Speaking of the Stennis group:
Originally Posted by Navy News website 9 Jan 2012
BRITAIN’S most senior sailor flew on to one of the most powerful warships in the world for a first-hand look at front-line carrier operations. First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope joined the USS John C Stennis, a 100,000-ton leviathan supporting operations in Afghanistan, to help pave the way for Britain’s next-generation carriers...
The carrier is also home to one Fleet Air Arm aviator, Lt ‘LOThAR’ Collins (‘Loser of the American Revolution’, a callsign given him by his American comrades), who’s flying a single-seat F18 strike fighter from the Stennis’ deck with the ‘Tophatters’ (Strike Fighter Squadron 14) on missions over Afghanistan. Lt Collins is one of numerous Royal Navy pilots flying with the Americans. Their experiences will be crucial as the Senior Service looks to re-learn the art of carrier strike operations ahead of Her Majesty’s Ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales entering service later this decade...
No aircraft carrier experience would be complete however without the live launch and recovery of fast jets, and what better way to gain a first hand perspective of the utility of carrier strike than from the cockpit? In the experienced hands of Cdr Vorrice ‘Heavy’ Burks USN (Commanding Officer of the ‘Black Aces' – Strike Fighter Squadron 71) Admiral Stanhope proceeded to “kick the tyres and light the fires”, strap himself into the back of a twin-seat F18 and accelerate off the front end. Safely recovered, and having “buzzed the tower”, Admiral Stanhope reflected on his experiences aboard the flat-top:
“Being catapulted from 0-150 knots in a couple of seconds is certainly a tick in the ‘Taskbook of Life’.
“We know carrier aviation is a hugely-complex business and we will get there again; the Royal Navy will once more be able to project an unhindered fixed-wing strike capability anywhere that the government wants UK power and influence to be felt.”