During the Cold War, the United States Navy became one of America’s most important deterrence tools largely because of the aircraft carrier, a half-acre mobile platform of American sovereignty and military might. When stressing the importance of the aircraft carrier as a center of gravity of military coercion, few analysts appreciate the relatively small system that makes it a feasible launching platform for aircraft, the catapult system. This paper will explain the mechanics of the aircraft catapult system as well as its evolution from the weight and derrick system to the presently used steam system and new electromagnetic system that Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers will use.
How Catapults Work
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from aircraft carriers as a form of assisted take off by assisting aircrafts to higher speeds necessary for short distance takeoffs. The catapult system consists of a track built into the flight deck with a large piston or shuttle below the middle of the track that is attached the aircraft’s nose gear. In some cases, a wire rope called a catapult bridle is attached to the aircraft and the catapult shuttle. The ramps at the catapult ends catch the ropes so they can be reused rather than constantly replaced; however, American aircraft have not used bridles since the end of the Cold War. Consequently, U.S. Navy carriers commissioned since 1990 do not have ramps. At launch, a release bar holds the aircraft in place as steam pressure builds up then breaks, freeing the piston to pull the aircraft along the deck at high speed. The aircraft’s velocity through the action of the catapult in addition to the apparent wind speed is adequate to allow an aircraft to fly away within two to fo...
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...because of the high power, force, and energy densities possible, all prized features for an aircraft carrier. In the future Navy, weight and volume may be of even higher importance as smaller budgets demand smaller ships, and future design requirements demand more performance out of smaller boxes. Electromagnetics offers this advantage. These systems would also provide the essential controllability that comes with electrical machinery allowing for safer, less mechanically stressing operations. This will lead to extended life of airframes, nose-gear, and tail-hooks. Most importantly, electromagnetic motors will provide high level forces and greater efficiencies, which will permit the future generations of heavier, faster aircraft to operate off a carrier. Systems need to be developed that can produce the necessary performance; electromagnetics offers a viable option.
In today’s world, the use of airplanes in wars or in everyday life has become a part of how we live as human beings. Removing the air forces of the world is like taking a step back in time when wars were only fought on land or sea. WWI began only eleven short years after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 19031 and yet aircrafts were being used for surveillance and eventually combat purposes. It is understood that these aircrafts were primitive, but they laid down the foundation for what we know today as fighter jets. The Fokker Eindecker “revolutionized air combat by successfully employing a synchronized forward -firing machine gun mounted on the engine cowling”2. Because this airplane became the first to successfully use a synchronized machine gun, it allowed its pilots to become the first aerial combat tactitions3.
Cost management plays a major role when maintaining profit margins. Management must be able to find in which areas of a business costs must be reduced and the consequences that such reductions have in the overall company. In some situations management must change the way the work is being done in order to decrease costs while in other cases changing one supplier for another might be enough, in both situations a tradeoff will occur and the consequences will impact the company as a whole.
Major Ted Tolman’s F-105 Thud fighter/bomber streaked through the air at just under the speed of sound. His aircraft performed modestly at best, struggling to maintain its speed and altitude under the heavy load of ordinance and fuel it carried under its wings (Patrick).
World War One was known as the war that would end all wars. At first, airplanes in the war were thought to have just little combat use. An unknown British general even commented, " The airplane is useless for the purpose of war." In the beginning of the First World War, the airplanes were pretty simple and raw. By the end of the war, aircraft had become more advanced and had split off into fighters, bombers and long-range bombers. The specifications of the airplanes were changed to meet the war's requirements. When the War started in August of 1914, British airmen were associated with the British army and their commissioned officers had army ranks. Before the United State’s declaration of war in 1917, American nationals had enlisted in British and French air services including the Lafayette Escadrille. By the time the war ended in November of 1918, the Royal Flying Corps no longer prevailed and was absorbed into the recently developed Royal Air Force. The Royal Air Force now had its own command structure away from the army and provided its own ranks.
8 Galum, John, Joshua Shakon and Tan Mau Wu. “National Missile Defense – A CS91 Final Project.” < http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/~eroberts/cs91/projects/national-missile-defense/index.html>
For almost as long as civilizations began they have been fighting against each other. Often times these wars come down to who has the better military equipment. When one army creates an elite war machine another army is sure to soon copy or improve it. For example the U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased the first ever military aircraft in 1902 (Taylor). Two years later the Italians were also using aircrafts. The trebuchet catapult is no exception; it was one of the most destructive military machines of its time (Chevedden, 2000). A trebuchet works by using the energy of a falling counterweight to launch a projectile (Trebuchet). In this research paper I intend to explain the history and dynamics of a trebuchet catapult.
The U.S. Navy nurtured into a challenging power in the years previous to World War II, with battleship construction being revived in 1937, commencing with the USS North Carolina . It was able to add to its fleets throughout the early years of the war when the US was still not involved, growing production of vessels both large and small. In a conflict that had a number of amphibious landings, naval superiority was important in both Europe and the Pacific. The mutual resource...
In an attempt to better understand the components of the trebuchet and to permit the viewer a better idea of the manner in which the firing of a trebuchet occurs, a trebuchet constructed entirely of K-nex was built this past week. The counterweight consisted of 5000 steel bb's wrapped in plastic and duct tape, while the sling itself was made of duct tape and twine. The remaineder of the trebuchet, including the throwing arm, were constructed purely from K-nex.
Johnson, David E. Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998. Print.
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
Throughout the attacks Sailors and Airman, from the entire island of Hawaii, immediately was on alert. As the bombs, bullets, and torpedoes began to drop impacting vessels in the harbor, Soldiers of the American armed forces began to battle back. As the vessels and aircraft began to fight, the Japanese began to fight harder. It was eminent that Japanese fighter pilots had no plan on returning from this mission, for the aircraft soon began to shoot from the sky and set their point of impact on vessels. Along with numerous 550-pound general-purpose bombs, one of the most detrimental acts during this time was to our battle ships by the Japanese, was the 1,800-pound weapon that dropped from the clouds directly hitting one of the now famous American ships below, the USS Arizona.
The book begins right in the midst of the clean up effort in Pearl Harbor; Admiral Chester Nimitz was sent immediately after the bombs fell to take command of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz would obtain control of the Pacific fleet for the entirety of the novel. He contributed many key decisions that would lead to an American victory. On the opposing side Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku would lead his feared task force against the American fleet. A large advantage dealing with the way the tasks forces operated is revealed early in the book and would prove vital in the battle. Throughout the book it was made obvious that air craft carriers where essential for victory. When attaching an American Fleet or land based asset the Japanese combined all their carriers in a task force called The Kido Butai. While this task force h...
The catapult history started when men thought of the idea of shooting a missile at a target. And then it became more advanced. For example the theory of the sling shot operated the same.
Since the time of the World Wars and the Wright brothers, aviation has become a huge part of global society. The Orville and Wilbur Wright’s names will forever be remembered into United States history as the first men who were the first to fully realized human flight. Their successful invention of a working, powered airplane brought about whole new ways of wars, including new strategies for both offense and defense. Many technological advances might not have occurred without the need for new weapons and systems for airplanes. Travel and commerce would be much slower without the usage of airplanes. Orville and Wilbur have made a lasting impact on the world with their invention of a working, human-controlled, powered airplane; who knows what the world would be without it.
The humble aeroplane commonly known as the airplane or just plane has become a staple of everyday life for the majority of us. Aeroplanes are used for a vast variety of reasons, the most common being transporting people long distances in a very short amount of time. However, this is not the only role that they play in society, they are used for many other things such as; transportation of goods, recreation, military and research. Aeroplanes are a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust, usually from a jet engine or propeller. This essay will discuss the history of how this technology that we know and love came to fruition and how it reached the market through diffusion.