Landing a Harrier into a carrier?

[Stratos 3,188]

Can someone please give me some tips to land a Harrier into a carrier? I never succeded in landing that beast in a carrier, I land like in a conventional plane If in a runway, but I can't do that into a deck, so please tell me how you do it, and if is possible explain it step by step.

Thanks!

[exhausted 55]

Here are my directions for getting the the AV-8A on the boat:

 

1. Before you turn onto your final make sure you are at no closer then about 3-4 miles away, 500 AGL, and 140 knots. This means your nozzles are down about 60-70 degrees, and your airbrake is deployed and you are being extremely careful NOT to climb at all.

2. Turn onto final, but don't put it down right on top of the carrier, aim for a point about 1-2 wingspans off the left of the ship. At 2 miles you need to be about 250 feet AGL and have your gear/flaps/maybe break deployed to landing configs. Make sure you do not apply too much throttle or else you will climb and you will gain speed trying to put it down.

3. At a mile you need to be at about 150 ft AGL and doing about 75 knots. Keep making little adjustments to your nozzles and pitch to keep your climb at zero and speed low.

4. Within a mile you should be trying to match the ship's speed. You need to make MICRO adjustments at all times so the plane doesn't lose control - just like real life.

5. Once you are at the ship's speed (about 30 knots) and about 1/4 to 1/2 of the ship length then slowly roll to the right and get her over the boat. Then you slowly adjust your pitch and throttle to set her down - easier said then done.

 

I'll try to make a video to post of this. You can look on youtube for an older version I did with an AV-8B before I had the technique down.

[exhausted 55]

Here's my Harrier landing video. It's take off to landing, and there are no hints or voice overs, it's just a video with the landing from the cockpit. That way you can see the speed, pitch, and altitude. I admit that I have a little bit of work to do on learning how to control the attitude of the nose during the set down.

 

I hope this helps, but if you have any questions, please post.

 

Edited December 18, 2010 by exhausted