For the uninformed, what's an "asymmetric shot"?
When you are catapulted carrying stores/fuel loads that are heavier one one wing than the other. It's a configuration that was avoided back in the day (for A-4s at least). Evidently, it is allowed today under certain controlled conditions.
The circumstances concerning the fatal A-4 accident I described above, was a day carqual... requiring fuel 4000# internal, empty wing drop tanks. Through fueling crew error, one drop was fueled to 2000#, the other remained empty. Pilot preflight always included popping each drop filler cap to visually ascertain full/empty. Pilot evidently did not check. As a result, the cat shot steam setting setting was for a 15000# GW, for a 17000# GW aircraft. Had the extra 2000# been evenly distributed, the excess end speed (10-12 kt for carqual) would have covered the excess 2000# and launched slowly but recoverable. Since it was 2000# asymmetrical, the aircraft immediately rolled into the heavy wing off the cat, and even w/ full stick deflection... was unrecoverable.
* I am surprised that, to my knowledge, they haven't come up with some form of a heavy truck-type scale behind each cat, to give an exact 'real time' gross weight to our beloved Shooter, or have I missed something?
BzB