On Apr 26, 4:41*pm, Dave Bowles wrote:
In article ,
says...







On Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:59:18 -0700 (PDT), J
wrote:

This ignorant civilian would like to know if there is a maximum
aircraft weight that an aircraft carrier's catapult can launch?

Background:

I am currently reading "On Yankee Station" by Nichols and Tillman
(1987). In the last full paragraph on page 102, the authors write:

"[snip]...Then the exhilarating rush as the steam-powered cats flung
airplanes off the desk. Whether it was the A-4 grossing 20,000 pounds
with fuel and ordnance biting into the air or a huge KA-3 tanker
weighing 73,000 pounds lifting off, the procedure never failed to
fascinate me: from zero to 160 knots in three seconds."

Thanks . . . J

Don't know what it is today, but there is certainly nothing as big or
heavy on a KA-3 on a carrier these days.

The cats haven't changed much over the years. The A-3 was about the
biggest thig to ever get catted off the pointy end, and that 73,000
pounds was approaching the max. I recall 80,000 pounds from a chat many
years ago. An article on an NAS Lakehurst site tells of shooting a *
79,000 pound sled, so that's about right.

Dave in Sandy Eggo- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'm assuming there is no "weight" limit on the catapult. The immagine
the catapult would have a broad specification of
1 firstly the force it can generate at say zero speed.
2 secondly the maximum speed it can reach.
3 maximum power it can transfer.
4 the amount of energy it can transfer (I assume there is some kind of
steam reservoir or accumulator)

There might be a weight limit on the deck. I see no reason say a
160,000lb aircraft can't be launched so long as it can be accelerated
to above its stalling speed which of course needs to be lower the
larger the aircraft gets.

In the 1930s the Germans were catapulting the 38,500lb 4 engined Blohm
& Voss Ha 139 using a pneumatic catapult.

http://www.century-of-flight.net/Avi...s%20Ha.139.htm