摘要 |
A launcher is provided for a remotely piloted aircraft that has a launch ramp mounted on a transport vehicle and a carriage which is accelerated up the ramp carrying the aircraft to be launched. The carriage is hauled along the ramp by a cable leading to and wound around a winch drum which is driven by a flywheel through an electromagnetic slipping clutch, the flywheel being first run up to speed by an electric motor coupled to it by a torque limiting coupling. A hold-back device retains the carriage at the lower end of the ramp until the cable tension has built up to a predetermined value, and a brake system decelerates and arrests the carriage at the upper end as the aircraft leaves. On a short transport vehicle, the length of the ramp can be reduced for travel either by making it telescopic or by arranging it to fold about a hinge.
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