Aircraft Catapult 1931

Interesting articles and great to see the manufacturer is still going! Thanks, FarlamAirframes 🙂

Just been looking on Seawings and there are several articles as follow ups to the 1930 article – with details on the catapult design and details and an Edinburgh manufacturer who is still in business

https://www.mactag.com/the-company/our-history

https://www.seawings.co.uk/images/Catapult%20References/Catapult%20Arti…

Other articles are included if you go to Ships Gallery and go to bottom of page.

https://www.seawings.co.uk

… and the tops of the motors do look a bit like  cushions!

Good stuff.

Good one, Dave 🙂 Here is a video of the contraption in action –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm0jqrmS6jk

And a few close-up pics –

Nice find. The chair cushions example is getting a bit too technical though, could he not have simplified it? Hahaha

By chance, while hunting Pterodactyls, I came across this description of catapult-launching at the 1931 RAF Display written by Major Oliver Stewart –

Among the novelties will be the launching of the twin-engined night-bombing aeroplane….The catapult launching is most impressive; the two tiny compressed air engines of the catapult, like a couple of round chair cushions, can develop more than 8000h.p. and are able to throw the nine ton aeroplane into the air as if it were no heavier or cumbersome than a cricket ball.

Funny you should mention that P&P – we were in Norway recently and visited the museum at Bodo – where they have a Dyak Avro 504 (replica/part replica) 🙂

I was just blowing hot air too, it seems! Inventor probably got the inspiration while pulling Dyak darts out of his back in deepest, dark Borneo. If it was a Sunbeam  Dyak Avro 504k….

This image appears on page 64 of the book ‘Farnborough and the Fleet Air Arm’ the caption says its  Fairey  IIIF S1713 leaving the RAE Mk1 catapult on the Jersey Brow launcher site 1930. Compressed air powered and capable of launching aircraft up to 7,000lb at a speed of 45mph in 34ft at 2g.

The picture posted by Dave is probably  of a catapult operated by either cordite or high pressure air though (just to clarify).

A very interesting technology, when you appreciate that 1 m3 of water becomes 1,700 m3 of steam, representing a very large dynamic force, still in use to launch jets today. The capacity of a ship to generate the power to convert water to steam was the matching element. It is an obtuse reference to the current challenge of generating enough electricity to power a laser with sufficient energy to melt  a missile at distance. Only a ship with a massive energy generating capacity can support this, as distinct to a land based, mobile system. Perhaps the only land based system that can support, and should have lasers, is a nuclear power plant, to deal with drone threats. All that from 1931 catapult trials at Farnborough, when the British Lion absolutely roared with innovation. Nevil Shute’s ‘Sliderule’ says the Lion was slayed by Estate taxes, so eccentric folks like Lady Houston lost the means to back eccentric effort.