Patent ID: 7954755

Claim:
A method of launching a catapult, the method comprising: generating a launching force by means of a launching device, keeping a carriage immovable by means of a locking device at a launching position of the catapult, directing the launching force to the carriage, which is movable from the launching position to a releasing position guided by a body of the catapult, releasing the locking device at a launching moment, whereby the carriage moves towards the releasing position at an accelerating speed by the action of the launching force, sending off an aircraft arranged in the carriage to the air at the releasing position, directing a damping force to the carriage at the launching moment, the direction of the damping force being opposite relative to the launching force, and the damping force resisting the movement of the carriage towards the releasing position, dimensioning the magnitude of the damping force to maximum at the launching moment, reducing the magnitude of the damping force relative to the movement of the carriage, and reducing the damping force from maximum to minimum once the carriage has traveled a predetermined damping distance towards the releasing position.