Carrier qualification for a naval aviator requires completing the T-45C strike training syllabus, passing field carrier landing practice ashore, and then logging a set number of arrested landings and catapult launches at sea under the grading of a Landing Signal Officer. As of March 2025, the Navy restructured when the at-sea portion happens: students headed to F/A-18, F-35, and EA-18G cockpits now earn their Wings of Gold after finishing field carrier landing practice on land, and complete their actual shipboard landings later at their Fleet Replacement Squadron. Students in the E-2/C-2 pipeline and international military students still carrier-qualify in the T-45C Goshawk before graduation.
What Changed in March 2025
The last strike pipeline carrier qualification under the old rules happened in March 2025. Since then, F/A-18, F-35, and EA-18G students no longer need at-sea traps to graduate. They complete every field carrier landing practice requirement ashore, pin on their wings, and then do their first shipboard landings in the fleet aircraft they’ll actually fly, at the Fleet Replacement Squadron for that community. The Navy attributed the shift to improved fleet technology and pressure to move qualified pilots into operational squadrons faster.1Chief of Naval Air Training. Student Naval Aviator Training Pipelines
The traditional process still applies in full to E-2 Hawkeye students and international military students, who carrier-qualify in the T-45C before graduation. Everything below describes what those students still do, and what strike students still do minus the shipboard portion.
Medical and Physical Standards
Nobody gets near the flight deck without clearing a flight physical set by the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute. Uncorrected distance vision must be at least 20/40 in each eye and correctable to 20/20. Refractive limits cap total myopia at -1.50 diopters and total hyperopia at +3.00 diopters in any meridian, with astigmatism limited to -1.00 diopters.2U.S. Navy Aeromedical Reference and Waiver Guide. Aviation Physical Standards
Body dimensions matter because ejection seats and cockpit geometry impose hard limits. The approved stature range for Navy and Marine Corps pilot candidates is 66 to 76 inches. Candidates outside that range go through full anthropometric measurements to determine whether they can safely fit the aircraft. Nude body weight must fall between 103 and 245 pounds, and individual aircraft types may impose tighter restrictions in their NATOPS flight manuals.3Department of the Navy. OPNAVINST 3710.37B – Anthropometric Accommodations in Naval Aircraft
Survival Training You Must Complete First
Every prospective active-duty Navy or Marine Corps aviation-designated person must complete the Naval Aviation Survival Training Program aircrew indoctrination course, with refresher training every four years after designation.4Naval Medical Forces Support Command. NSTI Course Package
The prerequisite is a U.S. Navy 3rd Class swimmer qualification (or Marine Corps CWS-1). Officer aircrew doing pre-flight training at Naval Aviation Schools Command also have to pass an intermediate swim course and CPR/basic first aid before enrolling. The curriculum covers water survival, rescue procedures, parachute descent, use of the supplemental emergency breathing device, extended sea survival, and underwater egress from a submerged cockpit. Training is aircraft-specific. The T-45 falls under Class 1 (ejection seat aircraft), which carries the most intensive egress requirements.4Naval Medical Forces Support Command. NSTI Course Package
Field Carrier Landing Practice
Field carrier landing practice, or FCLP, is where the approach becomes muscle memory. Sessions take place at land-based airfields with a simulated carrier deck painted on the runway, matching the tight dimensions of an actual landing area. A portable optical landing system guides the descent. At field sites, the basic angle is typically set to 3.0 or 3.25 degrees, slightly shallower than the 3.5-degree setting used aboard ship.5Department of the Navy. NATOPS Landing Signal Officer Manual – NAVAIR 00-80T-104
The drill is called bouncing. Fly the approach, touch down, immediately go to full power, take off, and do it again. Students repeat this dozens of times across several weeks, refining glideslope, lineup, and angle of attack. Landing Signal Officers watch from the ground and debrief every pass. Angle of attack matters because it dictates where the tailhook sits relative to the arresting wires. Students who cannot demonstrate consistent on-speed, on-glideslope approaches receive remedial training or lose their spot in the upcoming carrier detachment.
Under the 2025 change, passing FCLP is still a graduation requirement for all strike pipeline students, even though their shipboard landings have moved to the FRS.
The At-Sea Requirement
The at-sea phase puts the pattern together on a moving flight deck. In a Case I (daytime, visual) recovery, pilots enter the pattern at 800 feet and break into a level turn to bleed off airspeed. They descend to 600 feet on the downwind leg and must be in landing configuration with the checklist complete at the 180-degree position abeam the ship’s stern. The approach turn takes roughly 45 seconds, passing the 90-degree position at 450 to 500 feet before rolling wings level on the extended centerline of the angled deck.6Department of the Navy. CV NATOPS Manual – NAVAIR 00-80T-105
Once in the groove, the pilot has roughly 15 to 18 seconds before touchdown. The ship’s optical landing system uses a 3.5-degree basic angle in normal conditions, increasing to 3.75 or 4.0 degrees when wind over the deck exceeds about 38 knots or when hook-to-ramp clearance approaches the 10-foot minimum.5Department of the Navy. NATOPS Landing Signal Officer Manual – NAVAIR 00-80T-104 At touchdown, the pilot advances the throttle to full power whether or not the hook catches a wire. That bolter insurance is what lets the aircraft fly off the angle if the hook skips or misses.
Catapult launches handle the departure. The aircraft attaches to a shuttle that accelerates it from a standstill to flying speed within the length of the bow. Deck crew use hand signals to confirm alignment and the correct weight setting before the shot, and every movement on the deck during launch and recovery cycles runs through standardized radio calls between the air boss in the tower and individual pilots.6Department of the Navy. CV NATOPS Manual – NAVAIR 00-80T-105
The traditional initial qualification standard calls for ten successful day arrested landings, or traps. Night traps have historically been part of the requirement as well, though the exact numbers and sequencing depend on the syllabus in effect and the student’s pipeline. Falling short on any required trap count means additional passes or, if weather or deck conditions deteriorate, returning to port and rescheduling the detachment.
How LSOs Grade Every Pass
Landing Signal Officers grade every approach, and those grades follow a pilot for their entire career. Each landing gets a letter grade and a numerical score:
- OK (underline), 5.0. A perfect pass. Extremely rare.
- OK, 4.0. Above average. Only small deviations, with precise corrections.
- Fair, 3.0. Fleet average. Larger deviations, but corrections kept things safe.
- Bolter, 2.5. The hook missed the wires, forcing a go-around. Not always the pilot’s fault.
- No Grade, 2.0. Below average. Significant deviations with slow or poor corrections. Catching the number-one wire (closest to the stern) often earns this because it means the aircraft nearly hit the back edge of the deck.
- Wave-off. The LSO waved the pilot off because the approach was unsafe or the deck was fouled. Technique wave-offs count against the pilot; foul-deck wave-offs do not.
- Cut, 0.0. The worst grade. Dangerously unsafe approach. Accumulating these will ground a pilot.
Students must maintain a high boarding rate, meaning the percentage of approaches that end in arrested landings versus total attempts. The LSO’s evaluation is the final authority on whether a student qualifies. Scores go into the pilot’s permanent flight record and shape fleet assignments. Consistent No Grade and Cut results can lead to removal from the carrier aviation community.
When the LSO Waves You Off
Some wave-offs are non-negotiable. The LSO must wave off any aircraft when the flight deck is fouled, meaning personnel, equipment, or another aircraft is in the landing area. That wave-off has to keep the incoming aircraft from passing within 100 feet of the highest obstacle on deck, and if there is any doubt about what caused the foul deck, the 100-foot clearance window is the default.5Department of the Navy. NATOPS Landing Signal Officer Manual – NAVAIR 00-80T-104
LSOs also wave off aircraft flying too short a groove length in the Case I or Case II pattern, meaning the pilot turned in too tight and lacks enough straight final approach to stabilize. Past those specific triggers, the LSO has broad authority to wave off any aircraft exceeding or about to exceed acceptable approach parameters. When poor technique could put the hook into a wire while the aircraft is still in an unsafe attitude, only the LSO can call that wave-off, and the pilot does not get to override it.5Department of the Navy. NATOPS Landing Signal Officer Manual – NAVAIR 00-80T-104
The instinct to save a bad pass and force a trap is one of the more dangerous habits a new carrier pilot can develop. LSOs exist to override that instinct, and their call is final.