Ford gets an island

[19kilo10]

Another.

[Bomberboy]

555 tons (493 tons of structure, 62 tons of equipment). The island was the 452nd lift of nearly 500 lifts involved in the construction.

I found it interesting that the fwd island of the QE weighed in at 700 tonnes and the final stern lift weighed in at over 900 tonnes, both carried out as single lifts!!

[PhilipG]

I found it interesting that the forward Island of a QEC as lifted on to the ship weighs more than the complete sole island for a Ford Class. Is this because the QEC Island is mostly fitted out with kit whilst the Ford Class one is a bare shell?
Obviously two different construction methodologies are being used in the manufacture of the different carrier classes.

[19kilo10]

QE also has exausts and intakes..........not sure how much they add to the weight tho........

[Scooter]

I found it interesting that the forward Island of a QEC as lifted on to the ship weighs more than the complete sole island for a Ford Class. Is this because the QEC Island is mostly fitted out with kit whilst the Ford Class one is a bare shell?
Obviously two different construction methodologies are being used in the manufacture of the different carrier classes.

I know the Ford Island is smaller than the previous Nimitz Class. Yet, it seem odd the QEC Island would be some much heavier???

[Scooter]

Another.

Man, what a monster. I hope to go to the Commissioning! That would be a moment to remember for a life time.

[bring_it_on]

New aircraft carrier Ford's flight deck completed



http://www.navytimes.com/article/201...deck-completed

[Andy Wright]

Ford is a larger ship so perhaps what the QE might contain in her islands, the Ford has elsewhere within the hull?

[Scooter]

What a Juggernaut!

[19kilo10]

Bow section in place.

[bring_it_on]

Has a tentative date been decided for the christening ?

[19kilo10]

Expected to be launched (christened) sometime this July.

[djcross]

My hope is NAVSEA puts more emphasis on the area of high bandwidth communications needed to fight network centric warfare. Ford is lacking. Hopefully Kennedy will fix that deficiency.

[Bager1968]

Except that is NOT CVN-78 Ford! It is an earlier Nimitz-class CVN.

Note the 4 deck-edge aircraft elevators, one aft of the island on the starboard side.

Now note the arrangement of Ford... 3 deck-edge elevators, NONE aft of the island in the starboard side!

[19kilo10]

You are right. Google Earth got me! I guess they havent updated in quite a while. The real kicker that did it was Enterprise being moored just out of frame to the left. Shes over there now be defueled. Dont know when she was over there befor but this must be YEARS old!

[bring_it_on]

Ford (CVN 78) Flight Deck Timelapse

[bring_it_on]

[19kilo10]

Launching of Ford has been pushed back from this July to sometime this November.

[Scooter]

Launching of Ford has been pushed back from this July to sometime this November.

What was the reason?

[Bager1968]

http://www.defensenews.com/article/2...-Back-4-Months

The launch of the US aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford has been moved back from July to November, a consequence of production delays identified two years ago.

The move comes weeks after the US Navy and shipbuilder Newport News Shipbuilding moved the ship’s delivery from September 2015 — which has been the contracted date for some years — to early 2016.

“We've been tracking and reporting schedule risk for several years and actively working to retire that risk,” Chris Johnson, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said May 7 in an email. “Following a detailed review of the schedule in February 2013, the Navy and the shipbuilder concluded that a delay in the launch would allow the shipbuilder to complete the remaining critical path work and allow for increased outfitting to most economically complete the ship.”

Earlier, Johnson acknowledged the problems associated with the first ship of a new design.

“Certainly it’s not ideal, but in this case it is very much a first-of-class issue. And those ships have challenges.”

.....

Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the only shipbuilder in the world capable of building full-sized nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

The shipbuilder, in a statement released Monday, acknowledged its problems in making up the schedule delays. HII’s statement in full:

“Working closely with the Navy, we have revised the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) launch date from July 2013 to November 2013. Although actions to resolve first-of-class issues have retired significant schedule risks, the revised launch date allows increased outfitting and ship construction that are most economically done prior to ship launch.

“As the first new design carrier beginning construction in more than 40 years, CVN 78 is designed to provide increased capability and reduced total ownership cost by about $4 billion compared to Nimitz-class carriers. For this first-of-class ship, construction commenced in parallel with design completion based on earlier decisions at [the] Department of Defense. Ongoing design during the construction process caused delay and inefficiencies in procurement, manufacturing, and assembly.

“We have demonstrated that delaying launch (and therefore delivery) to allow for increased outfitting and construction prior to launch is the most economical path forward to deliver the tremendous capability and affordability improvements resident in Ford. “

[19kilo10]

Not unexpected.........but still..........

[19kilo10]

So I guess the hull is complete now. http://www.dailypress.com/news/break...,7213743.story

[bring_it_on]

November is still not that far off :-)

[Bomberboy]

When is QE supposed to be launched?
If it is around the same time that Ford is launched, given a month or two either way, then there seems to be some construction build pattern/timeline commonality between the build of these two ships? Flight deck and island lifting activities have been fairly similar recently.