ShanwickOceanic wrote:OK, I'll go first with the stupid questions:
What do you mean by "cyclic ops"?
When you say "best" internal capacity, is that "biggest", or "best matched to the kind of operation"?
Cyclic Operations refers to the launching and recovering of aircraft in groups or "cycles". Launching and recovering aircraft aboard aircraft carriers is best accomplished non-concurrently, and cyclic operations are the norm for US aircraft carriers. Cycles are generally about one and a half hours long, although cycles as short as an hour or as long as an hour and 45 minutes are not uncommon. The shorter the cycle, the fewer aircraft can be launched/recovered; the longer the cycle, the more critical fuel is for airborne aircraft.
"Events" are typically made up of about 12-20 aircraft and are sequentially numbered throughout the 24 hour fly day. Prior to flight operations, the aircraft on the flight deck are arranged ("spotted") so that Event 1 aircraft can easily be taxied to the catapults once they have been started and inspected. Once the Event 1 aircraft are launched (which takes generally about 15 minutes), Event 2 aircraft are readied for launch about an hour later (based on the cycle time in use). The launching of all these aircraft makes room on the flight deck to then land aircraft. Once Event 2 aircraft are launched, Event 1 aircraft are recovered, fueled, re-armed, re-spotted and readied to be used for Event 3. Event 3 aircraft are launched, followed by the recovery of Event 2 aircraft (and so on throughout the fly day). After the last recovery of the day, all of the aircraft are generally stuffed up on the bow (because the landing area back aft needs to be kept clear until the last aircraft lands). They are then re-spotted about the flight deck for the next morning’s first launch.
miamiair wrote:Once the Event 1 aircraft are launched (which takes generally about 15 minutes), Event 2 aircraft are readied for launch about an hour later (based on the cycle time in use). The launching of all these aircraft makes room on the flight deck to then land aircraft.
ShanwickOceanic wrote:The way I read that, someone in Event 1 can't come back in a hurry because there are aircraft in the landing area. Is that right?
miamiair wrote:Talking with Tailhooker over the weekend, he was pointing out that the F-8 Crusader had the best internal fuel capacity (9K pounds) which allowed it to work well in cyclic ops.
The F/A-18A and "C" models I hear are atrocious pigs that really don't cycle well. That was corrected with the Super Hornet.
With the US Navy having the only "Super Carriers," cycle times would have to be tight. Other fixed wing navies (Brazil, France & Argentina) have much smaller carriers with smaller compliments, so their times would be more flexible, I would guess.
VTOL carriers like the Indians, Spaniards, Italians and the Royal Navy don't have the same caveats that fixed wing ops carriers have.
Discussions?
