Flight Deck Certification allows not only the pilots a chance to get qualified on landing and taking off from an aircraft carrier, it gives the ship's crew a chance to practice life with a 24-hour airport right above them. You would be amazed how quickly you can adjust to the noise the steam catapults make throwing a plane off the deck drilling into your sleep. Sometimes you count them in your head like some people count sheep.
I shot these images with my Mavica during my last underway period on TRUMAN in December 1999. Most were shot from "Vulture's Row", a balcony on the ship's island where spectators can stand outside and safely watch the planes roll in. Unfortunately, I never took advantage of my PAO status to go to the launching area and shoot stills of planes taking off. I've shot plenty of MPEG files of take-offs, but those movies are too large for me to waste space placing the files on this site.