Starting with the analysis of the force on a carrier-based aircraft, this paper presented a kind of hydraulic energy absorber and sheaves, and then the nonlinear dynamic model with arresting cable elasticity. To control the slide of the carrierbased aircraft along with an optimal trajectory, Gauss Pseudo-spectral Method (GPM) was used to obtain the optimal trajectories of state variables in the arresting process, and then LQR method was used to track the optimal trajectories. Finally, the influences of air drag and deck friction on the arresting dynamics were discussed on the basis of numerical computations.