I basically only fly the Hornet around the boat these days, because I just don’t have the time for missions. Its basically launch, get in the stack, break, 3 or 4 passes, then a trap and I’m out.
I was flying today and I had a <profanity> ton of trouble trimming it up after the break. I’m usually on the numbers at paddles and today I couldn’t get it to do anything right.
Gear down at 250, let it ride, flaps half, trim to bracket, flaps full, trim to bracket. At that point I’m nose down AoA at 15, WTF, and working the throttles just to get back to a reasonable altitude for the groove.
Something has changed. I went from having a problem with ballooning at paddles trim, which I could deal with because I was still on speed at 9-11 AoA, to now having a lead weight on my nose and trimmed out to 15 AoA. Even though the bracket says I’m on speed, it’s obvious I’m not.
Once I’m settled it seems to be manageable, but it still feels nose heavy. And there was no way I was even close to the numbers after the break. I tried multiple times. Just wasn’t happening.
What gives? Anyone else having this problem?