Catapult Elongation Sensor

Average catapult power cylinder temperature is currently inferred from elongation of the cylinder row, as measured by comparing the position of a pointer attached to the vented power cylinder relative to a graduated scale located on the flight deck. The Bow Safety Observer (BSO) must repeatedly take this reading from the flight deck during operations and then communicate the elongation to the Integrated Catapult Control Station (ICCS) or Central Charging Panel (CCP) to properly set catapult controls. Creare proposes to develop an automated system to measure the power cylinder elongation to reduce workload and safety risk for flight deck personnel and improve launch performance. This device will automatically provide a high-resolution, deck-temperature-corrected measurement to the ICCS/CCP and will maintain the existing pointer as a manual backup. During Phase I, we will evaluate several promising contact and non-contact measurement methods and design and fabricate prototypes of the most promising approaches. Phase I testing will help identify issues with possible approaches and synthesize solutions to address these issues. Phase I is intended to select the optimal approach, and Phase II will include the detailed development of a prototype that can be tested on a carrier.