re: So you want to be a Carrier Pilot

Buddy of mine was a f18 driver for the Marines. During carrier quals it came down to his last trap. Make it and you're good to go. Fail and find another plane to fly. Obviously he made it. He'd go on to fly Combat air patrol over San Francisco on 9-11, Combat missions with the Marines and Seals in Afghanistan, and made in to the final selection phase for the Blue Angeles (he was unsuccessful).

But it all came down to 1 landing back in the 1990s....