USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)

[Matt Ottosen]

What do a Congresswoman, an Astronaut, an Actress, and a Photographer all have in common?

Stay tuned, and I'll tell you...

On Thursday, November 29, I received an email asking me if I was available to embark aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier on December 7-8, to document F-35C Carrier Qualifications (CQ).  Wow, but I had to check with Rylan and my new boss at Sky Harbor.  I had only been with the company for a month, and I had already missed a little over a week for our trip to Ireland.  Rylan said, "Do whatever it takes."  My new boss said, "You just owe me one photo."  I figured I could accomplish both with one swing, and I replied for the embark stating that I was available.

The schedule would be to depart San Diego, California aboard the USS Carl Vinson, and sail out into the Pacific, taking a cat shot the next day to return back to North Island.  We embarked the USS Carl Vinson pierside at North Island on December 7th, but the ship needed a new Flux Capacitor (or something) and wouldn't be getting underway until that afternoon.  So, we were kicked off the ship, there wouldn't be any F-35C operations that day anyway.  Instead, we were offered a C-2A flight out to the ship the next day, with our overnight embark starting thereafter.  The four of us all said, "Oh. Hell. Yeah!"

Anyway, I have now logged two traps and two cat shots aboard US Navy aircraft carriers.  Both are amazing experiences, while very, very different.  If you are ever offered the opportunity to embark aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier, don't hesitate, just take it and make the time frame work!

Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II
Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) "Argonauts"

[Anna M. Wood]

Cool story Matt...  An opportunity not to be passed up.  Well done...

[Matt Ottosen]

Cool story Matt...  An opportunity not to be passed up.  Well done...

Thanks Anna!

[Matt Ottosen]

We had photography restrictions in place when shooting the F-35C.  There were no head-on, tail-on, from above, and no closeup, detailed photos from below.  This meant we couldn't visit the Captain's Bridge, Flag Bridge, Pri-Fly, and no photography from Vulture's Row.  The only place we were allowed to take photos from was the Flight Deck, and we had to have the ship's Safety Officer with us, as our escort, during flight operations.  This fact alone limited our time on the flight deck, but I'll get into that a bit later.  These restrictions also meant that the ship's PAO had to do a Quality Control check of all of our photos before we disembarked.  A few photos were lost during the QC check.

Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II
Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) "Argonauts"

[Matt Ottosen]

It wasn't all F-35Cs out on the USS Carl Vinson working on CQs.  There were just over a dozen aircraft and the pilots were wearing all sorts of different squadron patches.  It was actually kinda cool, these aircraft were from the squadrons that we typically see out at NAF El Centro.

Boeing EA-18G Growler
Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) "Vikings"

[Matt Ottosen]

It also wasn't all Navy aircraft that were working on CQs.  This was my first time seeing a Legacy Hornet on a carrier.

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet
Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101) "Sharpshooters"

[Matt Ottosen]

We were allowed two visits to the Flight Deck.  The first one was early afternoon, shortly after we arrived.

Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II
Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) "Argonauts"


Boeing EA-18G Growler
Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) "Vikings"


McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet
Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101) "Sharpshooters"

[Matt Ottosen]

Our second Flight Deck visit was the next morning, for sunrise.  There wasn't any movement, but we had our run of the place for almost an hour, and it offered some incredible, ever-changing light.

Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II
Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) "Argonauts"


Boeing EA-18G Growler
Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) "Vikings"


Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet
Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122) "Flying Eagles"

[Chris V]

Great shots Matt looks like is was a ton of fun!!

[Matt Ottosen]

Great shots Matt looks like is was a ton of fun!!

Thank you, and it was a ton of fun!

[scottcolbath]

Most excellent, Matt.

Did I miss where you tell us who the astronaut, actress and congress critter were?

S.C.

[Matt Ottosen]

Most excellent, Matt.

Did I miss where you tell us who the astronaut, actress and congress critter were?

S.C.

Thank you, Scott!

No, I haven't revealed the answer yet.

[Tower Guy]

What a great bucket list adventure Matt, wonderful shots!

[Matt Ottosen]

What a great bucket list adventure Matt, wonderful shots!

Thanks Harvey, it was an awesome adventure!

[Matt Ottosen]

Merry Christmas Eve, I hope that everybody is having an awesome Holiday Season!

Here's another one from my recent visit to the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).  I'm going to try and get online tomorrow to answer the question on everyone's mind, "What do a Congresswoman, an Astronaut, an Actress, and a Photographer all have in common?"

Anyway, here's tonight's photo:

Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II
Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) "Argonauts"