Mooch and Hozer discuss the U.S. Navy’s recent announcement that the future undergraduate jet trainer, the airplane that will replace the T-45 currently used in flight school to teach future carrier pilots, won’t be able to land at a 700 foot per minute decent rate like that used to touch down on aircraft carriers because the struts won’t be strong enough to take that level of punishment. Instead, student pilots will fly 700 feet per minute to a waveoff when conducting field carrier landing practice.The Navy has said simulators will be used to teach student pilots how to fly 700 foot per minute passes to touchdown. This announcement comes on the heels of the Navy’s decision to award flight student their Wings of Gold without carrier qualifying because the technology around precision landing mode used by fleet tactical aircraft make it unnecessary.Is this a smart move or a dangerous lowering of the training bar in the face of budget pressure?Subscribe to THE MOOCH REPORT, the channel’s weekly newsletter with updates and highlights, here: https://themoochreport.substack.comVisit Hozer’s author page at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kevin-M…Get PUNK’S FORCE, the fourth novel in the Punk Series that was just released, here: https://www.usni.org/press/books/punk… (use the code PUNK40 at checkout for 40% off!) or here: https://www.amazon.com/Punks-Force-No…Buy one or all three of the rest of the PUNK series, Ward’s popular novels about life a Tomcat squadron, in KINDLE format here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R1MX8SY
Summary
The U.S. Navy has announced that its upcoming undergraduate jet trainer, intended to replace the T-45 for flight school instruction, will not be capable of landing at a 700 feet per minute descent rate required for actual aircraft carrier operations. According to the public description from Ward Carroll, this limitation stems from airframe struts that lack the structural strength to withstand such impact forces. Consequently, student pilots will practice reaching this speed only to execute a waveoff during field training exercises rather than attempting a touchdown. To compensate for the inability to physically land at carrier speeds, the Navy plans to utilize simulators to teach precision landing techniques matching fleet tactical aircraft standards. This decision follows a separate move to award Wings of Gold to flight students without requiring carrier qualification, citing advanced technology that renders traditional qualifying less necessary. The announcement raises questions regarding whether this shift represents a prudent adaptation or a reduction in training rigor driven by budgetary constraints. While simulators offer a solution for teaching specific maneuvers, the practical experience of landing at high speeds remains absent from the curriculum for these future pilots.
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