Talk:Tailhook

Untitled

Tailhook in Vegas - I know most people would like to forget about tailhook the infamous party, but should we have an article for it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.134.189.218 (talk • contribs) .

Yes, it should. But let it be a true account of EVERYTHING that occurred, especially the politically motivated witchhunt that ensued. References should include, the DoD IG's report and "The Mother of all Hooks" by William McMichael. Forget using "Tailspin" by Zimmerman, it is not nearly as accurate as McMichael's work. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.230.53.97 (talk • contribs) .

That article is at Tailhook Association. FiggyBee 19:00, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

On aircraft

Might be worth explaining who call it what: the English call it an arrester hook , or sometimes an arrestor hook, folks from the USA tailhook (?). It's also wrong to say that the hook is attached to the empennage: it is not, it is attached to the lower rear fuselage. Empennage is a collective term for the rear aerodynamic stabilisers (fin plus tail plane) and it would be deeply unwise both structurally and geometrically to try to fix a hook to this!TSRL (talk) 22:39, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Land-based tailhooks

Most land-based fighters also have tailhooks. This sounds very unlikely (yep! I've been wrong before) and desperately needs support; indeed I suggest it should be deleted within a few weeks unless the originators can justify it from some authoritative source. Of course, some aircraft unfitted for carrier landings have had arrestor hooks fitted for experimental and testing reasons, but that is not the point.TSRL (talk) 23:00, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

A few misguided souls write from time to time that F-15, F-16 etc. are carrier aircraft because of their tailhooks (arrester hooks). The section Tailhook#Land-based tailhooks was inserted to inform the masses that a tailhook wasn't evidence of carrier operations. Your opposite theory that no landbased fighters have tailhooks is new. When I was in the Danish Air Force we had off-the-shelf F-16 and F-104 Starfighters with tailhooks - and no aircraft carriers. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 00:18, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Per this image, USAF F-16s use tailhooks too. I'm sure we can find more, if necessary. - BillCJ (talk) 02:13, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the rapid response: I'm clearly wrong again! It would be interesting to know if European aircraft like the Typhoon are fitted with a hook.TSRL (talk) 09:58, 24 November 2008 (UTC) The Alphasim Typhoon simulator contains one.TSRL (talk) 10:13, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Don't worry too much about - we know your objection was in good faith. As for the Typhoon, take a look at Image:Eurofighter 9803 2.jpg and Image:Typhoon 4.jpg. My eyes aren't that good, and I'm using a small screen, but it sure looks like a hook nestled between the rear of the engines. - BillCJ (talk) 15:54, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Certainly does, and it is surprisingly obvious, not specially faired away. Nice pics. Spurred by Necessary Evil's direct observations of hooked F104s, I looked again at their silhouette and could see the hook well enough, again rather protuberant. So when did these hooks appear? I don't remember them from 50s aircraft, and Janes 1968, though it gives a long list of F104 variants in fair detail dos not mention them. Perhaps my question should be framed as asking when the typical fighter field get arrester wires?TSRL (talk) 22:53, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

There are articles from the 1950s talking about arresting gear installed at USAF bases. One article from 1962 talks about a 140 arresting gear systems installed at 70 Air Force bases. It describes the system as "the rotary-nylon tape, which engages a hook beneath an airplane" made by E.W. Bliss. It describes operation as "A hook would have engaged a wire rope pendant stretched across the runway and attached to nylon tapes wound on reels that play out the tape as the aircraft engages it. The reels are coupled with brakes to absorb the energy of the impact and gradually slow the plane to a stop." (At the end of the runway Marion Star, The. Marion, Ohio. Saturday, June 09, 1962. Page 27.} That sounds similar in concept to current systems. ESCO has a history page that makes it sound like current systems are based the ones designed in the 1950s. It also looks like the company attempted to sell the system for civil use in the early 1960s, not sure where that went, but it never happened even though there are quite a few runway over run accidents. --Dual Freq (talk) 23:23, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Question

Why don't the wheels get caught by the cable?Lestrade (talk) 19:02, 31 August 2009 (UTC)Lestrade

The cable is only a few inches above the ground. The tires roll over it just like car tires over a speed bump. Aircraft with less robust landing gear (not designed to go over bumps) typically land beyond land-based arresting gear. By the way, in the old days when an aircraft missed all the wires with the hook, a net called a barrier would catch the aircraft's landing gear so it wouldn't hit other aircraft parked on the ship. See Arresting gear for more detail. E2a2j (talk) 16:47, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Recent Edits (Oct-3-09)

I removed most of the unverifiable content, and improved the intro by adding that in land based aircraft, the tailhook is also used as a way to abort a takeoff (at the point were the aircraft has to much speed for the brakes to be effective) Aaron mcd (talk) 18:37, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Image swap

I have swapped File:F-15 Tail Hook.jpg and File:Caught the wire! (3579526989).jpg (putting the latter a the top of the article) because it is clearer in that one what exactly is the tail hook. It has the tail hook larger, and centered in the image, so that it is clear it is the subject of the article. This new image also demonstrates its purpose, as it depicts the tail hook catching the arresting gear. This is in opposition to File:F-15 Tail Hook.jpg, where the hook is in the corner, small (when I first saw this image I struggled to find what exactly was the hook), and obscured, with the technician hiding the end of it. — Alien  3
3 3 08:42, 21 May 2025 (UTC)