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From The Cockpit: Cloud Surfing in the Super Hornet

Scott Wolff 1 Comment Navy

Cloud surfing is every bit as cool as it sounds. The aircraft dances and banks to and fro, following your eyes as you look for gaps between puffy white citadels, raging through vaulted corridors and across seemingly-endless snowfields–six or eight miles above the ground. You roll over the top of some formations, carve your way through others, and plunge down along the precipices until you break out at the bottom, only to swing back into the vertical…and do it all again.

If you’re familiar with John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s poem “High Flight,” cloud-surfing provides the revelation of he was talking about, strung together in such a way that only a fighter pilot (he flew Spitfires) could manage.

A word to the wise, though: if you’re on a VFR flight plan in American airspace, cloud-surfing is big no-no in the eyes of the FAA. But since we’re talking about F/A-18F Super Hornets on deployment, those rules don’t apply. Climb aboard with the Checkmates of VFA-211 and experience cloud-surfing…U.S. Navy style!

About the Author

Scott Wolff is an accomplished writer and renowned aviation photojournalist. He has held the position of Managing Editor for a print flying lifestyle magazine, and is the Host and Editor for FighterSweep. Scott's area of expertise is military flight operations, drawing on ten years of experience working extensively with all branches of the armed forces. He holds an FAA pilot certificate, the culmination of a life-long passion for flying airplanes. Scott has received military altitude chamber training, emergency egress training, and has logged time in a variety of civilian and military aircraft. He is also a member of the International Society of Aviation Photographers and Nikon Professional Services.

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