I was Hangar Deck Officer in USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) FRom July, 1970 until December, 1972. Naturally, I flew the COD as often as I could! Some of our trips to Thailand FRom the Gulf of Tonkin were VERY memorable!
As for the C-1 being a nifty people carrier, well, you’d best bring a lot of money to the table! The USN was not particularly concerned with fuel/maintenance costs, etc., and they were/are well beyond the means of an ordinary person. HST, there are a couple of C-1s in private hands.
BTW, the Willy Fudd and the C-1 (”Trader”) were developed FRom the Grumman Iron Works S-2 series.
Deck launches are usually “high pucker factor” events for the pilots (and much more comfortable for the pax and crew than a cat shot!) because, typically, unless there is a LOT of wind over the deck, one arrives at the deck edge right at minimum single engine flying speed. Which means, if an engine quits right at that moment, the pilots will be QUITE busy for a while!
HST, the airplane was eminently flyable on one engine — it was much, much better than a Willy Fudd with an engine shut down!
I’ll not deny that ALL carrier “work” is “high pucker factor.” But for me, it was great fun! I enjoyed every CVL I managed to get (I was known as a “Bagger”)! And I always wanted just one more!
LOL, I like the “quite busy for a while” reference!