This clip shows the takeoff as well.
I stand corrected (as I thought I might). Holy shit. A live pilot had to LIVE through that?
:eek:
I’d be terrified. I still am. Drones are worrisome to me.
ETA: I can’t believe the C-130’s wings didn’t come close to scraping the superstructure!
Just to put things in perspective an F-14 Tomcat is longer than a B-25 and twice the weight.
Although the phrase is bandied about quite a bit for more trivial matters, I think this is one of the few instances for which it was actually created. There really is not much else one can say. Except maybe, "Holy shit. :eek: "
Me, I’m struck by how extraordinarily precise that landing was. The pilot managed to touch down the rear wheels within what, about ten feet of the edge of the deck?
Yep. He’s either really good or he almost nerfed it.
I doubt they selected him by drawing names from a hat. 
I noticed that the wheels were already coming up, on takeoff, before he ran out of deck.
Might have been part of some punitive action…
I found this, X-47-heads:
Search for “airboyd” in YouTube. In his channel (everyone know how to subscribe?), is a playlist of 20 videos on the X-47, dating from 2003. A bunch on the carrier launch and prep.
Here’s one:
He also has some 400 (quick scan) other vids on air and space.
Because he’s popular, he made a deal to sell ads, which sucks but you can kill them after five seconds.
I was a bit surprised to see that no one had followed up on this thread after the flurry of posts ending on May 16.
On May 20, the X-47B was recorded doing touch-and-goes on the Bush.
Wonder how it will do when low on fuel, ( one chance to do it correctly ) in rough seas at night in heavy rain and strong & variable winds.
Well theoretically, it should both see better and react faster than a human pilot. But it’ll be interesting to know if they’ve got it right.
How is it often used incorrectly?
Or kamikaze, even. 
Never mind, I figured it out when I googled for “home in” and the second result was a link to merriam-webster.com’s entry for “hone in”, including a discussion about how the whole “hone in” usage is a mistake, and an argument in the comments about whether “hone in” is acceptable.
Maybe your brain said, “THAT would be interesting. An overgrown RC plane? Not nearly so interesting.” It also means you’re old.
I thought of the B-47, too.
Strategic Air Command kept the Russkies off our ass.
Get off my lawn!
According to the AP, the Navy is attempting to land the drone on the USS GHW Bush today. I’m sure we’ll hear shortly how it came out.