The nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier: the largest, most lethal warship to ever sail the high seas.  And the U.S. has eleven of them, each equipped with a myriad of combat aircraft--together they can cover 2/3 of the earth's surface and strike most of the remaining third, all in the name of enforcing freedom of navigation on the world's seas and implementing America's resolve anywhere it is needed. This week, on the first installment of a multi-part series exploring aircraft carriers and air operations on them, former USS Carl Vinson 'Big XO' Captain Eric, "Pappy" Anduze, US Navy, joins us to explain just how big these carriers are, how fast they go, and how operations safely take place in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. In the announcements section we touch briefly on the recent spate of fatal mishaps in the U.S. and introduce our new Patreon page, which offers exclusive content to this show's cherished supporters (and a big shout out to Mikko Veijalainen and Bill Horvath for leading the charge!).  During the Q&A segment we discuss whether a passion for aviation is required to be a fighter pilot, the different visors aircrew wear, more callsign questions, and how aircrew (male, specifically) "take care of business" in flight. Stay tuned for more on aircraft carriers over the next several episodes!