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Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by llampx on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @05:41AM (#22747067)
I've wondered why catapult designs haven't been studied for airports, since they're used frequently for launching fighter jets from aircraft carriers.

It would cut down on fuel consumption, emissions and noise when taking off.

Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by rocqua on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @05:47AM (#22747108)
G forces and the fact that a lot of noise isn't from takeoff itself but just from the low flying that occurs near takeoff and landing?
Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by MagnumOpus on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @06:31AM (#22747316)
They would put massive stress on airframes that are not designed for them. And (at a guess) they are probably far more accident prone than unassisted take-off, a trade-off that is not acceptable for passenger operations.
Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by nradov on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @08:50AM (#22748023)
Airbus has studied that. We might see it eventually. But it would be tremendously expensive to build electric catapults long enough to keep G forces down to tolerable levels. And aircraft would have to be redesigned with a strong attachment point.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/07/airbus_smarter_skie...

Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by chrisseaton on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @06:10AM (#22747210)
Do catapults on aircraft carriers cut down noise and fuel consumption? No because you still run the engines at max.
Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by wetmore on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @10:52AM (#22749197)
Ostensibly over a shorter period of time though.
Re:Unmasking Northrop Grumman's XRQ-72A by AdrianB1 on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @11:02AM (#22749342)
Not at all, planes keep full afterburner until they reach a safe speed and level (varies by aircraft) and most planes are refueled again after the take off. The catapult just enables them to take off with serious costs for the pilot, plane and energy.