Ships – Mother ship – floating landing platform – and harbor – Aircraft
Patent
1997-09-24
1999-05-25
Swinehart, Ed L.
Ships
Mother ship, floating landing platform, and harbor
Aircraft
B63B 3500
Patent
active
059061715
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a floating runway at sea with a substantially horizontal upper surface, on which aircraft can be operated during landing and takeoff.
2. Description of Background Art
From the prior art there are known aircraft carriers which comprise a runway at sea for aircraft.
This runway, however, is so short that only relatively small planes can take off and land even though aids are employed for acceleration and retardation of the planes when they take off and land respectively.
As a result of growing resistance to the building of large airports on land, due, amongst other reasons, to the strains on the environment which are involved, the difficulties of finding areas which are suitable for the purpose, e.g. close to centers of population etc., airports have been built on islands, which have been levelled, possibly raising the ground around the islands by filling with stones etc. This, however, depends on the existence of suitable islands or shallow waters in the area where an airport is required.
Aircraft carriers on the other hand can be more easily positioned and orientated. Even though at present very large ships can be built, it would appear, however, that the operation of an aircraft carrier with a runway which is large enough to be used by, e.g. large transport planes, may be problematic.
In order to obtain an acceptable length and price for such a ship, separate take-off and landing aids would probably have to be employed, which can entail limitations with regard to types of cargo. Thus it is possible that the transport of animals and the simple transport of other delicate cargo could be difficult. Moreover it appears to be doubtful whether the routine use of such ships and aids will be accepted for large passenger planes.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Runways at sea with a length of, e.g. 1500 m-3000 m are therefore required.
The object of the invention is to provide an aircraft runway which can be provided at sea, and whose length is so great that it can be used without difficulties for large transport planes and passenger planes.
The characteristics of the runway according to the invention are indicated in the features of the claims presented.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing which schematically illustrates an embodiment of a runway according to the invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a runway according to the invention where sections of the runway have been cut away.
FIG. 2 is a side view on a larger scale of the runway illustrated in FIG. 1, sections having been cut away.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The runway which is illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises supporting sections 1 and bridge sections 2 arranged alternately in the runway's longitudinal direction.
In the lower parts of the supporting sections 1 and the bridge sections 2 there are floating section 3 and 4 respectively which are hollow and can be ballasted in such a manner that the section's draught can be adjusted. A waterline is indicated in FIG. 2 by the reference numeral 10.
Up from the supporting sections' and the bridge sections' floating sections 3 and 4 respectively there extend a number of braces or struts 5 and 6 respectively to decks 7 and 8 respectively on whose upper surface aircraft can operate during take-off or landing. The struts 5,6 are preferably also in the form of floating bodies.
The supporting sections 1 are designed in the same way as known per se semi-submersible platforms, and the bridge sections 2 are trusswork structures with a certain degree of flexibility.
The bridge section's floating section is preferably composed of two floating bodies which extend in the runway's longitudinal direction and are arranged on each side of the bridge section. These can be ballasted in such a manner that the runway extends substantially linearly and horizontally.
At each end, considered in the runway's longitudinal direction, the support
REFERENCES:
patent: 1854336 (1932-04-01), King
patent: 2399611 (1946-05-01), Armstrong
patent: 2430178 (1947-11-01), Kurfiss
patent: 3763808 (1973-10-01), Smith , Jr.
patent: 3788254 (1974-01-01), Sheil
patent: 4393533 (1983-07-01), Terrien et al.
patent: 4487151 (1984-12-01), Deiana
patent: 5398635 (1995-03-01), Tellington
Kristensen Per Herbert
S.o slashed.rhaug Lars Martin
Kvaerner Maritime AS
Swinehart Ed L.
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