George Washington (CVN 73) - Naval Cruise Book

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Flight Operations 71

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does it better Floating Airport is one of the more popular nicknames for an aircraft carrier, but technically, it is a misnomer. A commercial airplane has literally thousands of yards of space for taking off and landing, and plenty of time -- and room - to slow down to a safe taxiing speed and clear the way for the next landing. The naval aviator has no such luxury. While an aircraft carrier is by far the largest of our Navy's ships, it only affords about 1,000 yards for the maneuvering of aircraft, and a pilot has to be clear of the ship’s arresting gear in seconds to allow the next plane sufficient clearance for recovery. Such is the nature of what GW's crew does, and, in the words of Rear Adm. Hank Giffin, GW Battle Group Commander, “I think we do it pretty well. During the deployment, the GW CVW 7 Team flew over 80,000 hours over the Adriatic and Arabian seas, as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq, as the “Spirit of Freedom played a vital role in international peacekeeping operations. 70 Fltghl Operations

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72 Flight Operations