Carrier launch systems?

Thanks for the replys.

I suppose the American nose gear system is just an advancement over using strops,

Swerve, great pictures of Sea Vixens. 🙂

Perhaps that explains the long projection off the bow typically known as a “briddle catcher.”

I do have to wonder how many times you could reuse this type of cable?

I’ve seen pictures of a tremendous number of strops being stored near the elevators on Clemenceau/Foch. At the time, I assumed that the sheer number of these cables indicated only a single use?

Yeah, the bridle catcher was for strop catching if memory serves. It was arguably an inelegant solution, but it did its job.

In terms of the strops, they could be reused a few times, though you would always test them. You can generally tell how damaged a strop is by the feel of it, and there is the test gear for them, and you simply have to replace them frequently. I’ve done this myself, and its not all that hard, once you know what you’re doing.

Pictures of Sea Vixen including one launching with strop visible –

http://www.seavixen.org/index.cfm?fa=contentImageGallery.listImages&directoryId=1115

A-4 with strop –

http://www.skyhawk.org/6e2/html/va-153_coralsea65.htm

The A-4 was apparently the last type to use this system.

TA-4J used it till September 1999.
Super Etendard still uses it.
And of course the AF-1 on the Sao Paulo.

The Americans used the same strop system as well for a long time, have a look at a picture of the F8 launching off a carrier.

The A-4 was apparently the last type to use this system.

Originally the strop was lost, but later on, they installed a strop recovery system, allowing the strop to be reused. It was, perhaps, a tad wasteful originally, but it worked.

Perhaps that explains the long projection off the bow typically known as a “briddle catcher.”

I do have to wonder how many times you could reuse this type of cable?

I’ve seen pictures of a tremendous number of strops being stored near the elevators on Clemenceau/Foch. At the time, I assumed that the sheer number of these cables indicated only a single use?

The Americans used the same strop system as well for a long time, have a look at a picture of the F8 launching off a carrier.

Originally the strop was lost, but later on, they installed a strop recovery system, allowing the strop to be reused. It was, perhaps, a tad wasteful originally, but it worked.