Carrier Landing

[saisran 84]

I tried searching the threads but so far the only info i have is on landing the harrier and that's a bit missing too...

 

I had the SF series for a while now and i enjoyed every minute of play time i get. especially with all those wonderful mods that you guys put up. Its been a blast blowing everything up.

 

however, since SF2NA came out. somehow i decided to try the harder flight model(normal) in an attempt to enhance my skill.... im ok with the most of it... but i almost threw my laptop after a series of crashes on the carrier. For three nights ive spent a couple of hours trying to land on the damn thing and im either too short and hitting the water most of the time or im flying past the carrier. i mannaged to get the back wheels on the deck a couple of times but im probably too far out and missed the traps. basically im no good at landing.

 

You see im short tempered and headstrong(stupid). i can't seem to get the patience to figure out the speed, glide slope angle of desent or whatever in which i have to go by. you cant really see the carrier when your landing keeping the nose at an angle like the A.I. does.

 

So if you kind people have time. I wish to be guided

 

When should i start to slow the plane down? what speed? what height? (im using the left panel as reference seen my eye sight is bad and i cant really work out the instruments)

 

When should i engage the flaps, airbrake, landing gear and hook? how much throttle do i use?

 

Btw, how do you judge your distance from the carrier since there no target square on it with distance reference like ACs does?

 

How do you keep it straight on the carrier when the freakin rudders does only seem to take you pointing at direction while the entire plane is going on the direction it wants?

 

Im not sure if the difficulty is because im just using my keyboard instead of a proper flight stick but the since its a laptop i feel that's a bit off.

 

I really love the game and i think i will love it even more when im able to land that stupid boat. Oh yeah. i mostly fly the F-14s, both TW and Mirage Factory. F-8's, then the F-4's and the rest.

 

Much appreciation. Thanks.

[arthur666 65]

I think your love for it will increase exponentially if you get any kind of flight stick. Carrier landing are difficult under the best of conditions, without a stick to make the hundreds of tiny adjustments just sounds too difficult for me.

[KiwiBiggles 122]

Im not sure if the difficulty is because im just using my keyboard instead of a proper flight stick.

 

 

 

I'm fairly noob too Saisran, but I was able to land on the big US boats with a bit of practice.

 

That's with a joystick though - I reckon it would be pretty tough with a keyboard. Since you're enjoying the game, a nice joystick would be a great investment in your hobby. I use a Saitek Cyborg Evo, which is nice quality and not too expensive.

 

 

 

 

Haven't managed to get a Bucc down on the Ark Royal in one piece yet...

 

 

 

All the best

Kiwi

[arthur666 65]

Saitek AV8R-01. It's a cheesy little stick but I've had it for 3 years now.

 

Practice, KiwiB. Lots of it.

 

Remembering that the carrier is a moving target helped me alot. Fly as slow as you can. Also, don't be afraid to hit the deck hard. Carrier-capable aircraft are tough.

 

Check it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJG4R3bJNEM

Edited June 28, 2012 by arthur666

[fallenphoenix1986 603]

This will vary slightly from one bird to the next however you want to be in the region of 135 knots with a rate of decent no greater than 700fpm , try aproaching from about half a mile astern at 800 ft ASL. If you fly the downwind leg abeam of the port (left) side of the boat then count to 10 from the point that your wingtip passes the stern this should put you at roughly the right distance astearm to begin you baseleg turn.

 

Everything should be down and set on or before the downwind leg.

 

Also you should be aiming to hold a constant AoA on approach, there is an indexer on most aircraft located to the left of the Hud/Sight if the amber ring is lit then your AoA is appropriate for the airspeed. You should also be using throttle to control rate of decent rather than the stick, power up to reduce, back off to increase. As the throttle is governing decent rate pitch is used to gover airspeed, pitch up to slow and down to accelerate. (Sounds a tad complicated but you get used to it)

 

And as for the F-14 (Thirdwire) I'm convinced theres something screwy in the damage tollerance of the gear... it goes boom WAY to easily for a navy bird.

 

Craig

 

 

 

*hope that helped

Edited June 28, 2012 by fallenphoenix1986

[saisran 84]

I'm really reluctant on that stick since im on a lappy and always in transit, with a very small hand carry. flight stewards might joke that i want to fly their plane. lolz Guess there's no going round it.

 

@ fallenphoenix - thanks for the tips. so if i get what your saying. when the tip of my wing passes the boat left side i count to 10. then turn to face it from behind and then move in for the landing. starting at 800ft and descending 700ft per min. im not really good at naval terms.

[Romflyer 25]

 

 

#1 Btw, how do you judge your distance from the carrier since there no target square on it with distance reference like ACs does?

 

#2 How do you keep it straight on the carrier when the freakin rudders does only seem to take you pointing at direction while the entire plane is going on the direction it wants?

 

#3 Im not sure if the difficulty is because im just using my keyboard instead of a proper flight stick but the since its a laptop i feel that's a bit off.

 

 

 

#1 It's nice that TW has finally introduced a functioning ILS (instrument landing system) try to keep the big white cross on your hud centered.....if the cross is above the center of your hud then your too low, if it's below center then your too high, and the same idea for side to side.......also keep an eye on the little white circle that floats around on your hud (velocity vector) it tells you where your plane will go to with your current speed and attitude, so point that white circle at the close end of the deck where you want to touch down

 

#2 If you need to move left or right to stay lined up on final dip your wing in the direction you need to go instead of using your rudder.......use your rudder to stay parallel (in line) with the runway.

 

 

#3 Same thing everybody else said......you will enjoy the game so much more.

[fallenphoenix1986 603]

Think you've got it. Fly down the left side of the ship in the oposite direction, 10's after the stern passes you're wingtip enter a 180 degree turn and you should be roughly half a mile to a mile behind the ship aiming to be at around 800 feet, then its just a matter of keeping things steady using minor corections until you hit the deck and hopefully stop.

 

Craig

[arthur666 65]

...And as for the F-14 (Thirdwire) I'm convinced theres something screwy in the damage tollerance of the gear... it goes boom WAY to easily for a navy bird.

 

 

Agreed. The Phantom and Skyhawk seem to fare much better.

 

@saisran, you might consider a small gamepad with analog thumbsticks? That might be a good compromise for the simmer on the go.

[saisran 84]

Thanks a bunch! Romflyer- thats gonna help me a lot of the TW's F-14 and FallenPhoenix- Gonna be taking your advice and practice on it once i get back!

 

not a bad idea on the game pad Arthur. might just try that one first.

[saisran 84]

Whew! after several attempt. Finally able to trap. The first time i thought i aint gonna catch anything. and forced the plane to drop. it dropped really hard but atleast im on the ship...kinda.

 

 

 

 

 

The 2nd time i got the plane aboard was more like diving in the deck. my angle is very low im surprised i caught the wires at all. Although i won't call my landings acceptable (The navy would probably throw me off the ship) atleast im not crashing to the back of the boat anymore. im just missing the wires or im not parallel to the ship.

funny thing on this pic. i got aboard just as another squad was leaving. im thinking in real life my ass would be chewed.

 

 

Thanks for all your help. I'm gonna practice some more.

[JediMaster 451]

Yes, in "real life" they'd not be conducting cat launches and traps simultaneously, but that's part of the problem of having the limited carrier ops modeling.

[FastCargo 412]

Here is the stick you need:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-ST90-Joystick/dp/B0000AW9RQ

 

The Saitek ST90. Has a digital throttle plus 3 triggers. Also, the base folds up. The whole stick when folded can fit into a shoe. Accurate enough to do air refueling.

 

I travel a lot and I found this stick so useful I bought 2 more. Occasionally you'll see them pop up at clearance sellers for pretty cheap.

 

FC

[Sheriff001 397]

There is one peculiarity with carrier landings in SF2. In SF2 you can end up with a crosswind on a carrier landing. In real life, this generally doesn't happen, as the carrier will be steaming in such a way as to have the wind coming straight down the landing area.