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An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch Aircraft from Ship s — in particular Aircraft Carrier s — as a form of Assisted Take Off . This type of catapult consists of a track built into the Flight Deck , below which is a large piston or shuttle that attaches up through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft. At launch, a release bar holds the aircraft in place as steam pressure builds up, then breaks (or "releases"; older models used a pin that sheared), freeing the piston to pull the aircraft along the deck at high speed. Within about 4 seconds, aircraft velocity plus apparent wind speed (ship's speed plus "natural" wind) will be sufficient to allow an aircraft to fly away, even after losing one engine. Up to and during World War II most catapults were Hydraulic . The use of steam to drive the aircraft forward came at the suggestion of a Commander Mitchell RNVR and trials on HMS ''Perseus'' from 1950 showed its effectiveness and Navies introduced these steam catapults in the mid 1950s, which were the only ones capable of launching the heavier Jet fighters. At the beginning of the 21st century, navies started experimenting with catapults powered by Linear Induction Motor s and Electromagnetic s. If large Warship s move from nuclear and Steam power to Gas Turbine s the resultant loss of readily-available high-pressure steam may drive a trend toward electomagnetic catapults. Some recent as yet unbuilt carrier designs include electric catapults. As of this writing, except in the United States Navy , Russian Navy and French Navy , catapults have mostly fallen out of use, as most navies prefer to use the McDonnell Douglas ( Boeing ) AV-8B Harrier II and its derivatives, which are STOVL aircraft, and can be launched from smaller and cheaper ships than CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) or CTOL (Conventional Take Off and Landing) aircraft. Russian Sukhoi Su-33 can take off from aircraft carriers without an aircraft catapult, albeit at reduced fuel and armament load. US Navy tactical aircraft use catapults to launch with a heavier warload than would be possible otherwise. Larger planes, such as the E-2 Hawkeye and S-3 Viking , require a catapult shot as their thrust-weight ratio is too low for a conventional rolling takeoff in the small amount of space available on a carrier deck. |
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