:::: Has to do with what the pilot sees. Looks like a ball, I presume. ::::
It does. My understanding is that there are horizontal green lights and vertical yellow lights on the optical landing system that indicate an incoming plane’s positioning in relation to the carrier deck. Further, there are red lights that can be used to warn off a pilot from trying to land at all.
The vertical lights are where the “ball” (simply a yellow light) resides. The horizontal green reference lights show where the ball should be and the ball rises and falls based on the pilot’s distance from the optimum glide path.
A pilot who believes he can land his plane using the landing system as a guide says something like “I have the ball”. If he doesn’t think he can land the plane safely, he invokes the word “clara” to make that clear and the landing signal officer guides him in verbally.
I’m not a pilot but I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night. Haha! Those more expert in this area can correct any misstatements I may have made.
Clara means he doesn’t see the ball at all.
He would be shamed out of the ready room for that.
And then there’s that word ‘bolter bolter’. What does that mean?