When a helicopter lands on a moving yacht, how come it doesn’t slide when it touches the yacht? How does it just lock on with the yacht?
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I’m a former Marine Corps AH-1W pilot, and I have landed aboard ship numerous times.
First, shipboard landings are not gentle. Once you decide to land, you are committed to it, and you are going to firmly *plant* that aircraft on the deck.
Second, the decks themselves are coated in a very rough material called non-skid that is designed to prevent things from sliding around.
Third, unless you are doing multiple landings, the very first thing that is going to happen is that the deck crew is going to chain your aircraft to the deck to secure it.
Finally, there are sea state limits on flight operations. If the pitch and roll are too high, you will not fly.
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