34.47° N 81.21° W, U.S.S. George Washington, Atlantic Ocean

On an aircraft carrier, you need a tailhook to land and a catapult (actually four of them) to take off. The catapult launch makes it feel like you are in a sandwich press. I boarded the U.S.S. George Washington on its way to Japan. Six years later, the mission is ending, the GW's place in the Pacific to be taken by the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. [2008]