M.a.g.i.c. C.a.r.p.e.t.

[botsapper]

Magic Carpet or Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies. The latest gen autonomous vehicle systems are welcomed in the most hazardous and most harrowing part of a naval pilot's mission, the carrier landing. Multiple decisions and adjustments are made in the last few seconds before snagging one of the four arrestor cables. Magic Carpet takes over and offers an autopilot mode to refine the landing trajectory as smooth and controlled as possible. The newer FA-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers will soon have this upgrade and help qualify newer pilots and bring veteran pilots on their carriers safely. The system also 'softly' lands the planes with less wear and tear from arrestor landings. The navalized F-35C Lightning IIs have this system standard and will be operational 2019.

Hornet and Growler program manager Capt. David Kindley explained, "What we do with Magic Carpet, and it's very disorienting for an aviator basically, you take the stick and push it forward until you're on glide slope, and then let go. Which is so weird to do in an airplane. Instead of making multiple corrections with throttle and stick to make glide slope, I just do one."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91xCYwN4goA

[niky]

That's pretty damn cool. And about time.

[MetroMPG]

Can the pilots now watch Harry Potter movies on approach?

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Can the pilots now watch Harry Potter movies on approach?

I doubt they even have time for the trailer!

[jamesqf]

I wonder what this magic carpet will do if a semi suddenly drives across the deck :-)

[seifrob]

Hopefully they also spent good amount of time developing that system itself, not only cool sounding acronyme.

[oil pan 4]

Something that allows the air craft to land easier on the deck will be a huge improvement.
Air Force fighters land like a butterfly, but they also have 10,000 feet of runway too.