3 ms·
The short answer is that catapult systems are expensive and require a lot of maintenance. Even many Navies don’t use catapult assisted launches for that very re
by blktiger 4y ago
The short answer is that catapult systems are expensive and require a lot of maintenance. Even many Navies don’t use catapult assisted launches for that very reason. Additionally, commercial aircraft aren’t designed for that kind of force applied to their main gear. They’d most likely have to be modified.
- 01100011 4y agoI wonder what sort of force you could generate with a series of electric coils in the ground? It lacks moving parts, so it should be low maintenance. You'd need magnets on the gear of the plane, offsetting the weight savings though. Yeah, you'd definitely need to reinforce the landing gear, but I think that's doable.
- chipsa 4y agoNaval catapults don't apply force to the main gear either. Mostly is to the nose gear now, but it used to through the use of bridles to points on the wing (and wing spar). The bridles were a pain though, so they transitioned everything to the nose gear attachment. You can tell when a carrier transitioned, because they took the bridle catchers off the bow (the little narrow ramps at the front).