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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Feb. 18, 2022) – The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) completed the first trials of one of its newly installed aircraft-launching catapult Feb. 9.
One of the first trials of a newly installed catapult is the “no-load” catapult shot: a test of the catapult’s ability to fire without any aircraft or test weight attached.
Aircraft carriers are the largest ships in the entire Naval fleet, but their gargantuan proportions are sadly a smidge too small for aircraft to gain the speed necessary for take-off. A simple solution to a complex problem: catapults that launch aircraft from a dead stop to 165 miles per hour in under two seconds.
“We began testing the catapult below decks back in December, but now we’re finally ready to see the results of all of our hard work,” said Lt. Zachary J. Weaver, from Longwood, Florida, an aircraft launch and recovery officer assigned to air department’s V-2 division aboard George Washington.
With nearly 450 pounds of pressure in their pistons, the steam-powered catapults aboard the ship are no simple machines; they require constant care and maintenance.
Halfway through a Nimitz-class carrier’s 50-year lifespan, they complete refueling complex overhaul (RCOH), a multi-year maintenance period that refurbishes and upgrades nearly every system aboard, including the ship’s nuclear reactors, weapons and navigation systems, and the aircraft catapults.
“Once we entered the yards, getting all the catapults removed took days, each,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 1st Class Daniel K. Sanders, from Sacramento, California, the leading petty officer of air department’s bow catapults work center. “We had to remove the trough covers, both cylinders. We stood out there with the whole division, all day, in order to hand-crank the catapult out of the flight deck.”
With the catapults temporarily absent, the goal became to prepare the crew for their eventual return. Sailors were dispatched to all corners of the fleet, aboard carriers and assigned to squadrons, gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to reinstall and operate flight deck equipment following RCOH.
“The Sailors in my work center have been trained by many different Sailors at many different commands around the world,” said Sanders. “We may have been here in the yards for the last few years, but my crew has a diversity of knowledge unlike any other.”
It wasn’t until the catapults returned Oct. 2021 that George Washington was finally able to start the slow return towards the mission of launching and recovering aircraft at sea.
The catapult’s reinstallation wasn’t the work of only one group. Air department worked alongside Sailors from George Washington’s repair, auxilliory, and electrical divisions to integrate the catapults with vital ship systems like steam and electrical.
“Over the last several months, all we’ve been doing is working on installing these catapults and getting them ready for tests and [certifications],” said Sanders. “Sometimes we’d work long hours, sometimes my guys would have to come in on weekends, but that’s just what it was gonna take to get this done, and eventually get this ship back to sea.”
And for the first time in over five years, the catapult came alive.
“I know that each day we’re closer to rejoining the fleet,” said Weaver. “George Washington is coming back to life.”
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2022 06:20 |
| Story ID: | 415784 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Locked, Loaded, and Ready to Launch:, by SN Jack Lepien, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
