Those were the days when U.S. NAVY CARRIER EVENT was the real deal.
Four pounds total weight, 44" wingspan, and all the cubic inches you could get into it. Not everybody could fly the event, but everybody respected it.
The ultimate was Ed Heiser's Tigercat with two ST 65's.
When planes like that blasted off, you looked for something solid to hide behind. 16 seconds of HIGH speed was a lot more exciting that five minutes of hovering.