TomoHawk Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 This is really off the wall... If you hooked up your Z (or any car for that matter) to the launching (hook) on on an aircraft carrier, how far off the end do you think it would go? That means it would have tosurvive the launch! An aircraft carrier is supposed to have enough juice to get a 60,000 Lb. airplane to 150 MPH, so you'd have to rig up a really heavy-duty launch (hook). Any Navy dudes around here? Anybody wanna try? I'll colunteer the neighbor's Honduh! Maybe the wing will make it go farther! Happy holi-daze to you BroZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Umm YEAH, that is off the wall So what are you doing durring the day to come up with an idea like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonzer12 Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I heard on tv once that the car would dissapear from sight. I think it said it could throw a pickup 30 miles or something like that, keep in mind this is all from memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted December 17, 2003 Author Share Posted December 17, 2003 I'm on Christmas break. I teach, take some classes- well, not for the next few weeks. Thinking up "ideas" to work on for next few weeks. *ehem* Zed in the shop right now. Should probably go re-organize my collection of Zed nuts, bolts, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I guess it depends on the height of the deck above the water . I believe the catapult force is set for each particular type (e.g. weight, or more acurately, mass) of aircraft and the minimum safe V for that craft (stall). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted December 17, 2003 Author Share Posted December 17, 2003 I assumed the power would be set at maximum and a little ramp at the end. Let's see "Dukes of Hazzard" or "Knight Rider" beat that. for air-time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Sorry guys, i couldnt resist! The Navy uses cars picked from junkyards to test their steam catapults. Its true, look it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Ha ha ha. Did a Google on "Steam Catapult" Here's all the math you need to answer airplane questions.... http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:Nk7Q-q-OvxYJ:pumas.jpl.nasa.gov/PDF_Examples/03_23_02_1.pdf+aircraft+carrier+steam+launch&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Just substitute the F-18's figure for "lift" to 240Z "downforce". Here is one for sale: http://www.frenchcreekboatsales.com/details.asp?File_Number=BOP12 Any volunteers? Group buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 You guys are too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 As a retired nasal radiator I must admit I'm aware of this having been done already. The "cats" are set for the vehicular weight in order to accellerate them to approximately 140 KIAS (~160 MPH). The deck of the carrier is about 70' above the water. Since a car shape has some minimal aerodynamic lift (assuming no wing since it is a negative lift item) it takes it about 3 seconds to hit the water after leaving the deck. That would allow it to travel about 550-600' assuming normal drag decelleration. It ends up being a bit closer than that, though as the carrier is usually traveling at about 30 mph itself and closes the gap slightly after launch. Car makes a very nice splash. Much like the depth charges you've seen on the old WWII movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nic-Rebel450CA Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Ok, why dont we just settle this. I have a buddy in the Navy, and a Z that is probably going to be totalled out. BTW, from my experiences in my Z, I can confirm that they fly pretty well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 A good friend of mine years ago worked cats on the Ranger during the Vietnam war. They shot bunches of stuff (including cars) off the carrier using the cats. And once or twice a year they would screw up and "cold shot" a plane off the deck - meaning they computed the wrong aircraft weight and the catapult didn't get the plane up to speed. About 50% of the time the pilots would save it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Yup been done before, I even have a video of a little European coupe being shot off the deck. It didn't fly off the deck the way you think it should have. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 You going to share that video MATT? I think that this needs a little bit more debate and I would like to have all the info I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Nowhere to host it. I have web space that I got with my DSL line, but haven't figured out how to make a web page yet. As soon as I do, I'll put it on there for you. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Based on what Phantom said my guess is that the cats are limited to a max launch speed of ~160mph so things don't break as often. This doesn't stop us from doing the calculations based on the forces generated in launching a 60,000 lb aircraft at 150 mph Just as a quick calculation you could divide the weight of a Z into the 60,000 lbs 60,000 / 2,700 = 22.22 Then multiply that times 150 mph to get the unlimited velocity the Z would reach 22.22 * 150 = 3,333.33 mph. Based on the afore mentioned 3 second flight time the car would go ~2.77 miles. Not quite the 30 miles mentioned before but still a very long distance. You would also get a nice sonic boom on launch. These calculations obviously ignore aerodynamic factors so the distance would probably be half that, I'll leave that for someone else to figure out. Ken W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 These calculations obviously ignore aerodynamic factors so the distance would probably be half that, I'll leave that for someone else to figure out. Or the small fact that somewhere before 3,000 mph the Z would basically vaporize with only the engine block (minus all ancillary components) as the remaining recognizable part, just before it too disintigrates as it hits the sea surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 This reminds me of a story I heard.. "darwin awards' or something.. Apparently, this guy got a hold of a 'solid rocket booster' from a local air force base. This is a rocket they use to 'help' heavy aircraft get up to speed on take off (don't know what the aircraft are called... big transports of some sort) Now, somehow this fool straped/welded/otherwise attached this rocket to his car... a 67 impala or something. The thing is, once these rockets are ignited, they go to full thrust and STAY there till they run dry. So mr 'rocket man' found a straight stretch of road, got up to about 60 MPH and somehow fired/ignited this rocket. Here is what investigators found the next day: A huge black/melted section of pavement.... then about 1/2 mile away, two black marks for about 1/4 mile (from the drivers attempt to apply the brakes and melting them) and then scrape marks (from the tires exploding and the wheels/undercariage scraping down the road) then more melted pavement, and then nothing. Until 2 miles away, 200 feet UP a steep mountain side, a black crater. The bigest peice of the car they could find was a piece of the stearing wheel (they think!) with the bigest piece of the driver (tooth fragment) loged in it. They figure this guy went from 60 MPH to about 700 MPH in something like 3 seconds, and 'trying to apply the brakes' was the last thing he was able to do. At that point he bacame airborn and was probably unconsious for the remaining 2 minits of his life. I am juat amazed the car stayed intact enough to impact the mountain 3 miles away! Wow... this got really long.. but I figured it sort of fit in with this post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 datsunlover, That's a myth, but sounds cool though. It was even part of a show on Discovery Channel called Myth Busters. They even concluded that it didn't happen, by means of strapping a JATO rocket (solid fuel rocket) to the top of thier Impalla as well. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silicone boy Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I think Phantom and Wheelman are on the right track. By using the height of the deck, you can figure out how long the car will remain airborne. To figure oute how far it will go, you need to figure out the velocity (distance =velocityxtime aloft). Remember to add the forward speed of the carrier. To figure out the speed of the car at takeoff, we need to use the 2 formulas Force= massx acceleration, distance=1/2 acceleration x time squared. I'm not up to the last one right now cause I'm medicated with flu medication, but once you have the acceleration and force parameters figured out, you can figure out the speed of the datsun at the time of takeoff from the deck and go from there. It's a lot faster than an F14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.