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Now that electromagnetic catapults are becoming a thing, perhaps they can be adapted for airliner takeoff. One supposed benefit is the ability to adjust the acc
by achamayou 9y ago
Now that electromagnetic catapults are becoming a thing, perhaps they can be adapted for airliner takeoff. One supposed benefit is the ability to adjust the acceleration profile to reduce airframe fatigue, and probably improve crew comfort at the same time. If it's smooth enough for passengers, it'd save carrying quite a bit of fuel and batteries.
I would have thought landing to be far less energy intensive (except perhaps in case of aborts, but I would imagine they're reasonably uncommon).
- bdonlan 9y agoAlthough missed landings are uncommon in commercial service, every flight has to carry enough fuel for multiple missed landings, just in case.
- ams6110 9y agoNot sure catapults are a great idea for commercial passenger service, unless they can handle rejected takeoffs in case of other mechanical problems on the aircraft. You don't want to be catapulted off the end of the runway if you have an engine failure shortly after the start of the take-off run.
- achamayou 9y agoThat doesn’t sound fundamentally different from having a failure on one engine sufficiently late during takeoff. Either way you probably want your other engine to have enough power to make a landing?