Aircraft launch from stationairy aicraft carrier

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Member for

14 years 7 months

Posts: 3,094

I was always under the impression that for a succesful aircraft launch from an aircraft carrier the ship should move with xx knots into the wind. I guess I was wrong as I found 3 pictures so far that show otherwise.

http://www.drareg.nl/effe/0085.jpg
Scimmitar with Gannet standing ready

http://www.drareg.nl/effe/0086.jpg
F-4

http://www.drareg.nl/effe/116.jpg
S-2

(This should go in the Sub forum Naval Aviation but there is much naval and no aviation so I placed it here)

Original post

Member for

19 years 11 months

Posts: 1,403

I was always under the impression that for a succesful aircraft launch from an aircraft carrier the ship should move with xx knots into the wind. I guess I was wrong as I found 3 pictures so far that show otherwise.

what is important is the relative speed of the air on the wing at the end of the deck which should be enough to lift the plane's weight.

Moving the ship into the wind allows to launch heavier aircrafts.

What's so surprising about it? Shore-based training facilities are generally stationary :) There is even a picture of a Su-33 launching from the Kuznetsov while at anchor - not even a catapult for assistance in this case.

In the end, it's a question of payload - with an empty aircraft you may safely launch from a stationary deck, carrying a meaningful weapons load, not so much.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 5,396

The carrier often augments wind over deck by sailing into the wind. There may be times when the ship steams at only a few knots/hr to generate the needed WOD.
But because its is naturally windy by the ocean, there can still be WOD even if the carrier is at anchor.