Patent ID: 8020506

Claim:
An aircraft carrier having a second level flight deck spaced above a first level flight deck and a second aircraft elevator platform outward from said second level flight deck and spaced above a first aircraft elevator platform at an outer side of said first level flight deck; and, a runway buffer device mounted on said second level flight deck for reducing a required runway landing distance for aircraft, said runway buffer device including a conveyor, a plurality of rollers, a plurality of driving rollers for linearly displacing said conveyor, a control system, and an aircraft speed sensor; said runway buffer device being activated by said control system to displace the conveyor in an opposite direction to a landing direction of an aircraft when said aircraft is landing on said second level flight deck, said speed sensor for sending a signal to said control system or to the speed of said aircraft landing on said second level flight deck, said control system being coupled to said rollers and driving rollers for rotation of said driving rollers and rollers and responsively driving said conveyor for buffering a forward landing speed of said aircraft responsive to the speed of said aircraft detected by the sensor.