Launching a 50,000 Kg Bus - Calculating Propulsion Needed

[Revelare]

Hello~

Given the average full size bus is 50,000 Kg, how much propulsion would I be required to launch said bus, let's say: 200 feet?

I have drawn a schematic to get you started:

[URL=http://img67.imageshack.us/my.php?image=buscannonfe2.png][PLAIN]http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/452/buscannonfe2.th.png[/URL][/PLAIN]


Thanks!

 

[Ranger Mike]

Grey hound , Trail way or School bus?
seriously. it takes 490 lbs. of powder to throw a 1200 lbs. shell 26 miles..14 inch dia. barrel
this is old powder technology..new stuff has far better ballistics tables..
but should give you an idea...

 

[m.e.t.a.]

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2412/buscannonps5.png

 

[Revelare]

M.E.T.A.~

This made my day! I didn't realize such a wonderfully detailed reply was given to my silly message. This was clearly a drunken evening for me. That said, the bus cannon will now become my life's work. Thanks to you, sir! Haha!

 

[Bob S]

This trebuchet video shows cars being launched
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/02/car_trebuchet_video.html
It could be modified to launch a bus.
Bob S

 

[Danger]

Building a cannon large enough for the bus to fit in might prove a bit daunting. It would likely cost in the multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars to have it machined or cast. It's not something that you can cobble together in your garage.
The trebuchet, though... once you've heaved a couple of cows across county lines, what's a bus?

 

[m.e.t.a.]

Well Revelare, (1) your drawing made me smile; (2) you had asked a question that I could actually answer (for a change), and (3) perhaps it was a drunken evening for me, too.

That car trebuchet is a pretty hefty beast, isn't it?