Is Skyhook Viable

A new and innovative concept for operating VI STOL aircraft from small ships is being developed by British Aerospace. In this article, Roy Braybrook asks . . .

Something in the region of 12 years ago, this writer was giving a presentation on the V/STOL Harrier at the Central Studies Establishment in Canberra, and mentioned in passing the possibility of using a ski jump to improve STO performance from an aircraft carrier. It was probably the first time the concept had been mentioned outside the UK, and from the hoots of derisory laughter that resulted I gathered that at first sight it sounded like a moderately crazy something-for-nothing scheme. In any event, skijump trials began in 1977, and in due course, skijumps were retrospectively fitted to HMS

Hermes and Invincible, and installed from scratch on Illustrious and Ark Royal. Today the value of a skijump in naval STO operations is well proven, in terms of substantially increased disposable load, in leaving the aft deck free for helicopter operations, and in giving the Sea Harrier pilot much longer to decide whether he needs to jettison his drop tanks to stay above the waves.

One might be forgiven for suspecting that when today’s BAe (British Aerospace) executives such as Cdr ‘Fred’ Hefford give presentations on the SkyHook concept in Canberra, they get exactly the same response that I got with the ski jump in the early 1970s. But is the SkyHook idea all that impractical? Is it not possible that within the foreseeable future half a dozen navies (including Japan’s MSDF0 will be operating V/STOL aircraft in virtually any weather from frigate-size ships using SkyHook? If it is inconceivable for the Sea Harrier and AV-8B Harrier II generation, is it conceivable for their replacements? Emanating as it does from the company that has led the world in V/STOL development (at least until recently), SkyHook and its potential and its problems are surely worth serious consideration.

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