Forum: General F-35 Forum

Navy's new electromagnetic catapult 'real smooth' 28 Sep 2011 VIDEO of E2-D launch also

http://www.app.com/article/20110927/NJN ... al-smooth-

"...In the 1980s Navy engineers thought about electromagnetic power as an eventual replacement for the 1950s-designed steam powered catapults. Those early discussions included speculation over whether powerful electromagnetic would upset aircraft electronic systems — or send out a potentially deadly magnetic pattern that enemies could use to home in on aircraft carriers.

“Shielding and the way we wrap cables” takes care of any magnetic emissions, Donnelly said. The real challenge was learning how to properly control magnetic impulses, and advances in technology enabled those computer controls, Wojtowicz said.

The control system allows launch officers to more precisely tune the forces to reflect aircraft weights and required air speeds, a fact that also puts less wear and tear on the aircraft, Donnelly said....

...Navy planners anticipate using EMALS on all future American carriers, and the Royal Navy has ordered a pair for HMS Prince of Wales, the British supercarrier anticipated to be in service by the early 2020s carrying F-35 strike fighters.

But there’s no plan to replace the venerable steam catapults, Donnelly said: “These two systems will be out in the fleet, side by side, for many years to come.”

That could mean more job security for the joint base, which is home to manufacturing facilities that rebuild steam catapults and fabricate arresting cables that brake landing aircraft. Near the EMALS test site, the base is also the location for developing advanced arresting gear that will use electromagnetic forces to absorb the shock of heavy aircraft slamming onto the flight deck."

F-16.net Sponsor

EMALS successfully launches E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Sep 28, 2011

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fu ... mp;id=4770

"...In addition to testing the E-2D as part of the ongoing aircraft compatibility test phase, the EMALS program has also launched an F/A-18E Super Hornet, T-45 Goshawk and C-2A Greyhound, with 63 to 65 launches planned for each aircraft type.

The EMALS test schedule is planned to reap the full benefits for future fielding. While system functional demonstration continues here through late 2011, the second phase of aircraft compatibility testing is scheduled to begin next year.

Engineers will continue reliability testing through 2013, perform installation and checkout, as well as shipboard testing according to NAVSEA’s schedule, with shipboard certification in 2015."

Perhaps more detail shown than in any earlier version of First EMALS Super Hornet Launch.

Navy Tests Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

"uploaded by airboyd on Dec 21, 2010"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 7k6pH5sZ5M

Last edited by spazsinbad on Nov 27, 2011 - 11:24 PM; edited 3 times in total

Difficult to gauge the overall context [I guess one above this entry here provides the ground level view from start forward?] of these photos but here they are anyway.

EMALS Catapult Launch At Lakehurst September 27, 2011

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps ... amp;Ref=PH

"The new electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) catapult at Joint Base Lakehurst Tuesday morning is examined after launching a Navy E-2D Advanced Haweye radar surveillance aircraft. This is the testbed catapult and the first production models will be installed on the USS Gerald R. Ford now being built at Newport News. LAKEHURST 9/27/11 EMALS0927I ASBURY PARK PRESS PHOTO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO"

http://cmsimg.lansingstatejournal.com/a ... 5&q=60
&
http://cmsimg.lansingstatejournal.com/a ... 5&q=60
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.GIF GRAPHIC ADDITION from: carcamal.ele.cie.uva.es/CEM/articulos/Catapult.pdf (187Kb)
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And yes in a very long time ago (early 1970s) etc... I flew RAN FAA A4Gs - have a look at URL links in sig below.

Nice closeups, Spazsinbad. I like reading your many posts on the carrier ops side of the JSF program. What are the 2 rails/slots running parallel to the main track? I'd guess these aren't on the actual shipboard units and are for test gear.

(By the way, I never realized this, my brother flew T/A-4J's in training around '95 or '96 - just found an old t-shirt of his with the squadron and the motto "Last of the Scooter Drivers" - you flew them for the RAN, right?)

Last edited by spazsinbad on Nov 27, 2011 - 11:47 PM; edited 6 times in total

The other tracks either side of EMALS photo above are [NOT] steam catapult tracks [just part of the EMALS construction in the ground (a bit different to likely ship construction)] I guess. I don't know which steam catapult is which but they are ..... ?Here is a Google Earth overhead dated Sep 2010. Lat: 40.0175722 Lon: -74.3791580

[addition] Explanation in following entries about the 'rusty' "Recessed guide slots are used to maintain stability of the four wheeled vehicles"....

We can see a lot of catapult tracks here. The HOWDAH (Brit/Oz name for the catapult firing station below deck with view above) is marked which can be seen in the first steam catapult launch if I'm not mistaken. If Google Earth details were a bit more refined it might be easier to tell differences and as I have never been to Lakehurst I could guess all I want and still be wrong. Very Happy

You decide. Have a look at the video here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg80bt ... emals_tech to see the southern HOWDAH which gives me the impression that the southernmost track is EMALS and is 400 feet long total.

Centre track at 300 feet is the STEAM catapult in use today?

Lakehurst Steam Catapult(s):
http://www.navair.navy.mil/lakehurst/nl ... res-02.asp
“A C13 Mod2 steam catapult can generate 75 million foot-pounds of energy. It can accelerate a 79,000 pound weighted cart to 140 knots in 302 feet.”

Please bear in mind I have been figuring this out as the graphics have been made so here is the 'proof' that the southern track is EMALS. Hornet is seen in first EMALS launch screenshot showing HOWDAH and stairs with Google Overhead showing same detail. North is vertical top of all Google Earth photos.

Then there is another video showing the view at beginning looking from North to South (with screenshot): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg7zff ... emals_tech

EMALS Inaugural SHOOTERS: http://www.jointbasemdl.af.mil/shared/m ... 1J-001.jpg

"NAVAIR officials cut ribbon for new system on Lakehurst
NAVAIR and community leader "shoot" the first official movement of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System Nov. 12 [2009] here. EMALS is an armature, the portion of a catapult that an aircraft tail hook connects to when it lifts off. This system will be installed on the next generation of aircraft carriers scheduled to become operational in 2015. (U.S. Navy photo/Sherry Jacob) L-R: Chief Warrant Officer A. Melendez, NAVAIR test facility; Capt.R. Mahr, EMALS program manager, Representative C. Smith, Rear Adm. D. Philman, director Air Warfare Division, Cmdr. R. Griffin, NAVAIR program management office; Rear Adm M. McMahon, program executive officer for aircraft carriers; Capt. J. Donnelly,EMALS deputy program manager; K. Donnelly, director for support equipment/aircraft launching and recovery equipment; S. Forney, vice president of General Atomics; and Col. G. Grosso, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst commander."

Only my guess but perhaps the foreground track is EMALS whilst the F-35C is hurtling down the middle STEAM catapult track for the first time? OR move northwards for the other steam track?

http://www.jointbasemdl.af.mil/shared/m ... 59-001.jpg

"JB MDL F-35C
An F-35C test aircraft piloted by Lt. Christopher Tabert launches from a steam catapult for the first time at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on July 27. CF-3 is the designated carrier suitability test aircraft. The F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants with its larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for greater control in the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment. The F-35C is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River before eventual delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released)"

The ZIPPED '.KML' file attached will take you via Google Earth directly to the Lakehurst catapults 'STEAM CATAPULTS LAKEHURST 5907-export.zip'
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Lakehurst Steam Catapult(s): I'll presume this is the centre 300 footone in use (see above overhead photos)?

http://www.navair.navy.mil/lakehurst/nl ... res-02.asp

“A C13 Mod2 steam catapult can generate 75 million foot-pounds of energy. It can accelerate a 79,000 pound weighted cart to 140 knots in 302 feet.”
________________________

Reaction Motors? Well I never... Very Happy

I'm guessing the 'centre Reaction system' was replaced by steam with EMALS being constructed on the left? Photographer is looking from East to West.

"Internal Combustion Catapult Project

http://www.bobholland.com/me/reaction3.htm

"... Lakehurst New Jersey. The left catapult is steam, the center was the Reaction Motors catapult and the large building to the right is the steam house required to generate the steam for the steam catapult...."

http://www.bobholland.com/me/images/cat2.gif

STEAM CATAPULT LAUNCHES F-35C FOR THE FIRST TIME TC-13 Mod 2 Catapult

www.jsf.mil/news/docs/20110727_CATAPULTTEST.pdf (49Kb)

"NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, LAKEHURST, N.J. – The F-35C completed its first steam catapult launch July 27 marking another milestone toward initial ship trials in 2013. Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launch and Recovery Equipment) Brandon Barr used a TC-13 Mod 2 test steam catapult, representative of current fleet technology, launching F-35C test aircraft CF-3 into the sky...."
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F-35 Flight Test Update 6 By Sydney Carroll Posted 20 November 2011

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/article.html?item_id=83

"...In the F-35C, pilots had accomplished nearly[?] twenty-five catapult launch tests at Lakehurst.... A total of twenty-seven pilots have flown the F-35. Twenty-one pilots are still flying the aircraft."
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At last an explanation why the steam catapults have such long extensions (beyond the catapult stroke - for bringing the deadweights back under control) and why the 'rusty steel tracks' are either side of the shiney EMALS track:

The Steam Catapult Complex Lakehurst

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.p ... d=1#import

"The Test Catapult Complex is composed of the TC13 Mod 0 and TC13 Mod 2 Steam Catapults, and a high pressure steam plant, located at the threshold of a 12,000 foot long runway. This test facility is used to simulate the launching of naval aircraft from the flight deck of US Navy aircraft carriers. These test catapults are capable of launching both aircraft and deadloads, thus allowing both manned and unmanned testing.

Both catapults at the test complex are capable of launching weights up to 100,000 pounds and producing endspeeds up to 185 knots. The steam plant is capable of 138,000 pounds per hour. A unique feature of the test site is the capability of launching deadloads.

Recessed guide slots are used to maintain stability of the four wheeled vehicles, and a friction brake brings the vehicle to a stop after release at the end of the power stroke.

Although used primarily for testing catapult performance, the site can be used as a linear acceleration/deceleration force platform for testing such things as drop tanks, cargo slings, aircraft fuel tanks, and fuel cells. The object under test can be oriented to obtain programmed forces in the X, Y or Z axis, and loads up to 15 G s when required.

Launch Energy:
TC13 Mod 0: 62 million ft-lbs
TC13 Mod 2: 99 million ft-lbs

Launch Stroke:
TC13 Mod 0: 250 feet
TC13 Mod 2: 310 feet

Cycle Time:
45 seconds both cats

End Speed (F-14 heavyweight):
TC13 Mod 0: 120 knots
TC13 Mod 2: 145 knots

Max Acceleration:
TC13 Mod 0: 6 G s
TC13 Mod 2: 5 G s

STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH steam IS WHICH FOR SURE Rolling Eyes

THE AIRSHIP Jan - Feb 2010

www.nlhs.com/newsletter/10-jan.pdf (84Kb)

Navy Lakehurst to test new catapult
"...Steam-powered catapults built at Lakehurst and used since the 1950s have "shot more than 5 million times," said Kathleen Donnelly, director of the Navy's support and launch and recovery equipment engineering at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. 'Now we move into the era of the electromagnetic catapult, which uses linear motors instead of steam pistons."

Tests with the 300-foot long EMALS will gradually increase speeds and loads "until it is capable of launching a F -35 off the bow," she said...."

jetnerd wrote:

What are the 2 rails/slots running parallel to the main track?

I think they are support tracts to lift and maintain sections of the EMALS track. Look at Spaz's partially exposed EMALS system pic above. At the far end you can see some supports and a cross-brace that line up with those slots nicely.

The info above has been slightly amended this morning as new information discovered. Probably confusing but any newcomer readers will see a better result IMHO. Anyway here is a possible explanation for the 'other tracks' (included above now also). I have been reading that testing with deadweights is mandatory - especially on carriers with catapults installed (however these deadweights are flung overboard to float in the harbour or where ever - at Lakehurst the deadweights have to be restrained). I'll post an HMAS Melbourne 'deadweight fling' into the harbour. The deadweight is always called 'CHLOE' (in RAN anyway).

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.p ... d=1#import

"...Both [steam] catapults at the test complex are capable of launching weights up to 100,000 pounds and producing endspeeds up to 185 knots. The steam plant is capable of 138,000 pounds per hour. A unique feature of the test site is the capability of launching deadloads.

Recessed guide slots are used to maintain stability of the four wheeled vehicles, and a friction brake brings the vehicle to a stop after release at the end of the power stroke...."

Found a detailed pic showing the construction of the EMALS and use of the parallel tracks.

Forum: General F-35 Forum

EMALS & JPALS for the JSF