Comment Re:But why have a catapult at all? (Score 4, Insightful) 314
The maximun launch weight on pure ski-jump systems are much much lower than catapult launches. The old British carriers for example were stuck launching Sea Harriers which had a max take off weight of 12000kg. The F-18 (the original one... they've all been replaced by heavier planes) had an EMPTY weight just 1000kg less than that. It's max take off weight from a US Carrier was almost over twice that of the Sea Harrier.
The new British carriers (suppose to launch Eurofighter variant) will also have a catapult.
The catapult is another point of failure. That's one reason there's 4 on a ship. And that's reason why US had an advantage. They had an unbroken string of experience designing, building, and maintaining catapult systems since the end of WW2.
The new British carriers (suppose to launch Eurofighter variant) will also have a catapult.
The catapult is another point of failure. That's one reason there's 4 on a ship. And that's reason why US had an advantage. They had an unbroken string of experience designing, building, and maintaining catapult systems since the end of WW2.