Tailhook - Definition

Many aircraft that alight on aircraft carriers are equipped with a simple piece of equipment called a tailhook. A tailhook is a strong metal bar with one end attached to the aircraft by a tailhook assembly. The other end of the strong metal bar is flattened out, thickened somewhat, and fashioned into a claw-like hook that resembles the human hand when the fingers are two-thirds closed.

Aircraft alight on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at an area located close to the stern of the ship (far from the bow). Five very greasy and very strong thick flexible cables called arresting cables are positioned at the landing area. When an aircraft alights properly, its tailhook will engage one of the very greasy cables and the aircraft will drag the cable forwards a short distance. The arresting cable and its assembly are designed to slow the aircraft gradually and bring it to a complete stop, at which point the cable drops from the tailhook, and is promptly retracted by the arresting cable assembly.

The tailhook assembly on an aircraft is capable of raising a tailhook to its inflight position or lowering it for landings. "Tailhook down" is a phrase spoken by naval aviators. Helicopters and other aircraft that are able to fly vertically are not equipped with tailhooks. Since a tailhook has only one use, it becomes a dead weight on an aircraft in flight. To accommodate the dead weight of a tailhook and its assembly, Navy aircraft must forego the use of some other equipment, protective armament, or ammunition. By contrast, land-based aircraft may be equipped, perhaps with superior radar systems or other equipment since they do not transport a heavy tailhook, or make arrested landings.

External links

Aircraft carriers of the Navy (http://www.chinfo.navy.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/)