Hands off?

rframe

rframe

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Why when airplanes get flung off the carrier cat do I notice the pilot always put their hand up on the dash until they fling off the end? Is there some danger of them adding control inputs during the launch?
 
rframe said:
Why when airplanes get flung off the carrier cat do I notice the pilot always put their hand up on the dash until they fling off the end? Is there some danger of them adding control inputs during the launch?
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You're not imaging things, see the first few seconds of this video:



I can't find a reference for this, but I thought the F/A-18 departed for the first few seconds in an auto flight mode. ///AMG?
 
There is no "auto flight" mode, the trim is set so that the jet will fly away from the water and once you are off the deck, you immediately start flying it. However, there is an auto land mode, but it is only as good as the ship's system, and I have seen some pretty scary landings. I would guess that the vast majority of Hornet/Super Hornet pilots have never done one, and do not even have the desire to.
 
C-182 flyer said:
There is no "auto flight" mode, the trim is set so that the jet will fly away from the water and once you are off the deck, you immediately start flying it. However, there is an auto land mode, but it is only as good as the ship's system, and I have seen some pretty scary landings. I would guess that the vast majority of Hornet/Super Hornet pilots have never done one, and do not even have the desire to.
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Sweet.

What's with having one of the hands up when you launch?
 
I never flew the Hornet but they are hands off the stick when launching. When launching from the C-2 or T-45, it's hands on both throttle and stick.
 
bunk22 said:
I never flew the Hornet but they are hands off the stick when launching. When launching from the C-2 or T-45, it's hands on both throttle and stick.
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What risk is being mitigated by not touching the stick on the Hornet?
 
It is due to the illusion. Keeping your hand on the "towel rack" prevents the tendancy to nose over on the cat shot. It is not a problem on a nice day or bright night, but a dark night or low ceiling will have you feeling like you are laying on your back.
 
I think it is funny though that you can't touch the stick during the launch but immediately afterward you can. I don't think this would stop the illusion much.
 
Cessnaflyer said:
I think it is funny though that you can't touch the stick during the launch but immediately afterward you can. I don't think this would stop the illusion much.
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I'm going to guess that the people that do it for a living might disagree with that assessment, otherwise why would they do it? :)
 
SteveC said:
I'm going to guess that the people that do it for a living might disagree with that assessment, otherwise why would they do it? :)
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Did someone say the illusion is the sole purpose of the hands off launch? Even though the body slowed it's acceleration once off the deck I would still think that the canals would be indicating rapid pitch up which when you throw your hands back on would be the push over.
 
If it really was due to illusion, I think it's worthy to note that the aircraft's reaction to the pilot's improper reaction to the illusion would be drastically different before and after leaving the deck. We are as pilots, after all, trained to defeat these problems inflight. You get predictable instrument indications inflight, but before that you are waiting for the launch to lead to flight. I don't know if there are any clues in motion on the deck to having the stick forward but I certainly wouldn't want to find out what it's like to f that one up.
 
Cessnaflyer said:
I think it is funny though that you can't touch the stick during the launch but immediately afterward you can. I don't think this would stop the illusion much.
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I mean you CAN touch the stick whenever you want. I did it during initial Hornet CQ without ever realizing I was, probably just out of habit (if you could call such limited previous experience a habit) from the T-45. Nobody ever noticed or said anything, I still got shot off the boat, and I still didn't fly into the water. I finally realized this during a fleet CQ evolution, when I thought to myself as I braced my hand behind the stick while waiting on the cat, "wait, in all the movies they put their hands up......that's right....I'M supposed to be doing that too" :)
 
///AMG said:
I mean you CAN touch the stick whenever you want. I did it during initial Hornet CQ without ever realizing I was, probably just out of habit (if you could call such limited previous experience a habit) from the T-45. Nobody ever noticed or said anything, I still got shot off the boat, and I still didn't fly into the water. I finally realized this during a fleet CQ evolution, when I thought to myself as I braced my hand behind the stick while waiting on the cat, "wait, in all the movies they put their hands up......that's right....I'M supposed to be doing that too" :)
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What happens if you are messing around with the stick during the second on the catapult?
 
Cessnaflyer said:
What happens if you are messing around with the stick during the second on the catapult?
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Probably nothing....there is a whole lot of force moving you forward and holding you on the cat. I'd doubt that aerodynamic controls could break you from the shuttle, but maybe I'm wrong. Either way, you just wouldn't be monkeying with the controls on the cat shot. My legs are practically in my lap for the shot, and you are just along for the ride. I do know that an exchange pilot (heard he was German) in a French Super E basically went full aft stick after the shot though, and basically departed the jet after it got airborne. Believe there is a youtube video of said event.
 
///AMG said:
Probably nothing....there is a whole lot of force moving you forward and holding you on the cat. I'd doubt that aerodynamic controls could break you from the shuttle, but maybe I'm wrong. Either way, you just wouldn't be monkeying with the controls on the cat shot. My legs are practically in my lap for the shot, and you are just along for the ride. I do know that an exchange pilot (heard he was German) in a French Super E basically went full aft stick after the shot though, and basically departed the jet after it got airborne. Believe there is a youtube video of said event.
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Looks like a fun ride. :eek:
 
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