Aircraft Carriers III

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
It's supposed to save some fuel on take offs of Vtols. I think it would be a nice touch to add one to our LHAs but not nessisarily our LHDs.

The ramp enable you to increase your load off the boat, that extra "alpha" off the deck flings you another 50 to 100 ft off the water, where you can fly-away with little drama.. whether or not it saves fuel, you will be able to carry more fuel and weapons off the ramp than off the flat deck!
 
now some hype:
Defense 2017 Highlights
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Defense14_HMS-QE_RoyalNavy.jpg

Britain’s F-35 Carrier
The first of two new UK Royal Navy aircraft carriers, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, was formally commissioned into service on Dec. 7. Built by the Babcock/BAE Systems/Thales Aircraft Carrier Alliance, the 65,000-ton ship was launched in July 2017. The Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter is scheduled to embark on the ski-jump-equipped carrier for first-of-class flight trials toward the end of 2018.

Photo:
Royal Navy
 

Obi Wan Russell

Jedi Master
VIP Professional
Odd to see that straight off ramp, used to seeing the Soviets, Chinese angle long run off the ramp! sorry Russians!
WE invented it, and as with Concorde and a few other things, they copied it BADLY!

The point of the ski jump is to get you off the deck and heading skyward before you've reached flying speed. It also gives you some altitude to play with (ie Time) in case you run into difficulties like engine failure. If you have to eject, a few seconds makes a lot of difference. STOVL aircraft save fuel on launch because the ramp does a lot of the grunt work for them. Let me explain...ski jump explained.JPG Basically if you need say a thousand feet of deck for a free takeoff roll, the ski jump lets you do it in half that length or less. It is cheating I suppose, because your wheels leave the deck long before you are truly flying but you reach flying speed before gravity gets the last word.

Seemples!
 
WE invented it, and as with Concorde and a few other things, they copied it BADLY!

The point of the ski jump is to get you off the deck and heading skyward before you've reached flying speed. It also gives you some altitude to play with (ie Time) in case you run into difficulties like engine failure. If you have to eject, a few seconds makes a lot of difference. STOVL aircraft save fuel on launch because the ramp does a lot of the grunt work for them. Let me explain...View attachment 44430 Basically if you need say a thousand feet of deck for a free takeoff roll, the ski jump lets you do it in half that length or less. It is cheating I suppose, because your wheels leave the deck long before you are truly flying but you reach flying speed before gravity gets the last word.

Seemples!
and it saves fuel because you are not going full Vtol rather actually accelerating to a Short take off with a lift assist from the lift system.
Vtol looks cool but it's like a helicopter crossed with a Rocket, beating the air into submission well spraying fuel to get off the ground.
The Ramp is more coxing the air to go along with you flying.
spinning vertical takeoff into success huh?
no single disadvantage mentioned huh?

oh what did I expect LOL!

EDIT
due to the "STOBAR solution", the QEs will be Escort Carriers according to me Aug 19, 2017
...

I mean the QEs are like Escort Carriers: no early-warning aircraft, small combat radius of F-35B with a small payload and, ehm, limited maneuverability if compared to fighter jets

...
 
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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
spinning vertical takeoff into success huh?
no single disadvantage mentioned huh?

oh what did I expect LOL!
Jura All things have a Trade off.
Full Vtol demands using up a lot of fuel. Even with a Ramp you are going to be using up more fuel.
It places alot of premium on The Controls of the system and weight of the Aircraft.
but then again it places less stress on the airframe then a arrester and Catapult.
And takes less runway then a conventional take off.

So what do you want to give up?
Conventional Helicopters can't go even transonic, They need a means to counter there torque. even with Coaxial or tandem they are limited on speed and endurance.

Conventional take off and landing from a naval platform would demand a carrier almost a mile long.

Cats demand heavy duty gear and tail hooks as they almost risk taring the nose gear off the plane, The landing on the deck is a mix of skill, Luck and absolut insanity that if not timed and guided properly can end with a crater on the deck, a splash. in the sea with or without a hook or arrester.

Short take off ramps like the Russians or Chinese place strict limits on payloads and weight of the Aircraft. they also demand use of the most of the deck to run up.

Vtol off the deck in a jet and now you need an engine that can direct it's thrust to counter gravity, that's a hard question to answer with a single engine. the Harrier pulled it off but lost it's super sonic capacity. Other attempts added more jets which meant massive fuel drain and weight. The Yak 38 had 3 Engines! same for the Yak 141 the main Engine with the 3 barring swivel and 2 lift jets.
F35B uses 1 engine with both a 3 bearing swivel with a lift assist from the lift fan rendering a better option yet it does make sacrifices.

The USMC traditionally used it's harriers and will likely use it's F35 in a Helicopter like mode. Straight up, Straight down.
In a STO-SRVL mode which is what the British prefer The Aircraft starts from a rolling take off using the lift system to boost it into flight. In the V22 this has gained a increased payload. The same for Harriers in that the rolling take off allows generation of lift from the wings there by allowing increased fuel and weapons.
The other end of that is either a vertical landing, or a Shipboard rolling vertical landing in that mode the Aircraft transitions into the vertical landing mode but does not stop forward flight instead it flares back a bit and uses the lift system as well as the drag to slow the descent and forward speed.
The Aircraft therefore makes contact to the deck in a roll and stops on it's landing gear breaks. This allows a landing that places less stress on the deck and airframe it allows for landing with more payload and is the mode aimed for the V22 in the CODS role. No arrester gear needed. Down side, takes up more deck space and if the ship is in a hard sea state it's not always possible.
 
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