Blue, you are right. The F-18 is made to take a CAT shot "hands off" due to the computer. "Fly by wire" has taken the pilot completely out of the equation. Pilots who fought the computer would induce PIO ( pilot induced oscillations ) that could land them in the drink
Now the F-14 on the other hand is another beast entirely.
When launching in a Tomcat from the cat, the pilot positions his hand just behind the stick to keep it from coming to far aft during the cat stroke. With a good trim set, the tomcat will fly away from the water with no control inputs required. But setting the trim "perfectly" in a Tomcat is an almost impossible task. So, once clear of the deck, the pilot holds the aircraft attitude at 10 degress nose up for the climb out In the Hornet, the computer does this for them.
Been there, done that:)
