Steve Davies
Aviation Writer & Photographer
Two questions from a self-confessed Naval aviation ignoramus:
1) Has the Navy developed a coating for carrier decks that does not wear off by the end of a cruise?
All the books I have read about Naval aviation talk about jets slipping about and (occasionally) falling over the side because the deck's rough coating has worn out and been replaced with a greasy, smooth undersurface.
I wondered if a solution had been found?
2) Why do the Hornet/Super Hornet's rudders toe-in on a cat shot?
I appreciate the flight control computer does this, but don't you want minimum drag as you make your steam assisted launch off the boat?
It occurred to me that the drag might actually help raise the nose, but then i thought that with the Hornet's legendary low-speed handling, the stabs probably provide plenty of nose authority by the time the jet reaches the end of the cat
1) Has the Navy developed a coating for carrier decks that does not wear off by the end of a cruise?
All the books I have read about Naval aviation talk about jets slipping about and (occasionally) falling over the side because the deck's rough coating has worn out and been replaced with a greasy, smooth undersurface.
I wondered if a solution had been found?
2) Why do the Hornet/Super Hornet's rudders toe-in on a cat shot?
I appreciate the flight control computer does this, but don't you want minimum drag as you make your steam assisted launch off the boat?
It occurred to me that the drag might actually help raise the nose, but then i thought that with the Hornet's legendary low-speed handling, the stabs probably provide plenty of nose authority by the time the jet reaches the end of the cat