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Stupid catapult question


Raisuli

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This has nothing to do with anything other than scratching my curiosity, but what stops the shuttle at the end of the stroke? There's a (relatively) enormous amount of mass moving at fairly descent speed when the shuttle, piston, and all that associated metal hits the end of the track.

 

 

Call it 100 pounds at 250 fps, that's 0.00003147 kilotons equivalent (about 13,000 joules). There has to be a hydraulic, pneumatic, or steam powered buffer in there somewhere, and that has to reduce the length of the shot felt by the aircraft by a few feet.

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Just more info to supplement your knowlege. No one ever asks about the holdback bar, lol. I've been involved with the holdback bar industry. Think about all that tension in the HBB suddenly being released, yet the HBB just plops down instead of firing off the aft end of the deck.

 

 

The HBB's contain complex mechanisms inside of them. Each one is tuned for a specific type aircraft, to release at a certain load. The catapult simply pulls and pulls until the holdback bar decides when to release. The HBB contains its own damper system which allows it to just plop down after release. I was amazed at the mechanical complexity of what is inside a holdback bar when I first saw it.

 

 

Cheers

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Just more info to supplement your knowlege. No one ever asks about the holdback bar, lol. I've been involved with the holdback bar industry. Think about all that tension in the HBB suddenly being released, yet the HBB just plops down instead of firing off the aft end of the deck.

 

 

The HBB's contain complex mechanisms inside of them. Each one is tuned for a specific type aircraft, to release at a certain load. The catapult simply pulls and pulls until the holdback bar decides when to release. The HBB contains its own damper system which allows it to just plop down after release. I was amazed at the mechanical complexity of what is inside a holdback bar when I first saw it.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Wow indeed, i never thought about that.Thanks for the insight

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Just more info to supplement your knowlege. No one ever asks about the holdback bar, lol. I've been involved with the holdback bar industry. Think about all that tension in the HBB suddenly being released, yet the HBB just plops down instead of firing off the aft end of the deck.

 

 

The HBB's contain complex mechanisms inside of them. Each one is tuned for a specific type aircraft, to release at a certain load. The catapult simply pulls and pulls until the holdback bar decides when to release. The HBB contains its own damper system which allows it to just plop down after release. I was amazed at the mechanical complexity of what is inside a holdback bar when I first saw it.

 

 

Cheers

 

And that is the re-useable bar. Didn't the old ones use a piece of steel or aluminum that broke free once a certain amount of tension (launch) was applied?

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Just more info to supplement your knowlege. No one ever asks about the holdback bar, lol. I've been involved with the holdback bar industry. Think about all that tension in the HBB suddenly being released, yet the HBB just plops down instead of firing off the aft end of the deck.

 

 

The HBB's contain complex mechanisms inside of them. Each one is tuned for a specific type aircraft, to release at a certain load. The catapult simply pulls and pulls until the holdback bar decides when to release. The HBB contains its own damper system which allows it to just plop down after release. I was amazed at the mechanical complexity of what is inside a holdback bar when I first saw it.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Which is a step up from the old dog biscuits. I've heard, but never confirmed, that you can dial in the holdback setting on the bar to some degree. Is that true, or is each bar set to a specific value?

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