How far does this projectile go before hitting the water?

Question

The steam-powered catapult on the USS Abraham Lincoln can accelerate an F-18 Hornet to a speed of 170 knots. The deck height of this carrier is h = 26 m. If the pilot forgets to start the engines (unlikely) and falls asleep during the launch (even more unlikely) the Hornet becomes nothing more than a streamlined projectile. How far does this projectile go before hitting the water?

Answer 1

I will show you how to solve this and you can do the calculations.  Assuming the Hornet is launched horizontally, 

 

v = launch speed = 170 knots  [I suggest converting to m/s]

 

t = time in air

 

x = vt = horizontal distance traveled before hitting the water

 

h = launch height = 26 m

 

Ignoring air resistance,

 

h = gt²/2

 

g = acceleration of gravity = 9.8 m/s²

 

t = √(2h/g)

 

x = vt = v √(2h/g)

 

Plug in values of v, h, and g in compatible units.