Ouch

That had ta hurt...
 
I'm wondering if that wasn't a faulty cat shot. Seems like the jet was off to a very slow start down the deck.
 
The cats shoot a LOT faster that even on initial movement. It looks like the cat officer brought it forward at a slow speed for whatever reason; probably by accident. You can control speed forward or reverse. When the bar is set with the breakaway in the shuttle, the shuttle is brought forward slightly so it's taut and there's no second jerk on the breakaway. I wonder if he kept it moving rather than the inch it needed to move. As slow as the aircraft was moving, he wouldn't have made it off the deck; not airborne, anyway.
 
KennyFlys said:
The cats shoot a LOT faster that even on initial movement. It looks like the cat officer brought it forward at a slow speed for whatever reason; probably by accident. You can control speed forward or reverse. When the bar is set with the breakaway in the shuttle, the shuttle is brought forward slightly so it's taut and there's no second jerk on the breakaway. I wonder if he kept it moving rather than the inch it needed to move. As slow as the aircraft was moving, he wouldn't have made it off the deck; not airborne, anyway.
Click to expand...
Yep - looks like tensioning, without a holdback.

He would have been airborne ... at least for the 90' drop to the water ...

falling? or "gliding... with style!"
 
That video has been around the net a few years, and was shot at high speed. making it look slow when shown in real time.
 
OBTW the cats on the new boats do not look or act anything like the cats we knew. there are no Vanzell track, no hold back, and no shuttle above deck. The cats are longer, softer, and a hole lot better than we ever knew.

The Shooter is between cat 1&2 and 3&4 in a bubble in the deck. long gone is the cat controls in the cat walk on the side of the ship.
 
Last edited:
NC19143 said:
OBTW the cats on the new boats do not look or act anything like the cats we knew. there are no Vanzell track, no hold back, and no shuttle above deck. The cats are longer, softer, and a hole lot better than we ever knew.

The Shooter is between cat 1&2 and 3&4 in a bubble in the deck. long gone is the cat controls in the cat walk on the side of the ship.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of things on a Naval ship now that look different and are an improvement from a few years ago.

For instance
​
pi051002a4.jpg
 
smigaldi said:
There are a lot of things on a Naval ship now that look different and are an improvement from a few years ago.

For instance​
Click to expand...
Yeah, we didn't have any yellow shirts like her at all.
 
In that first clip, it looks like the guy "taps out" just before the end... "I give!" :D
 
NC19143 said:
That video has been around the net a few years, and was shot at high speed. making it look slow when shown in real time.
Click to expand...

So how did they get the movement of the people to appear in normal speed at the same time?
 
lancefisher said:
So how did they get the movement of the people to appear in normal speed at the same time?
Click to expand...
I agree. That was as close to normal speed as you can get based on movement of the flight deck personnel. As I said before and Greg sustained, it had to be a case of either not stopping when tensing the holdback or the cat officer accidental released the shuttle.

That T-45 was going way too slow to launch. I don't know the required speed but it's not a huge wing area even though it's a relatively light aircraft.

Here's a good demonstration on how fast they really move. The Tomcat is heavier but slower launch speed with the wings forward.
http://digg.com/videos/educational/F14_Pilots_Catapulted_from_0_to_180_MPH_in_200_Ft

Here's a video with a variety of aircraft launches to compare speeds along with one landing. It cheats! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKP5klky8kQ

In searching around, I found something to bring back memories. Here's a 1MC call I've not heard in quite some time:
http://www.skyhawk.org/common/start-em-up.wav
 
lancefisher said:
So how did they get the movement of the people to appear in normal speed at the same time?
Click to expand...

I had not noticed that... but I did go back and watch the video again, and the aircraft is moving the normal speed for the begining of the cat shot on the new cats. They do not hit you with the big bang that the old cats did. They are nearly twice as long as the old cats, so they don't have to.

and did you notice there is no hold back? on the new cats none is required. the nose tow link is lowered at parking and as the aircraft approaches the cat the tow link will catch in a guide that will steer the aircraft into the shuttle. no more trying to align the aircraft with the cat, it is done automaticly.

I didnt sleep at the holiday inn last night, but I do live in a hood that is all VAQ -EA6B pilots.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0qYqMmVUcM

Notice the hold back in this one? they are hooking up the old way for an old aircraft

Here they are taking the ride off the old cat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6DHA51IoHk

Here is what happens when some one screws up and you land on a foul deck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-QrujQ4TdM

The reason the kid was hurt in the first video was his own fault. Watch him he is just standing there, in the path of the aircraft. YOU NEVER DO THAT ON THE CAT.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info, Tom. I didn't know they had done away with the holdback systems ... guess I need to go dig my cherry holdback out of the closet and put it on display - it's an antique now!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top