How quickly can an aircraft carrier launch all its aircraft?
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:22 am
I saw this on a website recently, along with the answer, and thought you might enjoy it (and some might critique it):
Chris Roles, Stay-at-home dad (2006-present)
Answered 18h ago · Upvoted by Vega Handojo, M.Sc. in Aeronautics, 3 years research in Aeroelasticity
I served aboard the USS Nimitz from 1985–89. Unless something has changed since the late 1980’s, Nimitz-class carriers have four catapults, not three as stated in another response. However, it’s not uncommon to only use three cats for a launch cycle.
How quickly can an aircraft carrier launch all of its aircraft?
Short answer: In the late 1980’s, an aircraft carriers Air Wing was comprised of 65–70 aircraft. For a well-practiced crew, fifteen to twenty minutes for launching all of them could be achieved, using all four catapults. In my time this was called an “Alpha Strike”. The purpose of an Alpha Strike is to evaluate the performance of the ship’s crew and the squadron deck and flight crews.
During our “workups”, where we go to sea for a week or two to train for an upcoming six-month deployment, we would occasionally launch at least one Alpha Strike. An Alpha Strike is a huge undertaking, where we launch almost every aircraft on board. The idea is to drill as if we’re at war,
There are a few factors involved in an evolution like an Alpha Strike:
* First, the airplane crews have to be placed on what is called the flight schedule. (Cleared by the flight surgeon to fly, all sign-offs completed.
* The maintenance records for all the aircraft in each squadron are reviewed, to make sure every plane is available for the Alpha Strike when scheduled.
* Ordnance & fuel needs are planned.
* Many squadrons work a 12-hours-on, 12-hours-off schedule while at sea. For an evolution of this size, even the off-time crew is needed. This means some folks may go up to 36 hours with very little sleep.
* Hangar deck crews coordinate with the flight deck crews, so as each group of airplanes is launched, more are already on one of the four aircraft elevators moving up to the flight deck. As large as the flight deck is, there actually isn’t a lot of room to maneuver around.
* Catapult crews make arrangements with the ship’s engineering department to make sure steam is available. Each catapult is fed from a “steam receiver”, which holds enough steam to launch three to four aircraft. Engineering has to make sure they keep those steam receivers replenished.
* Arresting Gear crews are on station and ready to man up as soon as the planes return from their “missions”.
* At the end of their practice missions, the aircraft return to the ship, usually in small groups. This allows the flight deck crews to coordinate with the hangar crews to move the aircraft off the flight deck ASAP. Not every plane is sent down to the hanger deck, but most usually are.
* After the Alpha Strike, there is a period of several days where everyone involved with the Alpha Strike critique their performance.
For obvious reasons, it’s not done very often.
~Chris
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