Orca,
Thanks for coming back - glad I could be of help.
Blast was only a problem if you had a flight deck contaminated with rubbish (such as lead shot from dockyard paint jobs). Clean deck - no probs for any equipment such as missile or LGB heads - they are designed for much higher wind speeds during carriage. Same goes for transparencies and coatings. We learned the hard way that the USN obsession with flight deck cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness.
The USN JBDs are designed for something else altogether - much higher jet blast speeds and much closer. They also do a fairly good job deflecting noise.
You're quite right about the min deck run - but I once had Spanish AV-8Bs on board, and they went off at the 95 ft mark. Quite a sight. In reality, any short runs were academic - you needed at least 350 to 400 feet to carry a useful load off the end.
Actually, I never quite got over being awestruck by what a brilliantly simple and effective device the ski jump is - it's very nearly something for nothing, makes aircraft far more effective and gives safer launches. Another quite brilliant contribution to naval aviation from the Fleet Air Arm and Britain. Let's just all be proud for a moment, shall we?
Nice to chat
Best Regards as ever
Engines