re: #126 Targetpractice

Among them was Samuel Langley. He was a professor at the Naval Academy, inventor, and worked on aircraft design. The first US Aircraft Carrier - USS Langley was named in his honor.

His design didn’t have the kind of surface control that the Wrights incorporated, but he did utilize a catapult to launch the plane into the air - a standard feature on US carriers since the late 1940s as aircraft grew heavier (and which were steam catapults until the new USS Ford comes online, which will have electronic catapults)