# USS Gerald R. Ford launches Saturday **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759 "2013-11-12T23:40:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/21 "2013-11-13T17:11:31Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Or a[nuclear submarine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Will_Rogers_(SSBN-659)). [Ol’ Will has an airport too](http://flyokc.com/NonstopFlights.aspx). But that’s ok, he was just a passenger – he didn’t fly himself into the ground. It was Wiley Post who drilled Will into the ground, yet[he too has an airport](http://www.wileypostairport.com/Home.aspx)! Oddly enough, also near Oklahoma City. I think the folks in Oklahoma might be a bit confused as to the concept of, er, flying. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/22 "2013-11-13T18:41:51Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > The third Seawolf is the aforementioned USS Jimmy Carter, so it sinking the Ford would be appropriate (and well within its capabilities). Just have to protect the USS Ford with swimming rabbits. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/23 "2013-11-13T19:08:22Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Whether or not Clinton gets a ship soon depends on appropriation bills I’d guess. [One sighting of USS William Jefferson Clinton](http://www.targetofopportunity.com/USS_Clinton.htm) The story says the picture is taken somewhere between Vancouver and Seattle, but that looks a lot like Sutro Tower in San Francisco in the background - then again, that doesn’t look much like San Francisco’s skyline off to the right . ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/24 "2013-11-14T03:04:10Z")
There appear to be some Navy barges [here](https://maps.google.com/?ll=37.905834,-122.366506&spn=0.004656,0.008787&t=h&z=17). There’s a breakwater nearby, and shooting SSW past that point could put Sutro tower in the background. Google Earth kills my computer now, so I can’t zoom in and look around like I used to… I have to agree with That Don Guy on this. Good eye. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/25 "2013-11-14T11:04:31Z")
I agree, it does look like Sutro Tower. My guess is that the picture was taken from the vicinity of Oyster Point / SSF and Candlestick Park (Candlestick Point). From there, that skyline could be SF with Hunter’s Point in the foreground. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/26 "2013-11-14T12:13:14Z")
[quote=“echo7tango, post:9, topic:673759”] It’s its own new class, the Ford class of carriers. QUOTE] Really?? **F O R D** = **F** ix **O** r **R** epair **D** aily. Bit ominous innit… ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/27 "2013-11-14T13:12:00Z")
One result of the Ford being the first of her class will become apparent when there are several in service and the name has become routine. The President will some day, as a crisis mounts, ask “Do we have any Fords in the area?” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/28 "2013-11-14T15:11:28Z")
Canada is launching its own Ford-class carrier. Runs on booze and crack, and has an unfortunate tendency to capsize - but displaces more than any other nation’s vessels. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/29 "2013-11-14T16:03:25Z")
I think the electro-magnetic launching system is welcome and way overdue. But what about the landing system? Is it still the old cable and hook? Would it be possible to incorporate a magnetic system to land these planes? ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/30 "2013-11-14T16:07:07Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Canada is launching its own Ford-class carrier. Runs on booze and crack, and has an unfortunate tendency to capsize - but displaces more than any other nation’s vessels. 😛 Nice one. But I’m not sure Rob Ford counts. Is he even house broken? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/31 "2013-11-14T16:10:40Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > Nice one. But I’m not sure Rob Ford counts. Is he even house broken? I did not realize there were ugly looking Canadians. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/32 "2013-11-14T16:55:47Z")
Why is the US still building aircraft carriers? They seem obsolete now, given that the cold war is over and that the military has shifted to UAVs. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/33 "2013-11-14T16:56:49Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > We do forgive them…afterwards. When we didn’t, it set off an even bigger war. Condolences to the JFK CTers who were disappointed that such a “flimsy, whitewashed and full of holes” ship didn’t sink right out of the ways. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/34 "2013-11-14T16:57:13Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > I think the electro-magnetic launching system is welcome and way overdue. > But what about the landing system? Is it still the old cable and hook? Would it be possible to incorporate a magnetic system to land these planes? How would you do that? A giant magnet under the deck would just collapse the landing gear and crush the planes down onto the deck. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/35 "2013-11-14T16:59:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Why is the US still building aircraft carriers? They seem obsolete now, given that the cold war is over and that the military has shifted to UAVs. All wars start with the last one’s technology and end with the next one’s. We started WWII with fifteen mounted regiments. I do find our national need for eleven carrier groups - ten more than any other nation on earth - a bit obsessive, though. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/36 "2013-11-14T17:18:34Z")
[I think it has to do with drone deployment.](http://www.businessinsider.com/the-navys-next-step-for-drone-warfare-2013-11) From Nov. 11th. > [@](#): > > The Navy yesterday executed the next round of tests with the X-47B, [landing the experimental aircraft](http://defensetech.org/2013/11/11/navy-tests-x-47b-on-another-carrier/#more-21777) on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. > > This is the next phase for the X-47 after the Navy successfully touched it down on an aircraft carrier over the summer. > > Back then,[we reported](http://www.businessinsider.com/x-47b-drone-lands-on-aircraft-carrier-2013-7) on how the prospect of combining the power-projection capabilities of aircraft carriers with the autonomy and lethality of drones could provide a major boost to the U.S. military. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/37 "2013-11-14T18:09:06Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > Nice one. But I’m not sure Rob Ford counts. Is he even house broken? Judging by the latest council meetings … no. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/38 "2013-11-14T19:03:00Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > I think the electro-magnetic launching system is welcome and way overdue. > But what about the landing system? Is it still the old cable and hook? Would it be possible to incorporate a magnetic system to land these planes? I’m guessing the actual launching interface between the plane and the catapult is the same - a big hook that attaches to the front landing gear. It’s just that the hook will be moved by EM instead of steam. Otherwise, you’d have to redesign all your aircraft, and they’d be completely incompatible between carriers. Which means the arresting gear won’t change either, for the same reason. I guess they could replace the damping pistons with EM gear, but that seems to add complexity for little or no benefit. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/39 "2013-11-15T03:45:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I do find our national need for eleven carrier groups - ten more than any other nation on earth - a bit obsessive, though. Here’s a [chart](http://www.businessinsider.com/magnitude-of-us-naval-dominance-2013-11)that really put’s that into perspective. I have to confess though that it sort of cracks me up. :eek: 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759/40 "2013-11-15T03:56:57Z")
They come in handy after typhoons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-gerald-r-ford-launches-saturday/673759.md?page=1)