A humourous quote to accompany the photo here on page 6 of this thread:
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...ml#post7910094
OR:
SPECIAL REPORT AIR WARFARE & FLIGHT OPERATIONS SEA POWER / OCTOBER 2011
HIGH-TECH FLIGHT DECK DIGITAL-AGE ELECTRONICS, UNMANNED SYSTEMS WILL MEAN BIG CHANGES IN CARRIER OPERATIONS
By OTTO KREISHER, Special Correspondent
"...Hands-off landings on a carrier are not new. Technology allowing carrier-controlled approaches to a landing was first tested on Aug. 12, 1957, and updated versions are installed in the F/A-18 and other recent carrierbased aircraft. But those systems, which are intended for use in extremely poor visibility conditions, require the pilot to fly into position aft of the carrier where the electronic system can take over.
Given the nature of jet pilots, the hands-off system is almost never used."
Seapower - October 2011