Current state of naval / tactical aviation simulation?

[stearmandriver]

Hello all,

This is a very broad question and not FSX specific, but I didn't really know where to put it and many of you frequenting this forum seem well versed in the topic so I thought I'd try here. I apologize if it's the wrong place.

I also considered asking in the current thread going about naval aircraft, but I guess it's broader than that and I didn't want to hijack his thread :-).

I've recently gotten (re)interested in military / tactical aviation sim. My primary interest is naval aviation with realistic carrier ops. I didn't realize how good FSXA was in this regard! With vlso, AI carriers, Javier's Nimitz... Geez, good times!

So I'm definitely going to grab some more detailed planes for carrier ops; probably starting with the FSXBA Hornet but I imagine eventually grabbing the Superbug as well (I like systems depth / abnormals etc). But this has gotten me wondering about the general state of tactical sim. Back in the day I greatly enjoyed Falcon 3.0 (I'm old lol). So I'm wondering - is there a platform that combines the realism and depth of carrier aviation and aircraft in FSX with actual tactical missions and strategy, weapons deployment, being shot at etc?

I've been googling and this is the understanding I've arrived at; I wanted to check it with the experts and see what I'm missing.

1. For actual combat ops, DCS seems the best. But carrier aviation seems greatly lacking... From what I understand, no moving carriers, no IFLOLS, no ILS, no LSO etc. True?
2. Tackpack in FSX enables weapons deployment and causes SAMS to be launched at you, but there's no air - to - air action (unless in multi-player against other players), and also no specific missions you're assigned or a campaign mode? Is that right?
3. Fsx@War provides mission assignments and kind of a campaign mode? But still no air-to-air? And apparently the project is going away anyway because of a falling - out between collaborators?

So, for someone who's first priority is realistic carrier ops in a jet with a realistic flight model and systems , but who also wants to try flying some assigned missions... It seems FSX with a good tackpacked jet, a good moving carrier, vLSO, and @war is the best available combination? Accepting the lack of air-to-air?

Please chime in if there's any options or combinations I'm missing, or if any of my above understandings are incorrect. I want to make sure I understand the best option before buying software and going down the rabbit hole of a study level tactical jet.

I know that's a big question. Thanks for any help!

[Stinger]

Not sure if your aware but there are several Naval Groups, including our own(www.usnva.com )that are thriving quite nicely. We use joinfs which allows cross platforms (FSX;Accc,FSX;Steam and all versions of P3D and X-plane. So to think we’re not out there doing all and every aspects of Naval Avation your wrong

[docjohnson]

I would also add to the above, that Air to Air Combat is alive and well. For training, all you need is a drone which is provided by the Tacpack addon. You can program that drone to go straight and level or maneuvering. There is in addition to the Tacpack, FSX@War, and CCP an addon that adds AAA/FLAK to the mix. Its called FSCAI, from FSCaptain. I haven't done much multiplayer, but now that I'm building SimObjects I'm painfully aware how hard it is to get these aircraft and other add-ons to work in multiplayer.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=60091&stc=1

The multiplayer engagements against a human opponent are still the only way to do simulated dogfighting. So from that perspective your right about the multiplayer stuff.

[Ganter]

Tacpack and FSX@War with the addon; CCP (Carrier and Convoy Planner). It allows you to set up the enemy - set him on a trajectory (moving ground vehicles, AI aircraft, etc ) and then you can plan your frustrations of his intentions - on the ground and in the air too. You can save the campaigns to continue fighting later, get assessments of your performance and strategy, etc. It's a steep learning curve but pretty good when you get it.

Get yourself some really good aircraft. Dino F-35 and soon to be released Queen Elizabeth (there's a thread around here somewhere).

Or go retro and grab the SSW Harrier AV-8B and bung it on Nimitz.

With Tacpack and FSX@War with CCP integration it moves the bar significantly upwards. Adrenaline will flow.

See you up there.

[Naruto-kun]

1: I believe DCS is going to take a step up with the release of the F/A-18C.

3: Correct on what FSX@War currently offers. However, it isn't entirely going out. Cougar is starting a new version but the previous programmer Motus is not going to be involved.

[Stinger]

DCS is fine, if you want to limit the theatre to just 300sq. miles we prefer to use the whole globe and with orbx scenery ( i’m usiing P3Dv4.2)and the fact with our dedicated servers we can sail our Carriers from ocean to ocean. And I doubt the dcs horent is any match to the awesome VRS SUPER BUG

[Stefano Zibell]

DCS is fine, if you want to limit the theatre to just 300sq. miles we prefer to use the whole globe and with orbx scenery ( i’m usiing P3Dv4.2)and the fact with our dedicated servers we can sail our Carriers from ocean to ocean. And I doubt the dcs horent is any match to the awesome VRS SUPER BUG

Oh yes it is.

[SiR_RiPPER]

I hate to jump on a thread for advertising purposes, but this weekend you'll hear some very good news on this exact front. :)

[Stinger]

Oh yes it is.

You’re entitled to your opinion, we’ll just say ..we’ll agree to disagree

[stearmandriver]

Alex, I just watched some of the SWS proof of concept videos. The pitching and rolling carrier in heavy seas was absolutely astonishing. Is that gonna work in FSX?!

I figured there were multi-player groups doing this kind of thing; glad to hear it's an active scene. That's definitely something I'd be interested in, but time is my issue with that. Still, I may very well hit up your organization, Stinger.

I didn't even realize there was an ACM training component to Tacpack. Thanks for that heads up. Glad to hear @war will be moving forward as well.

I'd say you guys have convinced me. Sounds like FSX/P3d is still the right platform choice for naval aviation. Guess I'd better grab that bug and get all Tacpacked up... ;-)

Thanks for all the input and feel free to keep it coming. I enjoy being amazed by all the things I still didn't know were possible in this hobby...

[Stinger]

Just so you know, we are a very relaxed group, i’Ve been doing this for better the 20 yrs and the USNVA has been around for more then 12. So we’re old hands at this and my partner in this is one of the finest developers in all of flight sim. There isn’t anything we can’t do and have multiple members with real world experience. We welcome you to check us out and any questions you may have, i’m Sure we can answer them. We are all about fun, and if you want to learn, we’ll even teach you. But there’s never any pressure, just enjoyment

[Stefano Zibell]

And I'm getting old waiting for my favorite naval fighter, the F-8.

RFN? :wavey:

[Ganter]

"Just so you know, we are a very relaxed group, i’Ve been doing this for better the 20 yrs and the USNVA has been around for more then 12. So we’re old hands at this and my partner in this is one of the finest developers in all of flight sim. There isn’t anything we can’t do and have multiple members with real world experience. We welcome you to check us out and any questions you may have, i’m Sure we can answer them. We are all about fun, and if you want to learn, we’ll even teach you. But there’s never any pressure, just enjoyment"

I'll put myself out there in the firing line being a relative newcomer in the old Out House - and I've been bashing away at the old boys here for a couple of years now but how come you say you've been doing this for 20 years and yet your post count here is, well, rather low; lower than mine - to say the least? (sorry, we're a bit hardened in here at the SOH - no offence intended.)

[Stinger]

Because of my Military commitment on not having access to the internet because of my remote location and the fact at the time I had lost what email or even forum name I was using. I just went ahead and created a new ID, since it had been many years that I was away once I got home I began to once again involved here. And just because I have “a low post count” has anything to do with experience? I prefer to just read the post here and I value the opinions here and the wealth of information on this forum.But why am explaining myself to you?

[MrZippy]

And I'm getting old waiting for my favorite naval fighter, the F-8.

RFN? :wavey:

Would that be the F-8 Crusader?

60093

[SiR_RiPPER]

Alex, I just watched some of the SWS proof of concept videos. The pitching and rolling carrier in heavy seas was absolutely astonishing. Is that gonna work in FSX?!

It will, but we are not sure whether it will look good due to the permanently calm seas.

[henrystreet]

"I'll put myself out there in the firing line being a relative newcomer in the old Out House - and I've been bashing away at the old boys here for a couple of years now but how come you say you've been doing this for 20 years and yet your post count here is, well, rather low; lower than mine - to say the least? (sorry, we're a bit hardened in here at the SOH - no offence intended.)"

Those that know do not necessarily have to crow.

PS Unless you have been involved in virtual Naval simulation squadrons that have current and/or former USN aviators as members OR are a current/former USN aviator yourself, you probably know a lot less about that billet than you believe. They know, if you know what I mean.

[awstub]

There are a lot of loose ends that are still in the process of being secured, but from what I have been able to see, there are some really great things on the horizon concerning naval ops and tactical aviation for FSX/P3D.
It's pretty exciting, actually.

[expat]

It seems FSX with a good tackpacked jet, a good moving carrier, vLSO, and @war is the best available combination? Accepting the lack of air-to-air?

I was on Falcon 4.0 and Freefalcon years ago before discovering FS9. Your statement I have quoted has also been my impression. I have not gone into tackpac or @war and focus mainly on carrier ops. I also enjoy creating navair "environments" with period AI. Am building this out now in P3Dv4 in Vietnam (Yankee Station) with several cv's on carrier tracks as well as fixed (scenery) carriers that have period AI. Ditto with 50's Korea and WWII Solomons. The SWS AI on a moving carrier will be a big leap forward.

Happy for others here to tell me otherwise, I have never found a flight sim that had the sophisticated, adrenaline inducing interactive campaign that Falcon 4.0 had, with air and ground weaponry spawning randomly never in the same places - Flanker/Lock On was pretty good but the carrier side was abysmal compared with where we are now with P3D. But I am probably way out of date . .

[edakridge]

Ganter, just because some one doesn't post a lot means nothing nor does their join date. Myself, my join date is listed as 2014 and I have been a member here since 2006. This is the internet and S***T Happens.

Stearmandriver, I admit that my opinion is biased. I have been using MS based sims since FS4 and am now using P3Dv4.2. I have seen the very first attempts at Carrier Ops using static Carriers and ArrCab and now am in the thick of things with the current offerings. Both DCS (I refuse to call it a World!) and X-Plane 11 offer VERY LIMITED Carrier operations. Neither has the level of functionality offered by FSX or P3D. Using third party addons such as Tacpack, CCP, or the wonderful Simworks Studios Carriers just add to the experience. In FSX and P3D you can actually start your Carrier moving off the coast of California (Or anywhere else in the World) using Tacpack and track the Tacan from 100 miles away. While X-Plane 11 offers a moving Carrier, DCS does not. DCS uses a static scenery object like we used with FS2002 and FS2004. I am not sure if the X-Plane Nimitz can be used outside of the "Special Starts" or not, but it is animated and moving which in my opinion is superior to DCS. In conclusion: In FSX/P3D you have a far superior platform for Naval Aviation than the other available Sims/Video Games.

[Ganter]

Because of my Military commitment on not having access to the internet because of my remote location and the fact at the time I had lost what email or even forum name I was using. I just went ahead and created a new ID, since it had been many years that I was away once I got home I began to once again involved here. And just because I have “a low post count” has anything to do with experience? I prefer to just read the post here and I value the opinions here and the wealth of information on this forum.But why am explaining myself to you?


I've been doing a bit of research this morning and I get it now. Cool. Some time ago I looked around on Vatsim for some virtual Mil Combat and although there are groups it seemed to have had its heyday around 2013-15. Where are you guys lurking? Or is that classified.

[awstub]

FSX/P3D offers much more immersion than the other sims out there.

To illustrate my point......Back when I was testing the SWS Coral Sea in FSX, I was able to set sail from Norfolk, Virginia and navigate into the Mediterranean Sea.
It took careful planning to make sure my arrival at the Straight of Gibraltar happened a time I would be available to steer the ship.
Once there, I launched a Phantom and dropped bombs on Mitiga airport and then recovered on the carrier. After that, I set sail back to Norfolk.....and then repeated the whole process again.
I was able to keep doing this for a little over two weeks, launching and recovering numerous times along the way...... until my system shut down due to a power outage.
Had that not happened, who knows how long i could have kept it up.

I have yet to find any other sim that allows navair ops like this ....and now with FSX@War/CCP and FSCAI it's gotten even better.
During my testing, I've been able to launch from the Tonkin Gulf and strike targets in North Vietnam and Laos.
At times, I have received battle damage and crashed....and other times I was able to recover at a land base when I couldn't make it back to the carrier.
I should add that this all has appears to work in multi-player too....though I have not been able to determine what the maximum number of connections it can handle yet.

Now, on top of all of this, carrier ops are about to get more immersive than they have ever been.

[henrystreet]

I've been doing a bit of research this morning and I get it now. Cool. Some time ago I looked around on Vatsim for some virtual Mil Combat and although there are groups it seemed to have had its heyday around 2013-15. Where are you guys lurking? Or is that classified.

The active squadrons don't hang out on public forums (with the exception of the VRS and FSX@War forums). They have Facebook groups and their own websites. Generally you don't hear much from them unless they are in recruitment. Some have VERY high standards of performance and participation. Some are more relaxed. All require a pretty high level of competence and technical ability.

For most of these, expect check rides and/or training curriculum.

[Ganter]

The active squadrons don't hang out on public forums (with the exception of the VRS and FSX@War forums). They have Facebook groups and their own websites. Generally you don't hear much from them unless they are in recruitment. Some have VERY high standards of performance and participation. Some are more relaxed. All require a pretty high level of competence and technical ability.

For most of these, expect check rides and/or training curriculum.


Indeed it would seem. High standards. Too high for me. Makes you realise how much is involved flying fast mil jets. Anyone can lob it through the sky at M1.2 but the manoeuvres - to really do them well - takes a lot of time and practise. Kudos to them all.

[Stinger]

This weekend we are about to begin our Korean Campaign,built entirely by our group using FSX@war with inplaced Sam batteries,AAA ,weapon storage bunkers ,moving truck and armor convoys using ccp
Our 2 fighter squadrons have been transitioning from our home at Lemoore NAS out to the Carrier which has sailed across the pacific and is now positioned in the Sea of Japan. Our support Squadron has flown back and forth to Asugti NAS ferrying supplies from their base at Pt.Mugu NAS. Our crews are ready, trained up and ready to go. Every combat aircraft is e fly is tacpac enabled or able to get refueled in the air. But we just do modern campaigns, we love to step back in time and do ww2, both Europe and pacific, vintage Korea and My favorite... Vietnam ( since I spent 30 month there).
You can’t do any of that with DCS
... Newbies are always welcome. 😏

[Ganter]

After my rather hasty initial post referring to your post count - for which I apologise for my ignorance - I've spent the day researching and looking in to this Stinger - and I must say I am humbled. You guys are taking this to a whole new level. Respect to you.

I need to practice my Immelmanns and scissors a lot more before I brave the fore with some of you guys. Kudos to you.

[henrystreet]

After my rather hasty initial post referring to your post count - for which I apologise for my ignorance - I've spent the day researching and looking in to this Stinger - and I must say I am humbled. You guys are taking this to a whole new level. Respect to you.

I need to practice my Immelmanns and scissors a lot more before I brave the fore with some of you guys. Kudos to you.

It is formation and comm brevity skills that are usually the most lacking in new members.

[Ganter]

It is formation and comm brevity skills that are usually the most lacking in new members.

Comms, I'm not too bad - I've had a radio license as a sailor for many years and as a rw pilot for a few - so, know brevity is the soul of being understood fast.

Formation? - Ummm - that's another matter, I'm either too quick; and overshoot, or too slow; and under achieve required speed and alt. It really is bloody difficult to match speed with 8 tons of metal travelling at 550 KIAS less than 15 feet away from you at 16 thou.

Any hints very gratefully received.

[wombat666]

Keep it civil ladies, keep it civil.
:173go1:

[Ganter]

Have you read the whole thread Wombat?

Nothing uncivil going on here - just a junior member (me) plugging the old boys for some flying hints.
They know how to formation fly - and I can't!

[henrystreet]

Any hints very gratefully received.

TacPack is the way I would suggest. The AAR capabilities allow you to assign any aircraft as a "tanker" plus, when you are versed enough, you can immediately do AAR.

All the Microsoft based virtual USN squadrons that I know of use TacPack as a required component anyway.

In the real world USN curriculum, the nuggets fly a couple of years learning formation. Those who end up in FRS, learn AAR flying with a buddy tanker.

[Ganter]

TacPack is the way I would suggest. The AAR capabilities allow you to assign any aircraft as a "tanker" plus, when you are versed enough, you can immediately do AAR.

All the Microsoft based virtual USN squadrons that I know of use TacPack as a required component anyway.

In the real world USN curriculum, the nuggets fly a couple of years learning formation. Those who end up in FRS, learn AAR flying with a buddy tanker.


That's poignant Henry as that's when I realised I had major probs with formation flying - when I installed Tacpack and summoned the Tanker. I just couldn't hit the pipe. Too fast, too slow, losing altitude, accelerate, go flying past it. It's so difficult. I certainly have a lot of work to do. I'm not long in to this so it's early days I guess. I mainly fly the F-35B (Dino's) and the SSW AV-8B - I'd say I'm better on the Harrier than the Lightening in terms of rapid speed check/ control and I've worked out it's better to come from below as from above (better energy management). Please tell me if I'm wrong. I could really do with some hints.

Cheers.

[henrystreet]

That's poignant Henry as that's when I realised I had major probs with formation flying - when I installed Tacpack and summoned the Tanker. I just couldn't hit the pipe. Too fast, too slow, losing altitude, accelerate, go flying past it. It's so difficult. I certainly have a lot of work to do. I'm not long in to this so it's early days I guess. I mainly fly the F-35B (Dino's) and the SSW AV-8B - I'd say I'm better on the Harrier than the Lightening in terms of rapid speed check/ control and I've worked out it's better to come from below as from above (better energy management). Please tell me if I'm wrong. I could really do with some hints.

Cheers.

Everybody is terrible at first :-) No substitute for daily practice.

EDIT: Some, hopefully helpful advice: 1) Lower your sim settings until you have sustained (and locked at) 30FPS when at the tanker 2) Check out BlueZone on youtube.

[stearmandriver]

Funny you mention this... I've always had a little trouble flying formation in the sim (though I never seriously practiced it before) even though I've been flying RW formation work for years, including acro. I'm talking about civilian aircraft in the RW and sim, but obviously the mechanics are the same. There seems to be some kind of cue - probably visual, sight picture related - that's missing for me in the sim. I've not been able to put my finger on it, but SOMETHING is just different enough to throw me...

[Ganter]

Everybody is terrible at first :-) No substitute for daily practice.

EDIT: Some, hopefully helpful advice: 1) Lower your sim settings until you have sustained (and locked at) 30FPS when at the tanker 2) Check out BlueZone on youtube.

I'll check it out, thanks Governor. Daily practise definitely and I'll get good frames to have an even shot at realistic actions/ movements.


Funny you mention this... I've always had a little trouble flying formation in the sim (though I never seriously practiced it before) even though I've been flying RW formation work for years, including acro. I'm talking about civilian aircraft in the RW and sim, but obviously the mechanics are the same. There seems to be some kind of cue - probably visual, sight picture related - that's missing for me in the sim. I've not been able to put my finger on it, but SOMETHING is just different enough to throw me...

Yes, that is interesting. I've only ever flown formation in rw once - and that was from Lee-On-Solent across the Solent to Sandown where we had a fly-in. My CFI told me to keep the other Warrior's nose on the edge of the right windscreen and maintain a separation of at least 100 yards; so, wasn't really a good lesson in formation flying. I wonder what that difference is in rw and sim cues for positioning is; I wonder if it's not another case of simply 'hitting the ceiling' with dear old FSX.

I'm off now - going to spawn some AI tube-liners at FL300 and give them a poke. I'm from the UK and tempting though it is - I guess I'm going to have to get used to the F-35. I do love the Harrier - but that's in the past. Mind you, I'll go off the Queen Elizabeth by CIMOGT - and that's pretty good.

Clear skies and thanks Henry and all for the hints - will definitely research.

[edakridge]

As far as AAR, Tacpack is the way to go. As far as tanking from one pilot to another, you can only do it with the Superbug as tanker for now. I have been tinkering with a gauge that was sent to me by another member of the VRS forums that will enable this, but only in P3D or FSX multiplayer. This means that both of you must be running the same sim and version. As to finding us at the USNVA, we are easy to find: www.usnva.com We are a part of the DigitalThemePark community on Teamspeak. ( ts3.digitalthemepark.com ) We welcome guests, but you will be stuck in the lobby until someone notices you and drags you down to our channels. This is a safety measure that helps prevent children from disrupting things. As to our campaigns/operations: We welcome all skill levels as long as you are over 18. We do not allow minors. We develop all of our own FSX@War packs "In House". I have tried collaborating with others, but I am too old and pigheaded to work well with others anymore.

[Stinger]

After my rather hasty initial post referring to your post count - for which I apologise for my ignorance - I've spent the day researching and looking in to this Stinger - and I must say I am humbled. You guys are taking this to a whole new level. Respect to you.

I need to practice my Immelmanns and scissors a lot more before I brave the fore with some of you guys. Kudos to you.

Nothing to apologize about, there are not enough “Naval Aviators” out there, just glad you’re enjoy it. If you ever need any advise ... hit me up... i’d be glad to lend you my expertise

[stearmandriver]

Man, lots of great info / discussion on this topic. Thanks everyone! (I think... This may get expensive lol.) You've really got me fired up to get into study mode with all this. I'll definitely be going the Superbug / Tacpack route... Any advice on study material or tutorials? I assume VRS provides some good material, and that Blue Zone channel mentioned above looks great as well. Any others?

For you USNVA guys... I assume you're looking for basic aircraft handling proficiency around the boat for any new "recruits"? Or are there additional prereqs? Just curious.

[henrystreet]

Man, lots of great info / discussion on this topic. Thanks everyone! (I think... This may get expensive lol.) You've really got me fired up to get into study mode with all this. I'll definitely be going the Superbug / Tacpack route... Any advice on study material or tutorials? I assume VRS provides some good material, and that Blue Zone channel mentioned above looks great as well. Any others?

For you USNVA guys... I assume you're looking for basic aircraft handling proficiency around the boat for any new "recruits"? Or are there additional prereqs? Just curious.

Here is an example curriculum I wrote for my own use. It's a good bit more effort than most squadrons will require. And for good reason, real world aviators have their life on the line and practice way more than we do. Still, with some reading and flying the rides, you will get a good idea of some lesser used skills, learning a lot in the challenges. Reference the real world CNATRA website for PAT PUBS (training manuals).

https://uchisworld.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/the-idle-mind-is-the-devils-workshop/

Enjoy!

[Stinger]

Man, lots of great info / discussion on this topic. Thanks everyone! (I think... This may get expensive lol.) You've really got me fired up to get into study mode with all this. I'll definitely be going the Superbug / Tacpack route... Any advice on study material or tutorials? I assume VRS provides some good material, and that Blue Zone channel mentioned above looks great as well. Any others?

For you USNVA guys... I assume you're looking for basic aircraft handling proficiency around the boat for any new "recruits"? Or are there additional prereqs? Just curious.

Our only prerequisite is that you have fun while enjoying the camaraderie of our membership. We’ll teach you the rest.. And for those who find Carrier Ops beyond their capabilities we have a support Squadron that flys heavies and rotary

[PhantomTweak]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=60116&stc=1

Does this help at all for the formation flying? It's for the F/A-18, but should be adaptable to nearly any plane easily...

That IS from the real life F/A-18 A/B/C/D NATOPS, so it's what the US Navy really uses. I can post a few more pages, including the text from the NATOPS, and what other pictures there are, if you want.
Notice how everyone in the formation is flying only off the Lead plane. Stay focused on him ONLY. Constantly. Keep a good scan pattern, but when you're outside, ONLY look at Lead.
Very, VERY small throttle adjustments. Same for the stick. VERY small movements. Easiest if your controller's null zones are set to 0, or nearly so. Lets you make the tiny adjustments needed.

Formations this tight are normal Navy procedure, but ONLY in VFR conditions. If you can't see the lead well enough, the formation may either expand greatly, like to an eye-ball/shooter formation if dash-2 has a good radar lock on Lead, or even break up. Say Lead goes up 500' and dash-2 goes down 500', and dash-2 takes a 10° course change away from lead's course for 1 minute. Just for example, but you get the idea.

Dark, moonless/horizonless nights are an entirely different animal. Beware you don't fly formation on a star, or try to join up on a streetlight! When in doubt, at least in MP, you can always call "Christmas Tree" to have lead turn on all his external light bright, so hopefully you can see him. And bear in mind, your Radar is your friend!

I think I can dig up the download location for this, and a lot of other, NATOPS, as well as numerous Navy and various other service pubs.

Good luck!
Pat☺

[wombat666]

[QUOTE=Ganter;1138126]Have you read the whole thread Wombat?]

Unfortunately yes.
:173go1:

[Ganter]

Pat, what's the latest FSXBA F-18 version - didn't a new one come out not that long ago?

Cheers,

Later: Just checked - I've got version 17.1.30 - is there a big difference between that one and 17.1.31 ?

[Ganter]

[QUOTE=Ganter;1138126]Have you read the whole thread Wombat?]

Unfortunately yes.
:173go1:
LOL :playful:

[edakridge]

Downloading ver 18.2.22 to check it out now. Says that it is P3Dv4 compatible!

[Ganter]

Downloading ver 18.2.22 to check it out now. Says that it is P3Dv4 compatible!


Is that version still good for FSX do you know?

[COBS]

Formation? - Ummm - that's another matter, I'm either too quick; and overshoot, or too slow; and under achieve required speed and alt. It really is bloody difficult to match speed with 8 tons of metal travelling at 550 KIAS less than 15 feet away from you at 16 thou.

Any hints very gratefully received.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=60120&stc=1

I cheat.
I select and Lock On a target aircraft in the radar that I want to do formation flying on .
The data field overlay on the radar provides information on that aircraft and relative information such as , Distance , closing speed ,
height above or below , relative bearing degrees with Left or Right , and a blue directional arrow .
Enables formation flying even in zero visibility or if the aircraft is behind you and thus out of sight .
This radar arrangement enables intercept of aircraft that are initially beyond visual ranges .

However if you don't have a radar that provides adequate information on the target aircraft , you have no alternative but visual clues .
Three aspect that can be of assistance are ,
1. Airbrake used to prevent overshoot , deploy On then Off , repeat if necessary .

2. Maintain thae target aircraft at a fixed visual reference point relative to the canopy bow .

3. Most HUD's have both a Velocity Vector and an Energy Caret , observe the relationship as you use thrust (throttle) to increase or decrease airspeed .
The Energy Caret will be exactly next to the Velocity Vector when the speed is constant , that will enable you to maintain station relative to
your target aircraft .

Cheers
Karol

[Ganter]

I cheat.
I select and Lock On a target aircraft in the radar that I want to do formation flying on .
The data field overlay on the radar provides information on that aircraft and relative information such as , Distance , closing speed ,
height above or below , relative bearing degrees with Left or Right , and a blue directional arrow .
Enables formation flying even in zero visibility or if the aircraft is behind you and thus out of sight .
This radar arrangement enables intercept of aircraft that are initially beyond visual ranges .

However if you don't have a radar that provides adequate information on the target aircraft , you have no alternative but visual clues .
Three aspect that can be of assistance are ,
1. Airbrake used to prevent overshoot , deploy On then Off , repeat if necessary .

2. Maintain thae target aircraft at a fixed visual reference point relative to the canopy bow .

3. Most HUD's have both a Velocity Vector and an Energy Caret , observe the relationship as you use thrust (throttle) to increase or decrease airspeed .
The Energy Caret will be exactly next to the Velocity Vector when the speed is constant , that will enable you to maintain station relative to
your target aircraft .

Cheers
Karol

Thanks for taking the time to post this valuable information Karol. I hadn't thought of airbrake deployment. I'll certainly put those points to use in the sim.

[COBS]

Unfortunately the image that I previously posted was reduced to such an extent that the radar text could not be read .
Hopefully this shot is better .

Text data is relative to target aircraft in previous panel shot .
Radar zoom distance is 1 nm , selected target aircraft is bracketed just above user aircraft icon.
The bottom "AA" button (Air to Air) opens target selection and text data , when that function is required .

Target aircraft is ,
Distance 311 feet from my aircraft
1 (one ) foot higher
11 degrees left of nose
closing speed is 0 kts
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=60125&stc=1

Previously I mentioned the Energy Caret to Velocity Vector relationship .
Ordinarily when you change throttle setting it's effect on the airspeed is a ballpark guess , however the movement of the
Energy Caret brings extreme precision to the task , and enables very small airspeed changes to be made , it acts
almost like a precision vernier affair .
The actual Energy Caret reflects aircraft acceleration , but works beautifully to sense very small airspeed changes , and that
is critically vital in formation work .

Cheers
Karol

[stearmandriver]

Is that version still good for FSX do you know?

It is, I'm running it now. Someone answered the same question when I asked in another thread. You just have to replace a couple files. FSX compatibility notes are at the bottom of this thread:
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=bpr37t668lvpibp8hd4tebq0k7&/topic,16514.msg123280.html#msg123280

[PhantomTweak]

Hi all!
Well, I guess all that above answers the whole FSX BA F/A-18 version question :D

Just so y'all (I love that word! English needs some kind of "you (plural)" form, and that fills the bill nicely) know, I finally got an answer to my request for an active link to PitchingDeck. It's here: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=17740.0;attach=234 66 .
That's the critter, I do believe.
For instructions on installation and operation, look here: https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/446634-pitching-deck/

Since Orion wrote it, the instructions are probably accurate :D

Have fun with it!
Pat☺

[simtech]

:applause: Thanks, Pat.. I was looking for that a couple of days ago. As previously noted, all of the other links seemed dead. Appreciate the link... works great. Terry

[Ganter]

Hi all!
Well, I guess all that above answers the whole FSX BA F/A-18 version question :D

Just so y'all (I love that word! English needs some kind of "you (plural)" form, and that fills the bill nicely) know, I finally got an answer to my request for an active link to PitchingDeck. It's here: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=17740.0;attach=234 66 .
That's the critter, I do believe.
For instructions on installation and operation, look here: https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/446634-pitching-deck/

Since Orion wrote it, the instructions are probably accurate :D

Have fun with it!
Pat☺


Yeah, nice one Pat.

One thing: I've got the red FSA HOT! message on the HUD - how do you get rid?
I'm running FSX+Acc.

Later: Sorted thanks to the FSX notes Here: (Thank you Stearmandriver)
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=bpr37t668lvpibp8hd4tebq0k7&/topic,16514.msg123280.html#msg123280


This bird is flying very nicely in FSX - and when I say very nicely - I mean - VERY NICELY.

Great work.

[stearmandriver]

Thanks Pat, that looks like great fun. The best of my passes are being graded as (ok) right now, with mostly cuts and wave offs... So I'll wait a bit to introduce a pitching deck ;-). But I'll grab it!

[Victory103]

What? No one mentioned their virtual “ace” status? Member of several mil VAs over the years and the ones with the most structure tend to weed out the non-hardcore mil sim flyers. My old VA wasn’t listed, but same RW procedures are used and probably the biggest challenge for nuggets is learning the precision flying “by the numbers”. Several memorable online MP flights around the boat trying not to be that guy that bolters, virtual Red Flags with players from around the world, and the general comarderie with like-minded tactical simmers. I’m assuming you skipped over Falcon:BMS due to the limited carrier ops?

Mentioned earlier DCS will have continued development for naval aviation. Long time VRS/Tacpack user, it’s here now and it works. Not too long ago we didn’thave moving boats!

Formation is easier real world, but get Tacpack and spawn the Rhino as a tanker. Remember you’re not trying out for the Blue Angels, PhantomTweak’s post is a good starting point on the visuals (plus he has 1000+ posts!!!).

[Ganter]

Growl!

You realise how ridiculously unrealistically easy it is to make the wire in the FSX default F/A-18 when you fly this FSXBA bird.

I did three recoveries in a row earlier today (in the default POS) - that's what woke me up to the FSXBA Hornet.

Now I've done three bolters (in the FSXBA) in a row. However, that's what it's all about - authenticity.

I'd rather fly as close to the real thing than have FSX default stuff guide my hand.

Great work guys.

Growl!

[stearmandriver]

Growl!

You realise how ridiculously unrealistically easy it is to make the wire in the FSX default F/A-18 when you fly this FSXBA bird.

I did three recoveries in a row earlier today (in the default POS) - that's what woke me up to the FSXBA Hornet.

Now I've done three bolters (in the FSXBA) in a row. However, that's what it's all about - authenticity.

I'd rather fly as close to the real thing than have FSX default stuff guide my hand.

Great work guys.

Growl!

Are you using vlso? They usually wave me off before the bolter lol. One thing I've found (that I love) is when the vLSO waves me off, and I think "hell, this isn't too bad, I can rescue this" and try to press the approach anyway, it ends in a bolter or a nastily unstable trap. That is a really well coded little program.

[edakridge]

Ganter, don't give up! Another expression that we have down here in the Deep South is: "If it were easy Fat Women and Kids would be doing it!" LOL It takes practice, practice, and still more practice.

[Ganter]

Are you using vlso? They usually wave me off before the bolter lol. One thing I've found (that I love) is when the vLSO waves me off, and I think "hell, this isn't too bad, I can rescue this" and try to press the approach anyway, it ends in a bolter or a nastily unstable trap. That is a really well coded little program.

Is that the vLSO on the RFN Tacan Gauge? - at the mo I'm simply using Javier's Nimitz. I'm in FSX + Acc + Steve's DX 10 Fixer - and I struggle to see the IFLOLS clearly as all the lights are very blurred and sort of merge into one another.


Ganter, don't give up! Another expression that we have down here in the Deep South is: "If it were easy Fat Women and Kids would be doing it!" LOL It takes practice, practice, and still more practice.

Like it, like it. :encouragement:

Right, I've had my breakfast, showered, sh*tted and shaved, and ready for action.
Can those in the know please confirm this NATOPS as appropriate for the FSXBA and CVNs. Ta.

https://s20.postimg.cc/532exa4bx/CCAgraphic_F-18_E-_F_NATOPS.gif (https://postimg.cc/image/ar8po68o9/)

[PhantomTweak]

Can those in the know please confirm this NATOPS as appropriate for the FSXBA and CVNs. Ta.
If it from the actual NATOPS, yes. The FSX BA Hornet uses the NATOPS procedures. As does the vLSO's.
HOWEVER, that's the night/Case II and Case III recovery pattern.

For a daytime, VFR recovery, you want Fig. 8.2. The "overhead" recovery, or "Break" style. And coming in on the Break is very stylish indeed!
I can't get my ISP to cooperate, so I can't post the picture, but if you have the NATOPS, go to figure 8.2. It'e the one right before the one you are showing.

And don't feel bad, "OK" is the best score you're going to get anyway. :D

Remember, those vLSO's are downright mean. I KNOW they hate me with a passion...:biggrin-new:


Two things to remember about trapping the FSX BA hornet aboard: 1) The boat should be moving, at it's usual 25 kts, and it'll need a 10 kt wind down the angle deck. 2) The gross weight of the plane needs to be 33,000 lbs or less. You can call up the information gauge for landing with SHFT+6, or you can get it off one of the MFD's. There's a menu choice, and darn if I can recall the name of it, that shows you fuel on board, range, total weight, etc etc. I use landing info gauge. If you hit SHFT+6 once, it'll pop up when you drop the hook. If you hit SHFT+6 twice, it'll pop up under the current configuration, and close if you drop the hook.

Good luck!
Pat☺

[Ganter]

If it from the actual NATOPS, yes. The FSX BA Hornet uses the NATOPS procedures. As does the vLSO's.
HOWEVER, that's the night/Case II and Case III recovery pattern.

For a daytime, VFR recovery, you want Fig. 8.2. The "overhead" recovery, or "Break" style. And coming in on the Break is very stylish indeed!
I can't get my ISP to cooperate, so I can't post the picture, but if you have the NATOPS, go to figure 8.2. It'e the one right before the one you are showing.

And don't feel bad, "OK" is the best score you're going to get anyway. :D

Remember, those vLSO's are downright mean. I KNOW they hate me with a passion...:biggrin-new:


Two things to remember about trapping the FSX BA hornet aboard: 1) The boat should be moving, at it's usual 25 kts, and it'll need a 10 kt wind down the angle deck. 2) The gross weight of the plane needs to be 33,000 lbs or less. You can call up the information gauge for landing with SHFT+6, or you can get it off one of the MFD's. There's a menu choice, and darn if I can recall the name of it, that shows you fuel on board, range, total weight, etc etc. I use landing info gauge. If you hit SHFT+6 once, it'll pop up when you drop the hook. If you hit SHFT+6 twice, it'll pop up under the current configuration, and close if you drop the hook.

Good luck!
Pat☺


Thanks for the gen Pat. I've got Fig 8.2 in front of me now. I always make sure I'm steaming 25 kts in to wind - well, just off it to allow for the angled deck.

I think fuel is the culprit - which means I'm the culprit - yesterday, I download the new 18.2 and just jumped in - with full tanks!

A little more planning going in to the days activities today.

One thing - I can't work out whether the FSXBA is Tacan equipped to already be able to tune J's Nimitz or whether I have to go off the RFN Tacan Gauge to do so - with vLso.

Cheers,

[Mike71]

"25 knots down the angle" - that is the goal of the Officer of the Deck for a recovery. That was the bible up until at least the mid 90's, driven by the most critical aircraft, the E-2 (tailhook max engagement speed at max landing weight). The ship's island and flight deck layout in the NIMITZ Class took this into consideration with respect to minimizing "burble" at this speed. I cannot recall any changes when the "bug" started coming into the fleet, but I doubt if it is much different.

I distinctly recall the Captain signaling (buzzing) me that the bridge was ready for recovery, I then would hit the "clear deck" lights and announce to the LSO platform, "clear deck, 25 knots down the angle" as the first aircraft turned off the 180 abeam the LSO platform..

I cannot claim any knowledge of the goals/limits on straight decks in earlier days. I started flying off ESSEX 27Cs, which was a real thrill at night to say the least, but I recall about 25 knots of WOD was pretty standard then also, but those ships might have a real problem maintaining that in light winds without a lot of stack gas in the groove. Wind over Deck has more to do with aircraft engagement speed limits then how comfortable the approach is for the pilot.

The ship wants to maintain a steady course and speed that can accommodate all aircraft in the recovery, not keep changing speed, which takes time. Remember also - you have a young man or woman, maybe who grew up in Iowa, never saw the ocean before joining the Navy - who is now maybe an E-4 / E-5 Boatswains Mate or Quartermaster - is now the helmsman during recovery, steering a very precise course as directed by the Officer of the Deck, for some period of time in maybe moderate seas. Recoveries and launches are a huge team effort throughout the ship - not just the folks in the airplanes or on the flight deck.

[Ganter]

TWO HOURS LATER:

Ummm, I'm thinking something's wrong here - I know; a poor worker blames his tools - BUT - I've flown about 20 approaches now and haven't trapped a single one of them in the FSXBA.
Just out of interest I, again, flew the default and trapped 4 times in a row - then back to the FSXBA and not a single one even though several of those approaches were, well, bang on. AOA, speed, all looked good.

I'm running FSX + Acc +Steve's DX10 Fixer - do we know of any glitches with that setup? It's like the hook isn't down - visible but not physically there to trap.

It's ruining my day! :banghead:

[henrystreet]

TWO HOURS LATER:

Ummm, I'm thinking something's wrong here - I know; a poor worker blames his tools - BUT - I've flown about 20 approaches now and haven't trapped a single one of them in the FSXBA.
Just out of interest I, again, flew the default and trapped 4 times in a row - then back to the FSXBA and not a single one even though several of those approaches were, well, bang on. AOA, speed, all looked good.

I'm running FSX + Acc +Steve's DX10 Fixer - do we know of any glitches with that setup? It's like the hook isn't down - visible but not physically there to trap.

It's ruining my day! :banghead:

What is the main kind of fouled approach you are having? Too high, too high sink rate, stalling in turn to groove, cant hold AOA, cant get lined in groove, etc?

[Ganter]

What is the main kind of fouled approach you are having? Too high, too high sink rate, stalling in turn to groove, cant hold AOA, cant get lined in groove, etc?

Quite a few of them I held good descent, good sink, good AOA, etc.

It's like the hook isn't deployed. (I've visually checked that the hook is there and down - even pausing, to visually inspect that the hook is on the deck - it just ain't grabbing the wire.

[henrystreet]

Quite a few of them I held good descent, good sink, good AOA, etc.

It's like the hook isn't deployed. (I've visually checked that the hook is there and down - even pausing, to visually inspect that the hook is on the deck - it just ain't grabbing the wire.


Are you using Javier's Nimitz? Check a couple of these posts http://vlso.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2017-01-13T06:53:00-08:00&max-results=10&start=10&by-date=false

[Ganter]

Are you using Javier's Nimitz? Check a couple of these posts http://vlso.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2017-01-13T06:53:00-08:00&max-results=10&start=10&by-date=false


Affirm, Javier's Nimitz.

Wilco.

LATER:
Sweet Lord.

https://s20.postimg.cc/jzeqalrr1/trapped1.jpg (https://postimg.cc/image/sho6exy9l/)

Can you take a look at those numbers and comment please.

Thanks to all.

[henrystreet]

hard to analyze from just one screenshot but will make these observations:

is the AOA indicator not working? doesn't seem to be on in the shot

-940 fpm vertical at 125 kias seems like "settling" from too high an approach (again hard to tell from one shot and am going by vLSO)

weight is good. prefer to be a little light like this

125 kias is a little slow. again, the AOA indicator is what should be telling you. in those last 15 sec, it is all about the AOA indicator and the ball.

[Ganter]

hard to analyze from just one screenshot but will make these observations:

is the AOA indicator not working? doesn't seem to be on in the shot

-940 fpm vertical at 125 kias seems like "settling" from too high an approach (again hard to tell from one shot and am going by vLSO)

weight is good. prefer to be a little light like this

125 kias is a little slow. again, the AOA indicator is what should be telling you. in those last 15 sec, it is all about the AOA indicator and the ball.


Two in a row without killing myself and breaking the aeroplane/ expensive Nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier!

After the first one is the screen shot Henry - the AOA indicator is not very clear in that shot but yes, working to the left of the hUD.

Weight and sink seems to be the trick. Thanks for your help.
I can only assume I was grossly overweight on the earlier today trys.

Nice to have spent the day on it - can't wait to go to the pub later;

"What you been up to today, Jim?"

"I've been landing an F/A-18 on USN Nimitz all day - with varying degrees of success! Mine's a pint of lager"

[henrystreet]

"I've been landing an F/A-18 on USN Nimitz all day - with varying degrees of success! Mine's a pint of lager"

:applause:

[Mike71]

Way to far left of centerline from what I can see -you're over the port "ladder line" --

20 feet off center is probably a purchase cable re-reave by the arresting gear crew. The crossdeck pendant is about 110 feet long.

[Ganter]

Way to far left of centerline from what I can see -you're over the port "ladder line" --

20 feet off center is probably a purchase cable re-reave by the arresting gear crew. The crossdeck pendant is about 110 feet long.


Yes - now you point that out I can see that Mike - that was my first successful trap in the FSXBA.
I've gone on to perform about another ten or so now getting far more lined up on the centre line.

Crossdeck pendant?

[expat]

"What you been up to today, Jim?"

"I've been landing an F/A-18 on USN Nimitz all day - with varying degrees of success! Mine's a pint of lager"

Just back from the pub. Glorious summery day out here in Kent in the south of England. Anyway, this thread inspired me 1) to re-download the latest version of Jim's Hornet and 2) try, try again to not disgrace myself with vLSO. Well, the F-18 is a dream to fly (am now only in P3Dv4 btw) and yes it is the easiest FS plane to trap (i.e., probably because it has a realistic FDE) BUT vLSO is a cruel taskmaster. Happy though because I made about 4 (OK) traps with two waveoffs - a new session PB - AND the best thing is vLSO is really proving now to be a learning tool. I am often too far left, too low and too fast. So, made some corrections, and then the OK traps started happening. Go figure. Great thread!

[PhantomTweak]

The "crossdeck PENNANT" is the Navy's term for "arresting cable". Actually, it's for the part above decks when not in use. Like just before an aircraft traps.

A little hint: Like I specified above, you need, NEED 33 kts WOD, or Wind Over Deck, down the angle to land the F/A-18 correctly. Also NEED to be under 33,000 Lbs weight of the plane, at most. The fuel dump system works on the FSXBA plane. Switch just aft the throttles. ON will dump fuel, off stops it. DON'T over do it! Keep an eye on your total weight, and stop it just above 33,000 lbs. Like 33.2 or so. That permits you fuel to approach the boat, and make the correct pattern, landing just below 33k.
When the boat is steaming, it normally cruises at 25 kts, so you need 11 kts wind ALSO to get the proper WOD. Use the built in Weather part of FSX, User Defined>Custom menu choices, to make the wind, and make sure it's down the angle deck's heading. REMEMBER: The wind indicated in the weather settings is shown at True North reference when you're setting it up, BUT the boat uses Magnetic reference.
Once you think you have the wind's heading set correctly, OK out to the main weather menu and check it's direction shown there. You will need to tweak it for the difference between Magnetic and True headings in your location. Be careful, it's twitchy.

I get the plane out over the ocean, 800', 300 kts, whatever heading you want for the BRC, then place the boat with AICarriers. Pause the plane, and go in and set the wind as described above. Remember that the angle deck is 8° port of the ship's heading when you set up the wind. Unpause the plane, drop the hook, and make a good recovery.

Yes, the carrier's TACAN frequencies are already in the plane's HUD. The Nimitz is TACAN 57X, or 112.00 if you'd rather input the actual frequency. Make sure you use the HUD Control Panel to set the HUD up properly. IT will select your heading for you once it detects the carrier.
You can chose whether or not to use the ILS needles.
Remember, do not use the decimal point when inputting frequencies on the UFC. 112.00 is entered 11200. The UFC will convert it for you.

Lastly, but not leastly, for now, when you make your break, Idle the throttles, pop the speed break and keep the plane at 800' through the turn. Lower the gear and go to FLAPS FULL at 250 kts. Make sure you use full flaps!! The plane will retract the speed-brake for you once the plane is properly configured in PA, or Powered Approach mode.

Double check the the plane sets the pitch trim at 8.1° for you once you've slowed to something close to on-speed. It's displayed on the right side of the HUD, below the altitude box. For 5 seconds. DO NOT change the pitch trim after that. THAT is the necessary setting.

When you've rolled out on downwind, run your landing checklist, and descend to 600'. Keep the plane on-speed!
When you can see the full LSO platform, ie: Slightly aft the boat, turn onto the final heading (the angle deck's heading) and descend to 450-500', arriving at that as you roll out in the groove.

A little trick: Aim for the ship's "crotch", or the area where the angle deck meets the main deck, while in the groove, adjusting as you cross the deck with the rudder. If you aim there, your line-up will stay correct. If you aim for the centerline when you roll into the groove, the motion of the boat will cause you to drift off centerline. Line up on the centerline of the angle. In other words, your plane will be LOOKING slightly starboard of the angle deck, but moving towords the centerline. Cross-check the Ball with your altitude, and your AOA with your airspeed.
Double check the hook is down. Making the most perfect approach is embarrassingly messed up if you have to bolter because you forgot to lower the hook, or accidentally raised it.
Not that *I* ever did that... :banghead:

AHEM...

Hope all my rambling helps a little.
Remember, practice! If you want, do a few hundred bounce on a shore station, THEN go out an try it on the boat. They do it that way in real life. Literally, a few hundred...

Good luck!
Pat☺

[Ganter]

Hope all my rambling helps a little.
Remember, practice! If you want, do a few hundred bounce on a shore station, THEN go out an try it on the boat. They do it that way in real life. Literally, a few hundred...

Good luck!
Pat☺

Pat,

Instructions printed out, framed in oak and hung on the wall opposite my bed so it's the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning!

God Bless you Sarge! - that's the perfect description of avoiding a bolter.

Jim

[stearmandriver]

Pat, that's good stuff, thanks. I didn't realize the Hornet needed so much WOD; I've been practicing in zero wind I'll set up 8kts down the angle. Also didn't realize the trim was automatically set to a recovery value; I've been chasing the trim a bit.

[Navy Chief]

I was told by someone recently that there will not be any more updates to CCP or @War. Is this true? NC

[edakridge]

About FSX@War Read This: http://forum.fsxwar.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1514

it seems that the CCP/FSX@War team has some internal issues that they need to work out before being able to move forward.

[Navy Chief]

About FSX@War Read This: http://forum.fsxwar.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1514

it seems that the CCP/FSX@War team has some internal issues that they need to work out before being able to move forward.

Thank you for that link/info. NC

[PhantomTweak]

I am very glad I helped out a bit. :triumphant:

Now that you've impressed thee and I, go impress the vLSO's. As you've seen, they're mean. I think Paddles wrote in a special "Hate Pat" section to the software, I really do.

Pat☺

PS: I forgot to mention, if it's necessary to, that the initial run-in heading, approaching the break, is on the BRC. And "Close abeam" the boat. I like to see it pass under right where the wing joins the fuselage. That works very well for me, in the FSXBA Hornet. I'm sure other planes have different reference "looks". Break when the ILS needle disappear from the HUD. That is just about the correct amount in front of the boat for the break.
I've heard some pilots refer to the "pull=airspeed" method of how tight to make the break turn. In other words, if you're moving at 300 KIAS, pull a 3 G break turn. With this plane, I don't have time to pull 3 G in the turn, before the airspeed bleeds down. I just make it about a 45° bank, and use that through the turn. If you're doing a hot-dog recovery, like approaching the boat at 500 KIAS, the "pull=airspeed" method works, but I don't do those. Hardly at all. Very seldom? Only once in a while...?
AHEM...
The downwind run is on the final recovery course. If you bolter, stay on the final recovery course, turn downwind at about 4 nmi and 800'. That way, when you reach the 90, or just aft of the boat, and able to see the LSO platform, you'll be right about 1.5 nmi aside the boat. Right where you should be. The TACAN readout on the HUD will tell you how far away the boat is. That way, you can adjust on the downwind, if necessary.
It shouldn't be, but this aint a perfect world, and I'm farther than most from perfect...

Good landings all!
Pat☺

[Ganter]

Great further info there Pat. Thanks.

Can someone illuminate me as to tunings for TCN and ILS for Javier's Nimitz from the FSXBA please.
I've got it on TACAN on the hud showing distance and placing the small rectangle on the HUD to show bearing and position but I can't tune the ILS to get bars on the HUD for final.

I'm doing something wrong but know not what.
Cheers,

[henrystreet]

Great further info there Pat. Thanks.

For what it's worth, THE reference for carqual is P-1211. It can be downloaded at CNATRA. There is only one USN way and, and contrary to most youtubers, DCS mods, and other "verbal histories", P-1211 is the USN way.

[Ganter]

For what it's worth, THE reference for carqual is P-1211. It can be downloaded at CNATRA. There is only one USN way and, and contrary to most youtubers, DCS mods, and other "verbal histories", P-1211 is the USN way.


Nice one Henry.
Downloaded and studying.
Salute.

Link for those concerned: https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/local/docs/pat-pubs/P-1211.pdf

Our original OP asked what the current state of naval/ tactical aviation simulation is;

I'd say it's bloody brilliant.

[Victory103]

The basics in that pub for a successful sim carrier pilot, practice then the “fleet SH breaks” will come later.

[PhantomTweak]

I've got it on TACAN on the hud showing distance and placing the small rectangle on the HUD to show bearing and position but I can't tune the ILS to get bars on the HUD for final.

I'm doing something wrong but know not what.
Call up the HUD Control panel, SHft+2. Click the ILS button, upper right area or the 4 square buttons near the top. If the top of the button is lit, the ILS bars are active. The bars only show if you are within 15 nmi. and 15° of the "runway" heading.

I suspect you haven't met one, or both, of the requirements. Try taking an orbit of the boat, about 1000' AGL, 10 nmi. You will see when they appear as you come around the aft of the boat. Or pick your favorite airport, that has an ILS system, tune it in, and do the same. You'll see the bars as you cross the 15° boundary to the runway heading.
Generally, usually, most of the time, the Glideslope bar will be present, or last longer, than the azimuth indication. IOW: You'll see the horizontal bar before, and longer, than the vertical one. Not a lot, but some.

It's what *I* use as a reference to when to make the break turn when passing the boat. When both bars vanish off the HUD, I bank-n-yank :loyal:
Is it the "right" way? I doubt it, but it works great for me. Seems to set up distances just right for making a relatively decent pass.
Just make sure that as you pass the boat, you're on the BRC heading, and at the correct distance to the starboard of the boat.
You should have the hook down when you pass, roughly, 5 nmi. as you approach, and the Carrier Bypass switch in Carrier, not Field.
Antiskid Switch OFF for ops on the boat, ON for shore based ops. It actually works on the FSXBA Hornet. Only plane I've seen so far.

Hope this helps a little...
Pat☺

[stearmandriver]

Our original OP asked what the current state of naval/ tactical aviation simulation is;

I'd say it's bloody brilliant.

I'm inclined to agree! For now I'm practicing laps around the boat with the FSXBA Hornet, gonna grab the VRS Rhino + Tacpack next week (that pesky budget thing), then tune up AAR and weapons deployment, then start looking at @war (which I'll download now in case that site disappears). That oughta keep me busy for... A long time, given how busy summer is gonna be ;-). I'm really intrigued by the multi-player aspect of all this too; is joining a virtual squadron like the aforementioned USNVA (I really like your philosophy) the best way to try out multi-player at first, or does VRS etc have MP servers to try out?

[Ganter]

How about Flap scheduling/ Trim on approach Pat?

To what extent do the Auto Flaps extend and Auto Trim take care of things? It's bothering me that I end up very nose down on approach.

[BendyFlyer]

Comms, I'm not too bad - I've had a radio license as a sailor for many years and as a rw pilot for a few - so, know brevity is the soul of being understood fast.

Formation? - Ummm - that's another matter, I'm either too quick; and overshoot, or too slow; and under achieve required speed and alt. It really is bloody difficult to match speed with 8 tons of metal travelling at 550 KIAS less than 15 feet away from you at 16 thou.

Any hints very gratefully received.

Ganter - Not sure if you got any hints but here is the first few you need:

1) All formation flying relies on the lead aircraft, lead is lead and worries about what and where to etc, everybody else just follows in formation.
2) All formation ops require a thorough pre-flight briefing process to understand what the plan or objectives are, so everybody is working from the same sheet music.
3) Lead can be exchanged in flight but generally is not unless the LEAD has had to bug out or some other issue.
4) What formation is going to be flown? is critical, line astern (High or low), Echelon left or right, diamond, box, etc and is generally decided in advance but it can be changed in flight LEAD makes the call and everyone then follows in sequence. So there is another clue in formation everyone has a number and a slot.
5) LEAD makes the radio calls to ground etc. and with brief phrases will convey to the rest of the formation any changes, left right etc. Everyone else just follows.

So everyone else in the formation but the lead just follows so you know what your doing, where your going and now all you have to do is concentrate of keeping position. If you cannot you bugout and call it and go a specific direction already predetermine so you do not run into anyone and they do not run into you.

NOW actually flying a formation requires a lot of practise. The clues are all visual that you use and are dependant on aircraft type so you will align yourself on the lead aircraft in a particular way using sections of the aircraft to keep a perspective and position. What they are is dependant on the particular aircraft that make up the formation. if you look at PHANTOM TWEAKS posts re the F-18 you will see that there are very specific views of the aircraft that you have to keep aligned at all times. Each aircraft is different and will have a different point or points generally though this will be the rear quarter, such as keeping the elevator tip and fin top and or wing tip in a particular alignment or picture perspective.


All this is also dependant on power control, if your not lead you will be forever changing power and attitude to keep in the slot. You will always be using more power to keep up, if you drop back unintentionally everyone behind you has to drop back. In other words you only have eyes for the aircraft you follow and you watch it like a hawk, LEAD does the nav, the radios and makes the calls. In the RW if your not close and correct or sloppy you run the real risk of hitting slipstreams and vortex turbulence which could ruin your day real fast. Doing it at night and in the crap is a whole other ball game best left for another day.

That is about all I can tell you at the moment it is practise, practise, practise, including formation take-offs and landings. You don't even start formation flying in the military until you have got a lot of time up, but that said, they start em early at advanced flight training but it is elementary formation flight and simple like a line astern or echelon. That said not everybody can be a Blue Angel etc and that is a real ask.

I can see no reason why proper formation flying should be an issue in FSX visually. I would suggest that you get the little freeware program that sets up a formation based on your aircraft library and having a go at it, it will be pretty tame compared to multi-player stuff but it is the best place to start from my perspective. Start with something slow and work up as you get a handle on it. That formation AI program will let you do that over and over again. I guess you need to be confident and competent in the sim handling department already but at least there is the pause button if you stuff it up. I would not do the Tanker stuff until you happy with your general handling and flying close up.

And the reason you fly formation, well it is not because it is pretty it is because it is a really good way of getting a whole lot of aircraft in one bunch from A to B.

P.S - I did it, did a lot of it once, hated every minute of it, still do, something about being up close like that in real life I did not find exciting, formation aerobatics is about the only time I liked it a little bit. Something satisfying about doing an aeros routine in formation. Same rule still applies, lead calls it you just follow. I find life is a lot more peaceful and less fraught on your lonesome in an aeroplane unless of course they are shooting at you then it is not so exciting at all.

As for carrier stuff, never done it but IMHO these guys know their stuff and then some it takes a lot of skill to turn an F18 into a STOL arrival using a cable as a brake in a pitching sea day or night! Probably would never have done it, one my country had no carriers and two I get seasick!

[BendyFlyer]

Ganter and any others interested, I dug around in my bits and pieces and dodgy archives and found a couple of actual pics taken in flight from the formation lead aircraft. I also found some old instructor brief sheets for formation training but they would not be all that helpful as they need an explantion but they do cover the basics. If interested I probably can zip em up and send them to those interested.

This is the best shot, this is of RAAF CT-4s doing formation practise. The aeroplane is a CT-4B the RAAF's basic or elementary flight trainer and still is until the end of 2019 when it will be retired and replaced by the PC-21.

Note the following:

The descending relationship of the line of aircraft.
They are all keeping the same fixed relative position - see the tail positions of all of them.
No 2 is watching No 1 who took the photo note what he only has eyes for - yep NO 1.
They are using the aft rudder-elevator triangulation point as a point of reference.
You can be below or above in formation but not level, even though from a ground perspective it may look like that, the reason is you need to keep out of the preceding aircraft's turbulence, rule of joining is SLOT IN AND UP at the same time. Why it is easier to slow down in a climb than going down in a descent. You need to carry more power and speed to join and it is better to back off the power and slow to slot in and up and then adjust to keep it there, if you don't then the deviations in you power control can get out of hand and messy very quickly.

If NO 2 had to bug out he would drop down and break right. The others would then move up and slot in. No 2 would rejoin as no 4. If that happens generally you will have done a grand tour and the formation will be a long way away and higher than when you left it it, takes a lot of acceleration (power) and scanning to get it back again. Remember no matter what the aeroplane, once they are all the same the speed and power is relative everybody is doing the same etc. So your thought of speed or power advantage disappears very quickly. The only time this is a tough gig to do is when they are all different aeroplanes as a rule you will put the slowest first and the faster types behind, which you will have noticed from any photographs of formations of different aeroplanes.

Oh why are they are also being flown from the right hand seat - why? they are QFI's not students.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=60198&stc=1

[Ganter]

Fantastic info there thank you BendyFlyer.

I was just thinking - wouldn't it be great if some very bright person could come along and modify one of the J's Nimitz's configurations to actually launch 6 of the jets - fly a formation sortie (or general mayhem sortie) for twenty minutes and then come back in and trap.

Better still if it could be triggered within the AI Carriers menu and options selected such as: Type of Sortie, No. of Jets in sortie, Alt + KIAS, Formation type, Duration of sortie, Random factors, etc.

Go to, go to!

I'd pay for something like that.

[Mike71]

I agree wit hBendy re formation flying. problem is, in any fltsim, the throttle / engine response and throttle angle positioning causes some real problems, depending on what plane it is. in real life, formation flying is not too hard to learn with regard to throttle control; smooth, small corrections help, and are learned reasonably quickly because of good engine response to small changes. That is not the case with many FS planes in my opinion.

I started learning form in 2-plane after basic instrument training in the T-2A. We worked up to 4-plane. In advanced, we worked on 2 and 4-plane at night. Form is so pervasive in the military that you can almost do it in your sleep, though it requires a lot of work. Try being number 4 in Parade echelon in a descent, and the lead signals for popping the speed brakes --- happens all the time, and it works out.

[Stinger]

Fantastic info there thank you BendyFlyer.

I was just thinking - wouldn't it be great if some very bright person could come along and modify one of the J's Nimitz's configurations to actually launch 6 of the jets - fly a formation sortie (or general mayhem sortie) for twenty minutes and then come back in and trap.

Better still if it could be triggered within the AI Carriers menu and options selected such as: Type of Sortie, No. of Jets in sortie, Alt + KIAS, Formation type, Duration of sortie, Random factors, etc.

Go to, go to!

I'd pay for something like that.

get your wallet out... this is something we do everyday... with hornets, tomcats phantoms and everything else with a hook

[Ganter]

get your wallet out... this is something we do everyday... with hornets, tomcats phantoms and everything else with a hook

It would be something that would allow you to practise these manoeuvres and procs before doing it for real with Stinger and his boys! :encouragement:

Because, quite frankly - with my formation flying (Pacific Airlines A321 as Lead, and my well dodgy catting and trapping in the F/A-18, as the last couple of days have shown; I'm not ready for the real thing.

One day I will be - and then I'll come knocking at the USNVA ready room - if they'll have me.

[PhantomTweak]

Just in case anyone is interested, The FSX BA Hornet v18.3 has been put out. One thing it includes, along with several very nice improvements, is at least 6 new liveries, for a total of 86!

The write up on the new version is here: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,16514.msg124198.html#msg124198

The actual download link is here: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,16514.msg117675.html#msg117675
That's post #1 of the thread. It's been updated to essentially show what my first link showed. The DL Link is 1/2 way down the post, as before.

I suggest removing v18.2 before you install the v18.3 . You don't have to, however. If you don't, you'll have to differentiate the two versions in their respective aircraft.cfg's. Just add a letter, number, whatever you choose to one of them, in the Title= line of the [fltsim.X], and place the same character(s) on the ui_variation= line.

Like on the title=FA-18C - Blue Angels Test 1 line, you could add v18.3, thus: title=FA-18C - Blue Angels Test 1 v18.3. Then copy the same thing to the line ui_variation="Blue Angels Test 1" thus: ui_variation="Blue Angels Test 1 v18.3 " .

This will need to be done for every [fltsim.X] section of the plane's aircraft.cfg, or the sim will get upset and pop error's up when you load up.
I do something like this when I want to compare different versions, so I can keep track of which is which as I go.

This is an ongoing process. I have no idea when Jimi and the team will decide it's as "perfect" as it gets, and stop making updates.

By the way, all these versions from the v17... on up are all TacPac enabled. If you like using that sort of thing. I don't have TacPac, so I can't report on it, in comparison to, say, the VRS Superbug. However, every real-world pilot whose tried both say there's just no comparison in the FCS and FDE's. The FSX BA versions take the cake all the way. The paints aint bad, either :D

Enjoy!
Pat☺

[Ganter]

I agree wit hBendy re formation flying. problem is, in any fltsim, the throttle / engine response and throttle angle positioning causes some real problems, depending on what plane it is. in real life, formation flying is not too hard to learn with regard to throttle control; smooth, small corrections help, and are learned reasonably quickly because of good engine response to small changes. That is not the case with many FS planes in my opinion.

I started learning form in 2-plane after basic instrument training in the T-2A. We worked up to 4-plane. In advanced, we worked on 2 and 4-plane at night. Form is so pervasive in the military that you can almost do it in your sleep, though it requires a lot of work. Try being number 4 in Parade echelon in a descent, and the lead signals for popping the speed brakes --- happens all the time, and it works out.

Thanks Mike. I've noticed this in the sim - for example; the throttle response in the SSW AV-8B (with that big old Pegasus strapped to your back) is near on instantaneous - whereas with other fast jets - the default FA/-18 for example can be very slow - or indeed, provide a very unrealistic response - or even worse - unpredictable.

Thank you for your notes - appreciated.

[Ganter]

Just in case anyone is interested, The FSX BA Hornet v18.3 has been put out. One thing it includes, along with several very nice improvements, is at least 6 new liveries, for a total of 86!

The write up on the new version is here: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,16514.msg124198.html#msg124198

The actual download link is here: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,16514.msg117675.html#msg117675
That's post #1 of the thread. It's been updated to essentially show what my first link showed. The DL Link is 1/2 way down the post, as before.

I suggest removing v18.2 before you install the v18.3 . You don't have to, however. If you don't, you'll have to differentiate the two versions in their respective aircraft.cfg's. Just add a letter, number, whatever you choose to one of them, in the Title= line of the [fltsim.X], and place the same character(s) on the ui_variation= line.

Like on the title=FA-18C - Blue Angels Test 1 line, you could add v18.3, thus: title=FA-18C - Blue Angels Test 1 v18.3. Then copy the same thing to the line ui_variation="Blue Angels Test 1" thus: ui_variation="Blue Angels Test 1 v18.3 " .

This will need to be done for every [fltsim.X] section of the plane's aircraft.cfg, or the sim will get upset and pop error's up when you load up.
I do something like this when I want to compare different versions, so I can keep track of which is which as I go.

This is an ongoing process. I have no idea when Jimi and the team will decide it's as "perfect" as it gets, and stop making updates.

By the way, all these versions from the v17... on up are all TacPac enabled. If you like using that sort of thing. I don't have TacPac, so I can't report on it, in comparison to, say, the VRS Superbug. However, every real-world pilot whose tried both say there's just no comparison in the FCS and FDE's. The FSX BA versions take the cake all the way. The paints aint bad, either :D

Enjoy!
Pat☺

Tried 18.3 today Pat.
Looks and flies great - I d/l the FSX version.
A couple of things that still need doing; The Tacan ain't tuning properly - it's scattering the frequency and not displaying in the HUD as dis and bearing and the Radar can't select targets yet - both frustrating. The APU run up sounds amazing. The FCS is awesome.
This bird is fantastic. I even managed to trap it three times in a row - with stabilised approaches (which is big for me!).

What a machine.

In fact, I'm off in it now - we're CAVOK here on the south coast of England - no Tacan required to find the big ship.

Byeeeee!

[stearmandriver]

... However, every real-world pilot whose tried both say there's just no comparison in the FCS and FDE's. The FSX BA versions take the cake all the way. The paints aint bad, either :D

Enjoy!
Pat☺

To be fair, the baby and super hornets aren't exactly comparable airframes, and from what I've read, the FCS and CAS fly-by-wire is different as well. I wouldn't see any reason to expect them to fly the same in real life, much less in a desktop sim. I would love to read an actual naval aviator's review of either model but can't find one. It would be really awesome to find a guy who's flown both to review both, but that's probably asking too much.

That said, I've been greatly enjoying the FSXBA model, I in no way mean to bash it. I think I'm up to about 13,000 hours of (RW) jet time now, and while I've never flown a tactical jet, the FSXBA hornet certainly "feels" right, from a pitch/power/AoA perspective. You guys have done some great work!

[PhantomTweak]

How about Flap scheduling/ Trim on approach Pat?

To what extent do the Auto Flaps extend and Auto Trim take care of things? It's bothering me that I end up very nose down on approach.
As to Flaps scheduling: when in the break, as the airspeed drops below 250 KIAS, go to Flaps FULL, and drop the gear. This tells the system that you want Powered Approach (PA) mode in the FCS. It will then set the Pitch Trim to 8.1 as you approach On-Speed. You can see it on the HUD as it happens, right side, below the Altitude readout box.
If you're making a long straight-in approach, slow to 250 KIAS by going to idle and popping the speed brake. From there, it's all the same. Flaps FULL, gear down.

When you're in UA (Up and Away mode), the FCS controls the flaps for you. If you slow, you can watch the flaps respond. I flown a pass at 90 KIAS, and the flaps were full down, LEX and Trailing Edge both. The reason you put the Flaps Full when on an approach is to signal the system to go to PA mode. If you're IN PA mode and speed up, the flaps and pitch trim will respond accordingly. If you slow back down, again they will respond properly.

Bear in mind, on a bounce, sometimes the pitch trim will reset to take off mode, or 7.3° Nose up. You need to manually reset it to 8.1 in that case. You can make the current trim setting appear on the HUD by just giving the trim a quick tap, up or down. Then you can adjust as needed. They are working to fix that.

Did you get the TACAN setup figured out? The ILS Bars not appearing?

Also, remember when taking off, to put Flaps HALF, and press the Launch Trim button on the Rudder Trim Knob, Left side, just aft the throttles. As you accelerate down the runway, the plane will rotate to capture the correct attitude for you. After that, put the gear and flaps up, and fly away. Same for launching off the boat. Same switchology. The pitch trim will be adjusted for the plane's current weight and wind sensed. On the cat shot, when the launch bar raises (go to 100% throttles so the Launch Bar light extinguishes when ready to launch) after you clear the boat, the plane will rotate to and capture the correct attitude for you. Hands off the throttle and stick until it settles in the right attitude, then fly away normally. Just like the real plane. No touchy the controls during the cat shot! The real pilots reach up and grab the two "towel racks" on the canopy bow after the salute to the cat officer. If you need to select AB during or right after the cat shot, the throttles are normally held and properly operated, but once again, not the stick.

Does all this help a little?

Mr. Stearmandriver,
You'd have to look back through a a LOT of PMs between me, Jimi, and the pilots he has on his team. They are credited in the aircraft.cfg for the plane. I don't promise they will respond to a "stranger" though. It took me a long time to work my way into the "group", and get them to talk to me at all...

Have fun with it everyone!
Pat☺

[PhantomTweak]

I apologize for the double post, but when I go to Edit Post, to try and delete one, it shows no text and won't allow.

Any help from a mod please? The first post should go away...
Pat☺

[Ganter]

Brilliant info Pat - again, many thanks.

With TACAN I can get a sweet lock on Javier's Nimitz and get ILS bars in v. 17.1.3 but in v.18.3 using the same procedure doesn't result in a successful tuning. Is it still work in progress?

[PhantomTweak]

Did you double check that you had it tuned to 57X ? The X/Y selection can sneak in on you and mess things up.
Did you try tuning the actual frequency instead of the TACAN channel? Javier's Nimitz v2 is 112.00.
Did you double check to ensure the TACAN system was selected on the UFC before tuning it?
Did you verify that on whatever MFD you use for the HSI, you selected ILS. The soft-buttons, upper left two?

Yes, the entire Avionics suite is still a WIP, to make it 64 bit for the newer sims, like P3D v4, etc. I'll double-check on the TACAN and UFC, as well as the radios in general with Jimi to see what's going on.

Not super helpful, but we'll get it fixed...
Pat☺

PS: Well, it worked fine for me. Having said that, I only have FSX:SE, so my testing ability in any P3D version is non-existent.
I selected the TCN on the bottom row of the UFC, punched in 11200 ENT, then the TCN button on the HSI. I selected ILS Needles ON on the HUD Control Panel. It popped right up when I spawned the carrier with AICarriers.NET. The ILS needles showed just right on the HUD, as well.
May I suggest, so you can get actual P3D assistance, that you post a question on the Hornet's thread on the FSD forum? Registration is required, but it's free and easy. Jimi and Orion are great guys and will bend over backwards to help. I can link the thread to you if you want.
Pat☺

[Victory103]

To be fair, the baby and super hornets aren't exactly comparable airframes, and from what I've read, the FCS and CAS fly-by-wire is different as well. I wouldn't see any reason to expect them to fly the same in real life, much less in a desktop sim. I would love to read an actual naval aviator's review of either model but can't find one. It would be really awesome to find a guy who's flown both to review both, but that's probably asking too much.

That said, I've been greatly enjoying the FSXBA model, I in no way mean to bash it. I think I'm up to about 13,000 hours of (RW) jet time now, and while I've never flown a tactical jet, the FSXBA hornet certainly "feels" right, from a pitch/power/AoA perspective. You guys have done some great work!

The VRS team had a legacy Hornet guy that was teaching in the real sim for the Super providing input and his posts are still on the forums. They also have at least one current real world Super driver helping beta the Pro model. Not always easy finding RW guys that mess around with PC based flight sims. As far as real world differences, I’ll try to find/link an article by a now retired aviator comparing A/A+/C/E 18s inflight.

[Ganter]

PS: Well, it worked fine for me. Having said that, I only have FSX:SE, so my testing ability in any P3D version is non-existent.
I selected the TCN on the bottom row of the UFC, punched in 11200 ENT, then the TCN button on the HSI. I selected ILS Needles ON on the HUD Control Panel. It popped right up when I spawned the carrier with AICarriers.NET. The ILS needles showed just right on the HUD, as well.
May I suggest, so you can get actual P3D assistance, that you post a question on the Hornet's thread on the FSD forum? Registration is required, but it's free and easy. Jimi and Orion are great guys and will bend over backwards to help. I can link the thread to you if you want.
Pat☺

I'm FSX too. You know those terrible Youtube Videos - You've been peeling a banana wrong all your life? - Well, Pat, I'm there.

I've been punching TCN, 57, X, ENT on the MFD - and expecting the DME and Bearing to pop on the HUD. I haven't been hitting the TCN on the HSI.

I've been peeling that banana all wrong all my life.

Cheers mate,

Jim

[PhantomTweak]

I've been punching TCN, 57, X, ENT on the MFD
I will presume you mean ...on the UFC... not MFD.
The OLD ones, like the 17.1.31, that was correct. You just needed the correct TACAN entry on the UFC for the boat or airport you want. The new one, you need to hit the soft-button on the MFD showing the HSI too :D
Pat☺

[Ganter]

I will presume you mean ...on the UFC... not MFD.
The OLD ones, like the 17.1.31, that was correct. You just needed the correct TACAN entry on the UFC for the boat or airport you want. The new one, you need to hit the soft-button on the MFD showing the HSI too :D
Pat☺


Thanks Pat - I'll check it out - You're a legend. :wavey:

[stearmandriver]

Interesting. I've had a small bit of weirdness with tuning Javier's Nimitz tacan. It tunes, DME works well, and ILS needles are good, but the needle on the HSI jitters in place, and the course selector numbers flicker in a blur. Course selector knobs does nothing. All works properly when a land based tacan is tuned.

This was on the 18.x version in FSX with the files replaced from the 17.x version as specified in the FSDT thread. I'll be trying the new New 18.x FSX version tomorrow.

[Ganter]

Interesting. I've had a small bit of weirdness with tuning Javier's Nimitz tacan. It tunes, DME works well, and ILS needles are good, but the needle on the HSI jitters in place, and the course selector numbers flicker in a blur. Course selector knobs does nothing. All works properly when a land based tacan is tuned.

This was on the 18.x version in FSX with the files replaced from the 17.x version as specified in the FSDT thread. I'll be trying the new New 18.x FSX version tomorrow.


I had exactly as you describe in both 18.2 and 18.3. I also replaced the files as described.

[PhantomTweak]

That "wobble" has been present, in a different form, since Mr. Rusev created the wonderful HUD that will permit a moving carrier to "have" a TACAN. It's an artifact of the gauge alone, but it works nicely to simulate the desired feature.

If you look at the older versions, like the v17.1.31 HUD control panel, the NAV1 readout will do the same wobble when the ship is detected. Granted, the course needle, HSI, etc don't, but it's still there. Why it's more extensive in the readouts of the newer bird, I can't say. I'll see if I can figure out the HUD coding enough to determine why it's doing it on so many readouts now, but I am NOT a very good XML type.

Hope it helps a little...
Pat☺

[stearmandriver]

Hello,

Just wanted to thank everyone who steered me in the right direction with FSX naval air sim. I've been having great fun learning the superbug and tacpack; I'm astonished at all the advanced systems that plane models, especially targeting and weapons delivery. Working my way through the wikis and tutorials but man, good stuff. And of course carrier ops and formation / tanking practice. And of course the freeware carriers and VLSO... Good stuff!

https://i.imgur.com/UIgv1Px.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AYAkDy7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nv72RQD.jpg

[stearmandriver]

And this impressed the heck out of me... the difference it makes getting rid of the ever-present moon glow on the water at night in FSX, even on a dark and stormy night. Here's a before and after of the same distance out... the after using the "Default FSX with no moon glow" preset in FS Water Configurator. Now THAT'S a proper black hole approach lol...

https://i.imgur.com/7bYYSR7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DPEVkfi.jpg

[Victory103]

Looks like you have it figured out and kind of you to send pics! Finally, someone uses the VRS wiki/tutorials to fly the jet properly! I've had it since the FS9 days and every now and then have to read over a system if I haven't used it. I have the FSWC, but must have missed the no-moon fix, now more scary!