Catapult Strop

[Librarian]

I'm probably going to have to scratch build one but just out of interest does anyone know of a cottage industry produced catapult strop, 1/48? Googled but no banana. I thought I'd stretch my usual build to a carrier diorama, much like that lean back buccaneer pose on the cat shot.

I'm amazed that apart from the usual USN and WWII subjects there seems to be absolutely no FAA deck subjects available anywhere...deck, cat, crew, equipment etc.

[maxmwill]

Wouldn't it be possible(given the name of this forum) to take parts of what already exists for making models of US cat shots, and modifying to fit for cat shot scenes of alternate countries(not only British, but French and others as well)?

I mean, even at quarter scale, a lot of the finer details which would set the systems of one country apart from the others are hidden by pretty much everything else(the mechanism of the shuttle that is used to pull the aircraft to speed in the process of launching, but things like the track, the clothing and position of the participants in the cat shot(pilot, the person directing the shot, such as the boatswain's mate) could be modified to suit, as well as that area of the flight deck?

I know that I'm speaking from the perspective of a US modeller(as well as a veteran of having  served on the Kittyhawk), but aren't there parts of the scenario which could be considered to be common to all, so this could save you a bit of extra work and possible heartache?

[Librarian]

Very sound advice and yes, i sometimes forget the whiffiness of this site. I was going to use the Kinetic deck but it was the strop that eluded me. To be very honest some stiffened thread and a coupla small wire hoops would suffice....I'm just getting lazy in my middle-age .

[Captain Canada]

Wire. Strip the plastic coating off of a wire from an old motor. Hair dryer, cheap toy etc. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can find one that's silver instead of bass.



I can probably find some to ship your way if you'd like.

[scooter]

Very sound advice and yes, i sometimes forget the whiffiness of this site. I was going to use the Kinetic deck but it was the strop that eluded me. To be very honest some stiffened thread and a coupla small wire hoops would suffice....I'm just getting lazy in my middle-age .

No you're not.  Consider that the bridle is only heavy duty wire rope, stiffened thread or, as CC suggested, actual wire it makes perfect sense.

[sandiego89]

Thin picture hanging wire might work as well, and looks like wire rope.

[Rheged]

I misread the title of this thread, and was confused as to why a catapult would be argumentative.   However, having read it properly, can I second the idea of stranded picture wire?

[Librarian]

I misread the title of this thread, and was confused as to why a catapult would be argumentative.   However, having read it properly, can I second the idea of stranded picture wire?

.

What I should do to the kids when they get om my ti*s.

[maxmwill]

I have to confess, though, that the word "strop" is one that I am not familiar with, at least when used in the context of carrier operations. Is this like the word "trap" when referring to a carrier bird catching the wire? While I try to learn terms that aren't native to what I'm used to, as I enlisted in the USN and picked up a lot of terms(and probably forgot most of them after release from enlistment), been finding out that there are whole other universes of terms used in the other countries' carrier arms.

Is strop in this context related in any way to what the strop was used for with a straight razor?

[jcf]

US terminology is catapult bridle.

[rickshaw]

A carrier "strop" was a rubberised wire cable which was used to attach an aircraft to the carrier catapult.



You can see one in the painting above of a Buccaneer catapult launch.



The second picture shows a Buccaneer in the classic "hold back" position, awaiting catapult launch (they connected a sheer bolt to a cable attached to the rear of the aircraft so that the catapult could develop maximum launch pressure and that forced the aircraft back on it's tail), with a strop pulling the plane forwards.

[maxmwill]

Ok, I can see that, sort of, in that it is rigidly flexible, but are there any other reasons why it was called a strop?

[Captain Canada]

Ooh...what a cool painting ! Never seen that pic of the Bucc either, and never knew that it was tied back ! Makes sense now.

[rickshaw]

Ok, I can see that, sort of, in that it is rigidly flexible, but are there any other reasons why it was called a strop?

I suspect you're correct about the etymology of the word.  I suspect leather straps in general can be referred to as "strops" and I wouldn't be surprised to find the first naval use of them was made of leather.

[Librarian]

To be honest I thought about the word bridle but every FAA pilot/crew member I've spoken to used the word 'strop'...ho-hum. Found an excellent alternative...company on Ebay called Eureka do 1/48 towing cables for armour. Even come with resin eyes for hook attachment. Think I'll scratch build the flight deck as pistons planes don't really need blast deflectors and the Kinetic kit is pricey.

Love the Woodcock art...love all Woodcock art. One of the best. He's really captured that launch energy being released. Favourite image of mine is in a Luftwaffe book, a He177 with turning props and an engine fire. So Dynamic.