INS Vikrant (IAC1) & INS Vikramaditya - News & Discussions

Vikrant looks very short compared to Vicky. I wonder how will the pilots land Mig-29Ks on that deck which hardly offers 180-190 meters. The pilots are already pushing their limits on Vicky.

Definitely they are doing on of the toughest job in the world.
 
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Wicky is on CSL? A refit I guess....

Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya to enter sea-trial stage soon after second refit
Express News Service |Published: 21st October 2018 07:38 AM

KOCHI: With the second refitment of INS Vikramaditya over, the country’s lone operational aircraft carrier will be entering the sea-trial stage by next week. The short refit, at an expense of Rs 705 crore, was carried out at the Cochin Shipyard and the aircraft carrier is now docked at Ernakulam Wharf, prior to the commencement of the sea trials.

During an onboard visit arranged by the Navy for media persons on Saturday, Commanding Officer of INS Vikramaditya Captain Puruvir Das said the refitment of the ship has been completed.

“However, a few tests, including the checks on the ship’s boilers, are underway. Soon, we will start the sea trials, which will take place off the Kochi and Goa coasts. We are hopeful of returning to the Western Naval Command without delay,” he said.

As part of refitment, major work was carried out at the hull of the ship. “We did Hull survey and paint scheme renewal. Also, repair work was carried out in the shaft system of the ship,” he said. The shaft of the ship comprises 25 bearing, of which 16 were replaced. Routines were performed on sewage treatment plant, ship’s main propulsion plant and on all weapons and sensors. “The refitment will enhance the operations of Vikramaditya. It will be ready for sea operations once the trials are completed,” said Captain Puruvir Das.

Nation’s pride

Commissioned in November 2013, the ship is assigned to the Western Fleet and is based at Karwar in Karnataka. The total designated crew strength of INS Vikramaditya is 145 officers and 1,600 sailors. The ships power generation and distribution section maintain 12 generators which produce 18 MW power that can power 100 villages. The 45,000-tonne ship is 285 metres long and 60 metres wide having 23 decks equalling almost 23 acres of land.

Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya to enter sea-trial stage soon after second refit

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Alright, I am having an off day decided to post some pics of the IAC-1 :
First off some CGI :
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For an organisation designing an aircraft carrier for the first time the DND has outdone itself. But, allow me to nitpick a bit. The island is excessively large. Sure, mounting the MF-STAR is very helpful, still it will ends up taking too much deck space. A smaller island that is a bit more rear set would have been better from the aircraft handling point of view. I would have preferred a Queen Elizabeth like launching deck rather than the Vikramaditya type angled deck. But then its just my opinion and the navy has a lot of experience operating the Vicky, that must have influenced the design.
For a first attempt there isn't a lot to complain about. If anything, this has got me to elevate my hopes from the INS Vishal. That one will be a killer.

That image is many years old actually.
True, from 2015 I think. But the tweet isn't old.

Pics from 2015 :
Island under construction.
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Rear elevator
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Forward elevator
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Dry dock. Interestingly there seems to be some sort of control surfaces on the sides as well. By the way, why are propellers always golden ? Are they made out of gold ? @Falcon @vstol Jockey @Parthu
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Images for the launch day I think
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I would have preferred a Queen Elizabeth like launching deck rather than the Vikramaditya type angled deck.
The Queen Elizabeth class was designed for STOVL aircraft, specifically the F-35B.

The Indian Navy, however, does not operate STOVL aircraft anymore since they retired the Harrier three years ago. So a design for a STOVL carrier is not appropriate here, India needs a design for a STOBAR carrier instead.

STOBAR and CATOBAR carriers have the AR in common: arrested recovery. This means the aircraft needs to catch an arresting wire with its tailhook, and the arresting wire's system helps it decelerate swiftly. But what happens if the pilot misses the wire? Then we have what Navy pilots call a "Bolter": the aircraft is not decelerated at all and continued on its way straight ahead. Best case scenario, then, is that it still go fast enough to take off instead of falling into the drink; and that's why deck landing procedures involve throttling up to full thrust including afterburners just before attempting to catch a wire.

The ever-present risk of bolting means that there needs to be absolutely nothing in front of the aircraft as it tries to land. Imagine if there's another aircraft straight ahead, getting ready for take off, and you missed the wire? Catastrophic collision. And what if the bolting fails and the aircraft falls in the sea? Then if it falls in front of the carrier, the carrier then crushes it (and the pilot). Whereas if the aircraft falls on the side of the carrier, the pilot can be rescued by helicopter if the rescue copter crew is fast enough. That's why CATOBAR and STOBAR carrier designs both feature angled decks.
 
That's why CATOBAR and STOBAR carrier designs both feature angled decks. The aircraft land on the angled part, and get ready to take off on the straight part.
Very informative post about the differences between STOVL and STOBAR, sir. But that's not what I meant when I said "angled deck". Both Queen Elizabeth and INS Vikrant lack any catapult and thus have to use a "ski-ramp" of some kind to take off. All I was saying is that the ramp on the Queen Eli.. looks better to my eyes purely from an aesthetic point of view. Whereas the ramp on Vikrant looks very much inspired by Vikramaditya.