Flight deck
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A flight deck is the mostly flat top of an aircraft carrier on which aircraft can take off and land. But one also speaks on smaller ships, e.g. B. frigates , if they are equipped with helicopter landing platforms, also from a flight deck.
In the first aircraft carriers, the flight deck consisted of a long plane made of wood that was placed on the hull of a ship . Later the flight deck became part of the fuselage and then made of steel .
Many aircraft carriers have several catapults built into the flight deck to give an aircraft additional acceleration when it takes off. Safety ropes are stretched across the flight deck , with the help of which the aircraft is quickly decelerated when landing. Without these aids, aircraft carriers designed for helicopters and vertical take-off aircraft can do without . Some porters have a kind of ski jump built into the flight deck for takeoff.
In the case of large aircraft carriers, the runway is built at an angle to the hull; in the case of US carriers, the angled deck is oriented 9 ° to port. This allows aircraft to land there while other aircraft take off from the front area of the deck .
Apart from smooth-deck girders, a structure called an "island" rises above the flight deck, in which the flight deck surveillance, radar systems and the like are located next to the ship's bridge . Even on smaller ships there is usually a station in the superstructure that is oriented towards the rear of the flight deck, from which approaching helicopters are instructed.
The flight deck is connected to the hangar deck via elevators , which takes up the space below the flight deck. In the hangar , the aircraft are serviced, repaired and parked if they cannot stay on the flight deck. In addition, logistical tasks are carried out on these decks, for example preparing weapons for the aircraft. The hangar on ships with a helicopter landing platform is usually connected to the bow of the flight deck.
