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Old 12-08-2002 | 06:27 AM
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Skybouncer
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From: Calhoun , GA
Default ARRESTED LANDINGS

Tamecat I'm sure its possible to land on the same deck you cat lanuch from but the odds of it are like that mountain top your speaking of just a lot smaller. You would have to reinforce your airframe a lot more to keep from ripping the rear of your plane off when you grab an arresting wire. Some of the load could be transfered to a shock cord, but i don't think it would be worth risking a 6000.00 aircraft on to attempt it, odds aren't good at hitting a 4'x32' wide deck every-time. This could be done safely with a slower prop plane I'm sure but not a fast moving heavy jet.
The Cat launch i have planned would be made from 4 sheets of ply (32')with the shuttle built to it and hinged so all 4 sheets would fold and would have small wheels and a handle to make it easy to transport, just roll it in or out of the trailer, unfold it and you ready to launch. I would set it up alone side the runway for launching when it would be out of the way and land normally on the runway.