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A tailhook, also arresting hook or arrestor hook, is a device attached to the empennage
Empennage

Empennage is an aviation term used to describe the tail portion of an aircraft. The empennage gives stability to the aircraft and controls the flight dynamics: pitch and yaw....
 (rear) of an aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
. It is used to achieve rapid deceleration after landing, usually aboard an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a navy force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations....
.

tailhook is a strong metal bar, with its free end flattened out, thickened somewhat, and fashioned into a claw-like hook.






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E 1b Tailhook
A tailhook, also arresting hook or arrestor hook, is a device attached to the empennage
Empennage

Empennage is an aviation term used to describe the tail portion of an aircraft. The empennage gives stability to the aircraft and controls the flight dynamics: pitch and yaw....
 (rear) of an aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
. It is used to achieve rapid deceleration after landing, usually aboard an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a navy force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations....
.

Description

The tailhook is a strong metal bar, with its free end flattened out, thickened somewhat, and fashioned into a claw-like hook. The pilot is capable of raising this bar to its inflight position or lowering it ("Hook Down") for landing. Helicopter
Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
s and other aircraft that are able to land vertically
VTOL

VTOL is an abbreviation for Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft that can hover and take off and land vertically, helicopters, and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as tiltrotors....
 are not equipped with tailhooks.

Aircraft land on the flight deck
Flight deck

The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the Deck from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the flight deck....
 of an aircraft carrier on a short "landing area", towards the aft end of the ship. A number (usually four) of very greasy and very strong thick flexible cables called arrestor cables, "arresting wires" or "cross deck pendandts" are stretched across the landing area. When an aircraft lands properly, the tailhook should catch one of the cables and the cable will transfer the energy of the aircraft, through a "purchase cable," to the belowdecks arresting gear
Arresting gear

Arresting gear is the term used for mechanical systems designed to rapidly deceleration an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers....
 engines, stopping the aircraft. Both the hook and cables have to be very strong: aircraft land on carriers at full throttle, so as to have enough power to go around if the hook misses all the cables.

The term "hooked" is sometimes used to describe aircraft fitted with a tailhook. An aircraft which misses a landing by failing to catch the arresting cables is said to have "boltered
Bolter (aviation)

In naval aviation, a bolter is when an aircraft attempting to land on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier touches down, but fails to catch an arrestor cable and come to a stop....
." Occasionally, the tailhook bounces over one or more of the wires, resulting in a "hook skip bolter."

Land-based tailhooks

Most land-based fighters also have tailhooks. In case of a brake malfunction, an aborted takeoff, a tire explosion, or a related problem, a tailhook can stop the aircraft in a departure-end or approach-end cable arrestment. Since it is an emergency equipment, the tailhook is deployed with nitrogen pressure instead of using the aircraft's hydraulic system. Additionally the tailhook can only be repositioned by ground crew.

The presence of a tailhook is not evidence of an aircraft's suitability for carrier operations. Typical carrier aircraft are built to withstand the tremendous stresses endured during launch and recovery operations.

Gallery


Tail hooks


Landings on carrier


See also

  • Arresting gear
    Arresting gear

    Arresting gear is the term used for mechanical systems designed to rapidly deceleration an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers....


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