To add to the above it is also done in the Navy when you have a deck that the aircraft cannot fit onto. A good example of this is in the Falklands when two seakings were sent with two destroyers to prosecute a suspected submarine sighting. It was too far away from their parent ships to sensibly transit back for fuel etc so they took some extra crews who stayed on the ships and then when they refueled they also changed the crews by winch. I can't remember how long they stayed airborne but it was quite some time with at least a couple of crew changes. They didn't find any submarine (not knowingly anyway) but I'm sure left a few more whales with headaches. A whale can give a sonar contact like a sub. If you're not sure then a depth charge will show you the difference!!