All Things Aviation
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Duncan
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Re: All Things Aviation
newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:47 pmSteam catapults are nuclear powered. The nuclear reactor boils water into steam that drives the catapults. One of the primary reasons that US aircraft carriers are nuclear powered. That and no need to refuel.Marty wrote:Thanks for the tip, Freightdog. I gargled steam catapult. Now I'd like to see the nuclear powered version!
All other aircraft carriers use vertical take off aircraft or sloped ‘jet ski’ decks.
And supposedly the rush of being hurled from zero to flight in a couple of seconds... makes the fighter pilots love their planes more than their wives.
Just to note.
My experience from having worked in power stations and oil refinery says its not just '' steam '' but is '' super heated steam '' which is why there is so much pressure. There is no moisture in it any more until it cools down to ?? degrees. Not the same as ''wet steam '' which you would see in the old steam trains.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Freightdog
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Re: All Things Aviation
Erm....newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:47 pmSteam catapults are nuclear powered. The nuclear reactor boils water into steam that drives the catapults. One of the primary reasons that US aircraft carriers are nuclear powered. That and no need to refuel.Marty wrote:Thanks for the tip, Freightdog. I gargled steam catapult. Now I'd like to see the nuclear powered version!
All other aircraft carriers use vertical take off aircraft or sloped ‘jet ski’ decks.
Steam catapults have been around, and in use, for quite some time, predating the extensive use of nuclear powered carriers.
The fact that nuclear powered carriers predominate is, I’d say, best described as coincidental, as is ski jump/STOL/VTOL.
Being able to generate steam is essential. How it is generated is not really the point. Nuclear reactor or conventional propulsion, there is still the ability to generate steam. Steam locomotives aren’t exactly famous for being nuclear powered.
Early fifties was the dawn of new/sustainable catapult tech ideas. Aircraft getting heavier, or carrying greater payloads further, faster, jet engine era, needing more energy to get going initially.
Had the jet era dawned slightly earlier, and Jet aircraft off carriers happened in world war 2, then innovation would likely have seen the steam catapult appear a little sooner. Post world war 2, while everyone was celebrating the new peace in our time, the Cold War maintained the innovation and development.
As a side note- imagine if a good catapult system had been available when Jimmy Doolittle launched off of the Hornet?
Re: All Things Aviation
True, in fact, I believe the steam catapult for aircraft carriers was a British invention........Freightdog wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:29 pm Steam catapults have been around, and in use, for quite some time,
.......along with the angled flight deck which allowed the simultaneous launch and recovery of aircraft.
British naval aviation was pretty damn kick ass, back in the day.
Re: All Things Aviation
strongest aircraft ever
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newkidontheblock
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Re: All Things Aviation
Nothing. Everything needs to be in place all at the same time. Large, angled flight deck. Reinforced landing gear on the plane to take the stress of the catapult, high efficiency engines (usually jet) along with wing designs to keep the plane from falling into the sea after being hurled off the carrier etc.Freightdog wrote:As a side note- imagine if a good catapult system had been available when Jimmy Doolittle launched off of the Hornet?
If a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber had been hurled from a good (aka modern enough to hurl a 20 ton bomber), either the nose gear would break from the force of dragging the whole plane, the wings would rip off from the stress of going from zero to flight, or the plane would fall to the sea from the engines being unable to develop enough power to the lift plane up after being thrown out.
All the fighters look beautiful! Each performed great for their designs. P 39 and P 63 was awful as a high speed, high altitude dog fighter, but excelled at low speed ground attack, the squat P 47 was great at high altitudes and could take and dish out more punishment than other planes of its time.
Keep ‘em coming!
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SternAAlbifrons
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Re: All Things Aviation
Just a day in the office for a U-2 driver (NASA variant):
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