Shipbucket

The Queen officially named HMS Queen Elizabeth today and the carrier's been 'launched' with a bottle of Whiskey!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28146412

This article is a bit more downbeat on the costs and 'eggs in one basket' argument... has some interesting shots though and a zoomable comparison next to Illustrious.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28153569

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Great news for the RN. I'm not entirely sure that it's worth the £6bn. I spoke to someone who works for Babcock and he reckons the price will be closer to £9bn by the time it's complete.

The ski jump, a very british design, has been kept on. I wonder if it's needed when the f-35 flew from USS Wasp recently.

ski jump is not needed, that is certain, but it shortens the take off runway a lot....... maybe even to the extend that it might be able to use the same elevator and deck park setup as the CATOBAR version would have used.

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RE: Ski Jumps. I wouldn't be so sure about it not being needed. In the CVS it wasn't just about improving MTOW - a ski jump ensures that the aircraft will leave the deck in a positive rate of climb even in rough weather. I am told this is reassuring for the pilots.

This is an issue for STOVL due to the longer take off runs than for CTOL. It is far less of an issue for a USMC carrier as they don't generally plan to operate in the middle of Atlantic storms, as CVF might.

RP1

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A ski jump also allows greater take off weights.

It also keeps your angle of departure up when the ship is ploughing into waves...

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