Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Strike Fighters 2 North Atlantic - Carrier Landing Practice

Before embarking into anything serious in the North Atlantic theater of operations, I have been practicing carrier landings with both the A7 and the F-14A.

This would have been a perfect Top Gun moment, but I just got in the wrong aircraft. :)
Both aircraft maneuver very well at low speeds and although I can get the "trap" consistently, I feel I am not doing it right.



In one instance my forward airspeed was so high that I "reded out" (the screen turned red simulating some serious negative Gs) on the trap. I walked away OK, but I wonder what would be in real life for the air frame of the aircraft.

The setup that I have been using is a single mission. I just take off, turn around and come back to the carrier for a landing. In this screenshot I am getting ready to take off.

The North Atlantic Sea at dusk is very prone to stunning (and distracting) visuals. Here I am turning back into the carrier.

My trap as seen from the carrier's control tower.
Another try, this one with better lighting conditions. My angle of attack too low, the airspeed to high ... I would be the laughing stock of my fellow Navy  pilots. :)
I am finding it very challenging to approach the carrier at high angles of attack (anything above 6 would make my day) without the nose of the aircraft getting in my way and blocking my view of the trap. The "." key in the numbers keyboard removes the cockpit entirely, but I find it very disorienting to fly like Wonder Woman.

Any tricks you know?

Cheers,

at

6 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 13, 2012 at 12:35 PM

    Try 160kts approach. I found it much easier than real live 135kts approach

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  2. AnonymousMarch 13, 2012 at 1:36 PM

    Could ou explain thé symbologie oh hud when landing?
    Thank's

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  3. JCMarch 13, 2012 at 10:58 PM

    Thanks for your comments, gents.

    160 kts? How do you do that? I'm always in the 190s! :)

    The HUD shows:

    Vertical speed on the left
    Pitch ladder, flight path and nose indicators in the center
    Altitude (ft) on the right

    Cheers,

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  4. AnonymousMarch 14, 2012 at 9:06 AM

    And don't forget to go to full throttle when you touch the deck in case of a bolter

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  5. AnonymousMarch 14, 2012 at 11:48 AM

    With speedbrake on , gear down, hook down and full flaps you should be able to see carrier and flightpath indicator all time on speed 160kts. Just keep on ils glidescope and aim flightpath indicator ahead carrier. It's moving so it's better to "aim" ahead to point where touchdown will happen.

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  6. JCMarch 15, 2012 at 11:49 PM

    Thanks! Gonna try that.
    Your point about the flight marker aiming (ahead of the carrier) is a very good one.

    Cheers,

    ReplyDelete