Released: Multiplayer Carrier Ops - Nimitz

[Pop]

My 2 cents!
Most RW pilots (after being approved by CO) use Auto throttle approaches, then  all u have to do is "work the nose" cause the AOA(on speed) will be maintained.  I agree totally with the statement "power controls altitude-nose controls airspeed" w/o auto throttle- That is it way to fly (the way the USN instructs-- been therer done that)!

[sonofabeech]

Hey Sludge

I did see your 4 sec but only after I had already posted ..was wondering about those 4 seconds seemed to be a little close in but then I realised after your last post that you had a 17knt tailwind on your downwind leg and then an additional 17knt headwind on finals which obviously makes up the difference ..all of a sudden my 5 seconds on Orion's multiplayer mission seems a little reckless eh!! 
great pics ..are you flying with turbulence and thermal effect turned on ? i seriously recommend it for the sense of immersion its not too bumpy but really gets you to focus on finals.

[Sludge]

Pop...

Can autothrottle be used on FSX carriers?  From what Ive seen, real world use depends on the situation for autothrottle right?  Especially once you get a pitching deck involved, I dont know many pilots that would want autothottle possibly dropping them on the boat and getting slammed with an 800-900 fpm decent rate hard landing.  Mostly, Im talking "as real as we can get WITHIN FSX".  If you know how to use ATC (autothrottlecontrol) within FSX carrier landings, let me know, so I can try it out.  Otherwise, its a valid but moot point.

Son-of-a...
I know what youre saying and thats why I left alot of trial-n-error for people with different carrier speeds (I altered mine), and different actual wind speeds.  My main idea being there should be an ideal starting point (8 secs, my best guess) where everyone can start from and work backwards to get a decent carrier track going and to practice with.  I think this started to help Orion from our previous multiplayer session, but as I wrote it, it evolved to being a general help guide for anyone.  Plus, I welcome any additional input, as we have some virtual Hornet flyers who are winged Naval Aviators (big deal, in my book).  As far as turbulence, I have it turned on, but in my scenario, I simply have wind with lite/mild gusts and no turbulence.  I think a previous thread discussed this, and it was agreed that turbulence is not a big player in Case I day landings?  Thats not to say I might just turn it on and fly around tonite, to see what youre talking about... as I always love to tinker.

Thanks for the input fellers.
Later
Sludge

[Orion]

I don't know what I've started, but I was just asking for guidance since it was night and there was a crosswind .

Anyone else specifically planning on joining the session next Saturday besides me and Sludge?

P.S. Looks like Don uploaded another video:

.

[sonofabeech]

Im in

[Paco]

Orion,

  Paco will be unable. Sorry. You guys have fun.

Paco

[Sludge]

Paco...

Sorry to hear that.  Catch ya next time.

Later
Sludge

[neutrino]

I'll fly

[Sucotash]

I found this tutorial on YouTube and most of you guys don't need it. I, on the other hand, well you know I need it.

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

DJ Don

[SpazSinbad]

dfiler, thanks for link to video. If you are unsure about 'how to carrier land' there are other, better videos out there but the one you mention was good for the TACAN info for sure. The Virtual Blue Angels video about carrier landing is excellent. Link is on other threads. Here it is again "OK,3":

Several things about the video under discussion would be the talk about airspeed and other details which are for practical purposes irrelevant and make it seem that figuring those details out for evey approach appear impossible.

Naval aircraft use the Angle of Attack Indexer and the HUD bracket to show the aircraft 'on speed' at the Optimum Angle of Attack. There are plenty of threads on this forum that explain this actual and practical method of carrier landing - therefore no need to know or calculate airspeed. For sure there is a maximum AUW All Up Weight which the Hornet must be below to carrier land successfully. There are many other good points in the video about being on centreline etc.

I was smiling when at the end the fuel state is revealed to be 600lbs! Wow - this guy should be on deck somewhere with fuel below the BINGO fuel (minimum fuel to be on deck / runway). I don't know what a Hornet BINGO fuel is but considering A-4 Skyhawk minimum fuel to be on deck/runway was 500lbs you can see what I'm suggesting I hope. Looks like there are other videos related to carrier landings from that page also.

BTW I'm cannot be certain that the outside views are the same as the first inside view. Anyway looking at the first inside view of the carrier landing again please note that 'in close' and 'at the ramp' the aircraft goes low. Having crossed the ramp the ball goes RED! Maybe some 'deck spotting' was happening at the last few seconds of approach - or the power was reduced too much - difficult to say but have a look at the video again. I watched the highest quality video which became a 155Mb .MP4 file in the Internet Explorer Cache, where it is saveable to the file system. Other lesser quality versions of video will be smaller and probably .FLV videos.

Have a look around on this forum for good advice on carrier landing technique - it is a precision approach requiring proper technique. Just now looking for the FSX Blue Angels excellent tutorial video I see one thread on their forum which will add to all the excellent info on this 'dream' forum. FSX Blues: http://fsxproblueangels.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=224

[Sucotash]

Thanks for that.

[Sludge]

'Nother great time at the Multi...  Did several tutorials for some of the flyers w/HUD control switch actions, TACAN usage around the boat, required carrier calls, and general flying tips.  Also, had a good tag-along session w/Orion shadowing me doing ATC Tulsa (KTUL) in the Multi. afterwards.  He got a real kick from an Okie redneck flying a P51 AT NIGHT, who had no idea how to operate in an ATC environment.  Overall a great weekend of virtual flying and ATC.  And I know Don got a couple more videos up and running.  Again, great work on the vids, Don!  You and JR can put together some hella videos.

BTW, I talked with Orion and we will work to get everyone the "Sludge Hornet" this week as best we can.  Orion already has it in a sendable package (w/required gauges and effects) and we will try to find a way to make an installer, available to everyone with the popular "skins" (paint schemes).  So if you are interested, tell us what Hornet skins you want, and we will get those included.  Right now, we will do a plain white, the Jarhead bird (my fav, VMFA-314), the NASA bird (Orion's fav), the Navy bird.. and then probly 3-4 more, depending on requests.

The Sludge Hornet is the default Hornet I use, that we are making into the multiplayer template.  For those people that want a Hornet with higher engine realism, more realistic landing gear look and feel, manual flaps, darker engine smoke effects, hi-G wing vapor, the Sludge Hornet is for you.

Later
Sludge

[Sucotash]

We're all getting better! I can't wait for the new Sludge-Bird!

Here's a link to the videos from Feb. 7th, 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D48716D6669682C8


Don

[GOONIE]

In the video I hear you guys talking about a guage that indicates which wire was caught, speed, and AoA at touchdown. Can you tell me what is being used?

Hope to join the next session, anyone interested in a Sunday session as well?

-Capt

[neutrino]

It's a gauge that I modified from an original gauge by Skippy Bing. Unfortunately I can't point where you can download Skippy's gauge, and I can't publish my gauge, because it's pretty much the same as Skippy's. I think Orion has found a download link for Skippy's gauge. It shows you which wire you trapped (1,2,3 or 4), what was you speed, angle of attack and vsi at the moment you touch down. It provides a pretty useful feedback for your landings. The only difference between my gauge and Skippy's is that mine takes a smaller part of the screen and is transparent. I'll try to contact Skippy and see if there is a more efficient way to distribute it.