation enthusiast with an equally latent love of fast jets, I must say that I find your podcasts highly informative, and entertaining. You really give a valuable and interesting insight into the life of a naval fighter pilot.I'm glad I found your channel! ( Hi from the UK, btw!)

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Hello!

[@jaydenrobinson5387]

USS Lexington is in Corpus Christi

[@dmutant2635]

There was a story in an old Reader's Digest about an Aggressor F-5 flying over the Gulf of Mexico when he encountered a bird strike. The seagull impacted the front canopy and a half second later the pilot. What helped save his bacon was not only the helmet visor but the glasses he wore underneath. If I recall correctly the pilot lost vision in one eye and his wingman had to help talk him down onto the runway.

[@drafter131]

Nice review. Charleston is Yorktown cv10. And a wonderful experience

[@flightlevel5106]

I sure do miss that TF-30 sound on FID’s flight deck from late 80’s early 90’s.

[@OtterFlash]

Just found this podcast and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it and got a chuckle out of the comment about the below decks being like other ships which I guess is true to some extent but I served aboard the Carl Vinson (1982-1984 Reactor Laboratories Div) and spent most of the time below decks and it was an experience to say the least. The main mess deck was also where the weapon magazine elevators came up to so you'd be eating lunch when all of a sudden the doors would open up and a few missiles would be next to you. Still not as exciting as the time sitting on the fantail of CGN-37 during a down time in the Indian Ocean and having the missile launcher load in an active missile instead of the expected blue training one,. Good times.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

That'll get your attention!

[@mariusfrost640]

I used to ride a motorcycle, and I remember I used to wear sunglasses under a clear visor so I wouldn't get caught with a tinted visor at night. I then read an article that strongly discouraged wearing sunglasses with your helmet, because they can become dangerous in the event of a crash. I would expect the same logic applies to pilots (to a lesser degree). I'm surprised the Navy allowed sunglasses.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Never heard that--guess I better rethink how I ride.

[@michaelmulligan0]

That is cool about getting married on the JFK JFK visited Dublin (Ireland) in the mid to late 90s. Only got to see it from the shore the day it was leaving and it absolutely dominated Dublin Bay through sheer size

[@jhill4071]

Great show. Do call signs ever get retired? The correct answer is no.. with one exception "MAVERICK".

[@ShamuXEagleDriver]

Carrier discussion (Part 1) starts at 18:35 A retired Eagle Driver's perspective on visors: We used same three colors as USN, dark, yellow (like shooter glasses) and clear. Pilot selected visor to match environmental conditions/own preferences. For me . . . - Bright clear sunny day = dark, - Overcast/interment cloud decks = yellow, - Night = clear, but I did not lower the clear one, too many annoying reflections. Did not get chance to fly JHMCS, so can not speak to those options.

[@thecatdaddy1974]

He said there is a Lexington carrier in Charleston. I went to the Lexington that is in Corpus Christi

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Misspeak.

[@burghdewd]

lol, Dining Facility, I always chuckle when it's called that.

[@juliet_whiskey6625]

A little late to the party for this one, but what constitutes a “Big XO” as opposed to your normal XO?

[@deltafox52]

Found that link on seeing the real deal of fight deck roles and operating ... I can't remember wich part it was but you definitely want to have a look at these video to get a visual sense about it kzbin.info/door/GsdKhHG8K6m-kLRiqdJ-Xwvideos Thank you Vincent and Captain Eric forsharing all that "too much interesting" experience ! I'm not in the Navy, from France and disabled so couldn't get the civilian flying career I would have had otherwise... So you ll understand that : - After seing "The last ship" serie about an Arleigh Burke class fictious US Navy vessel (DDG-151 as for DDG-51 plus 100) dealing with post apocalyptic world I felt in love with the vessel operation and inside surroundings. - With the podcast I'm now feeling I'm kind of "part" of that family as you initate us. But I don't mean in anyway to disrespect the service/dedication of Navys sailermen and sailerwomen to their respectives countries !!! Thanks a lot mates, keep doing so PS 1: your sound output is often going up/down between every part ; i'm sure there is an easy way to deal with that 'equalisation' in the software you may use to your editing. PS 2 : for my speak recording on some rushes I m having to get one day on youtube I'm using a simple cheap but nice quality Boya BY-M01 microphone. It improved A LOT the audio quality... Maybe two of these can help for interview audio stabilisation instead of one microphone as I suspect :P But don't mind ... you must have thought thousand of time to use the best solution. If you already did so ; maybe some fine tunning might be usefull. Why not even asking to listeners if somebody has pro skills to give you a hand on that :)

[@Zakariah1971]

Oh trust me I saw the tTop Gun 2 railer and it is really cheesy... Never tinker with a classic. Fail.