Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ames!haven!aplcen!aplcomm!stda.jhuapl.edu!jwm
From: jwm@stda.jhuapl.edu (Jim Meritt)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Aurora recovery by C-5
Message-ID: <3412@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu>
Date: 20 Mar 89 17:42:01 GMT
References: <7.UUL1.3#5131@mvac.UUCP>
Sender: news@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu
Reply-To: jwm@aplvax.UUCP (Jim Meritt)
Organization: JHU-Applied Physics Laboratory
Lines: 40

In article <7.UUL1.3#5131@mvac.UUCP> space@mvac.UUCP (Sci.Space netmail) writes:
}
}>What if you have a "bolter" and the Aurora misses the cable?  I know
}>a C-5 is big, but I don't think there's enough room for a plane to
}>"go around again" if he misses the landing.  A net would probably do
}>nasty things to the airframe if it's going very fast. I can see a case
}>where the C-5 could be going close enough to the speed of the Aurora for
}>it to land, but not so fast that it'll need arresting cables.  I'll bet
}>it'll drop pretty quick once inside though, not much airspeed inside a C-5!
}
}    Now this seems a bit outrageous to me.  My volkswagon has enough trouble
}    when following a truck due to the wind turbulance.  And that is in only
}    two axis of motion.  I would imagine that a C-5 creates a pretty high
}    amount of wind turbulance as well, and in the air one has three axis to
}    worry about.

You are extrapolating problems where they do not exist.

The Air Force (and the Navy) have managed to come up VERY closely behind
some very fast and very large aircraft with very small aircraft.

Look for a picture of in-flight refueling.  Tough, but possible.

Way back when there were blimps (remember them, space jocks?) we had
aircraft launched from and recovered from blimps.  The trick is that
you fasten them securely BEFORE you bring them in.  Sort of like
substituting a arresting/grappler hook for the refueling nozzel and get
the bracing done up right on the plane.

I looked into the dynamics of this at the Naval Postgraduate School - it
should work.  Use the Ground effect aircraft and you got a REAL fast
aircraft carrier!

(BTW: not a classified study, and real simple to do at your local library)

For good size/weight values, look into the book "Nuclear Flight"...


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