Aircraft Carriers III

EMALS is here to stay

Steam is on its way out

Nothing will change that

Less stress on airframes, heavier loads, cheaper, more efficient and wider range of launch aircraft to name a few advantages

I hope President Trump is serious about reverting back to steam catapults and not just blowing off steam..pun intended. Steam cats are extremely reliable. I've witnessed thousands upon thousands of steam catapult launches. And I've never seen a failure. Even aboard that rictky old Fightin' Hanna (USS Hancock).

I agree with President Trump on this one..if it ain't broke don't fix it.

bd popeye said:

I agree with President Trump on this one..if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Click to expand...

In this case it will break. Perhaps not the cats but the Carrier.


Basically Ford class was designed for EMALS as EMALS was designed for Ford class. The Nimitz like Enterprise and the Boiler powered boats before them had steam piped through the ship syphoned off the boiler or reactor. Ford doesn’t have this. It has an integrated power system. Put another way it’s like calling a plumber to fix an electric radiator. If President Trump wants to convert Ford class to use Steam they need to gut the carrier. Lay the Steam system and rebuild.

TNEE..I realize that it would almost impossible to convert Ford And Kennedy to steam cats. But there is no reason that CVN-80 can't have steam catapults. I just don't see the extra cost. Of course I'm not a bean counter..

I am not sure you could even convert Enterprise for them either. You would be looking at CVN81 on assuming that a successor President doesn’t reverse the decision.

asif iqbal said:

EMALS is here to stay

Steam is on its way out

Nothing will change that

Less stress on airframes, heavier loads, cheaper, more efficient and wider range of launch aircraft to name a few advantages

Click to expand...

I do not agree. Even from day 1, the whole idea was sold on a pack of half truths that the Ford class will deliver higher sorties from 120 to 160. Facts from history (OIF) suggest a sustained rate of a bit above 100 was the norm. You can't deliver higher sorties when the airwing continues to diminish in numbers and the reality that future high end fights are further distance from targets Both these go against higher generation rates. Building capacity on an asset that will never realise is wasteful.

Airframes useful life is a function of many critical paths, launch stress is only one of them. I have never seen any analysis that justify the extra cost. The same argument apply to the loads. .

Jan 8, 2019

Jura said:

Nov 2, 2018
now
SECNAV to Trump: Ford Carrier Weapons Elevators Will be Fixed by Summer, or ‘Fire Me’

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

the text: ... oh who cares here

Click to expand...

and
USS Gerald R. Ford Weapons Elevator Certifications Will Extend Past October

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

here comes the tweet

·

Visit aboard the Marine Nationale aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle in Singapore. Interesting turnout of the aviation component in the hangar but we were forbidden to take pics in there.

for several years I've been following the spin concerning the first deployment of the Ford; the last one (2023)
May 1, 2019

Jura said:

Jul 17, 2018
while now (inside

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

)
:
"... the subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Pete Visclosky ...
stressed the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the first in its class of aircraft carriers, is not expected to be operational until 2023, nearly five years later than expected because of numerous construction deficiencies.

The chairman wanted to know how the cost of correcting those flaws was divided between the Navy and its contractors, noting that GAO indicated the government has been paying 96 percent. Spencer promised to provide the data."

Click to expand...

now changed to "2021" inside

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Capitol Hill has some concerns over the state of the Navy's Ford-class aircraft carrier, but the Navy is moving forward with next-generation technology, fixing as it goes.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

JFK (II): recently received her island, so she has a 'face' at last. Will her cats be Steam or 'Digital'? In any case well done to the Guys and Girls at Newport News!