Not only is this a great idea, it's done in the real world. Once you realize you don't need the whole aircraft inside the rail gun, but only a hook, this is how

Not only is this a great idea, it's done in the real world. Once you realize you don't need the whole aircraft inside the rail gun, but only a hook, this is how planes take off from the newest US aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford. The system is called Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, EMALS [1]. If one day we start using this in the civilian aviation, this is probably one of the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to lowering aviation emissions. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_Aircraft_Launch_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_Aircraft_Launc...