Magnet Madness: A New Aviation Idea

"You know, the new thing is magnets. So instead of using hydraulic that can be hit by lightning and it's fine. You take a little glass of water, you drop it on magnets, I don't know what's going to happen."

"So, you know, the elevators come up in the new carriers-I think I'm going to change it, by the way-they have magnets. Every tractor has hydraulic, every excavator, every excavating machine of any kind has hydraulic. But somebody decided to use magnets."

"I'm going to sign an executive order. When we build aircraft carriers, it's steam for the catapults and it's hydraulic for the elevators. We'll never have a problem. He agrees. Everybody agrees. But, ahh, these people in Washington."

USS George Washington
October 28, 2025