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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| USN testing electromagnetic air launch (EMAL) catapult system for carriers |
| 2010-12-23 |
| Assuming we have any money to build another carrier. The U.S. Navy has much of its future vested in the so-called EMALS launch system. It is a critical piece of technology that will be featured in the new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. The first of the fleet is being currently constructed and if the launch system is not ready in time, the Navy may be "forced to revert to older steam catapults to launch aircraft from the ships," the Defense News Web site reported. I imagine that this will be a real space-saver and manpower-saver. Also, I suspect that if the wrong weight is dialed into the system, that the system will recognize this and somehow compensate. I wonder what the backup for this system will be. It would seem to me there is plenty of opportunity for this system to be less robust than a steam-driven catapult. And does this thing hog all the power for a couple of seconds, or is there still enough overhead for maneuvering the ship? Maybe it's a moot point, though, since violent maneuvering may be a bad thing when launching aircraft, even if it's only to head into the wind faster. Can this system be retrofitted onto the existing carriers? |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #6 I like the other backronym... The Electromagnetic Vehicle Induction Launch System Yes that's right Muhammadean Fundamentalists, we are using EVILs to launch our aircraft against you! Muahahah! |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-12-23 21:15 |
| #5 This should also reduce the number of personnel to maintain the system and the maintenance itself will be quite a bit less. I do however, see the following: Chief's mess and the lights dim, then come back to normal. " Lauching the heavies again." |
| Posted by: USN,Ret 2010-12-23 18:44 |
| #4 will also help in the future addition of electromagnectic gun systems |
| Posted by: dan 2010-12-23 17:03 |
| #3 Video of the tests. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-12-23 15:17 |
| #2 If you look in the field of theme park roller coasters, systems like this have been in field operation since the mid 1990's. Many of the recent high-end coasters around the world use an electromagnetic catapult to launch the train of screaming kids. A room full of capacitors and some man-sized copper wires do the trick. The system resets in 8-10 seconds. There were a few teething problems when they were first installed, but now they've been super reliable, running continuous 18 hour days, 365 days per year. A system for launching aircraft from a carrier would be several times larger, but not orders of magnitude. |
| Posted by: Bruce 2010-12-23 13:56 |
| #1 Probably a large bank of capacitors would power the Catapult. Capacitors can discharge VERY quickly and then recharge over the interval between launches quite easily. So no, it probably would have no disruptive effects on the ship's power supply. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-12-23 12:42 |