F1GHTS-ON

Not sure if already pointed out, but in the Reach-4-the-skies video teaser, the A-6 featured doesn't have the SWIP wing folds or " fatter" outer wing pylons. Of course the video might just be showing the AI version and when the full flyable version comes along (a long-time from now) all bets are off. My vote is for the SWIP version - just seems to offer more options and fits in with the late/mid 90's F-14 B already developed..

Jackjack171 is clearly a god source for information. I am not a naval aviator (nor US) but I can offer the following that may help: Today's Airwings are approx 60 planes (my respect to the Super Carriers of the 60's with near 90!). Typically each "Event", sees up to 15 planes launched. So for an 18 hour day, that will be 12 Events. As I understand, these cyclic Events are separated by 90 minutes, dictated by the Legacy Hornet (no longer in service) whereas back in the 70's I think there was a longer interval. The Deck Handlers (& their Boss who runs that Wegge Board type map you often see in videos) is a happy man after the 1st launch of the day - as he now has more space to re-spot aircraft. Mind you he has less than 90 mins to do so. What he hates, is that last recovery of the day, when he very quickly begins to run out of space on deck. Any jets spotted at the Aft end of the deck are always(?) left with a towing arm already attached - in case of an urgent requirement to clear the landing area for an emergency. The launch/recovery cycle is very slick (I cannot emphasise my respect for the skill displayed by ALL those that do it). On the Bigger (15ish) plane launces I have witnessed, they are still shooting off the last few off the bow, as the 1st of the recovering jets begin to trap. The timings are pretty rigid. As a pilot, you will know which event you are programmed for, so your planning, briefing and walking to the jet are all fixed around that. Jackjack171 will probably confirm, but typically you will see pilots man up & start up 20-30 mins before their launch time. Find a snag then, and there is still a chance to jump in a spare or get an engineer to do his best to get her "up" again. Miss you taxi/launch slot and you become merely a bystander to the orchestra of activity. At least 1 tanker shot off with each cycle. As one of the 1st jets off in that event/cycle, he will quickly get the off going tanker to take a test suck from him (prove that it works) before taking as much available off the off going tanker before he is released to join the circuit to trap. For an Alpha Strike (do they still do that?) all bets are off. Much of the above applies to Static Operations (Vietnam, Gulf etc) where the CV remains in his fixed operating "box". The moving PIM is still practiced for ships on passage, but does create other issues. Think also about the none Nuclear powered escorts - in low wind environments, their ability to "keep up" (as plane guard or simply as an AAW defensive ship) get magnified with each extra know of speed (the fuel consumption curve is exponential). For the Gulf & Adriatic - the CV rick was to spend 3/4 of the time moving downwind, comfortable speed, then the turn into wind ( & speed requirement?) for that launch / recovery Event. Not wishing to make the solution for the great unwashed (submariners!) any easier, but add that to the navigational hazards that you have identified, you can see why this is a complex and challenging series of coordinated events. I assume all of the above makes sense, unclassified and helps you in you quest to create a good cyclic ops mission. regards

sorry to drag this thread back up, but I assume that there has been no fix? (I know I cannot get the "Request Repair" to fix it and I suspecty that me alone has probably used up the entire world's supply of nitrogen bottles in accidently hitting this function

Auto Start does put the Parking Brake on - and it is difficult to release - best advice is to bind the release of hand brake to a key. No idea how many times I accidently pulled the throttle back around the horn and switched off engine (after 3 MINUTE AUTO START !!) in trying to use the mouse to release the parking brake

As stated above, gun was never fitted, but pods used for ECM (just before retirement all sorts of clever stuff added). Extra pylon by outrigger wheels ONLY capable of sidewinder, I think trial for ASRAAM considered, but UK Harriers withdrawn from service before ASRAAM entered service. (ASRAAM is Europe/UK rival to 9X - 9X beats ASRAAM in cutting the corner in dogfight, but ARAAM very fast and beats 9X in a straight line (allegedly arrives across the circle with the target at about the same time as a 9X, just having travelled further!) - jury still out as to which is better! Back in late 1980's when UK Royal Navy needed to decide on Sea Harrier (Falklands winner) replacement/improvement, choice was between Improved FRS 1 (= FA2 with Blue Vixen Radar top speed 0.87 ish)) or thicker winged GR5/7 (AV-8B) Harrier (top speed 0.82 ish). Latter with thicker wing was able to carry way more stores etc, but thinner wing "original" harrier had 0.5 MACH advantage, and in late 1980's requirement the ability to defend Fleet against TU-Badgers (0.85 ish) there was 1 obvious answer......who'd have guessed Cold War was coming to an end and the next 30 years was all about Mud Moving ! Blue Vixen became the 1st European radar that really worked with AIM-120 and ultimately, with modifications, is today's basis for the EuroFighter Typhoon radar. That Sea Harrier/Blue Vixen/AIM-120 combination transformed the "un-wanted, b**tard Ginger haired child" that no one wanted to play with, to the most invited squadrons at the various ACMI ranges in Europe. The Poor old Sea Harrier struggled on with an improved engine for operating in Warmer Climates (Persian Gulf couldn't be further away than the cold North Atlantic envisioned) and these improved, more powerful engines made their way into the combined RN/RAF Harrier fleet - recognisable by the suffix "A" on GR-7A/9A. I think these engines have now ended up with the USMC???? But I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. If anyone is still reading, there are some awesome GR7/9 skins out there that really look the part on the RAZBAM AV-8B - my genuine "thanks" to those who took thetime to create these.

looks great - you've modeled her as she was after her 1990 refitwith a 12 degree ski ramp rather than the original 1979 7 degree ramp. But seeing as how your model matches what she looked like when I served on her, it gets my vote. Somewhere have a load of phots of when she hosted VMA-214 Black Sheep in AV-8Bs in the mid 90's - I'll load some up on this thread if ok? Thank you so much for brining my favourite ship to DCS

and I'm sure one of DCS's USN types can provide the UNCLASS answer, but the days of the plane guard helo actually hovering alongside the ship have long since gone, the "designated" Plane Guard helo is now required to remain within a certain distance (time or distance??) from the ship during recovery/launch cycles, but this can be up to 10(?? no reference for this figure?) miles and this able to conduct it's only training etc but be able to react if required.....

And the WWII assets pack works against modern jets - and I think (?) that one of those 88mm guns is going to be added to ALL DCS modules (free). So we can all get to see black puffs of smoke at medium/higher altitudes........and unless you are an A-10 driver that has forgotten life's #1 lesson in the need for speed, should remain fairly tame :)....and "yes" if you do get caught be one of those "pretty" little black puffs, it hurts

agree - without drifting too far from the thread title, but if it is the "challenge" of flying around the boat that is a primary goal, then a re-look at the carriers available would be welcome. There is already an excellent HMS Hermes MOD available (although only in her "Harrier Carrier" modification - or as a Helo variant, i.e. no cats & traps) and her developer has stated an aspiration(?) to try for a '70's HMS Ark Royal. Again, Hermes was a proper cats' & trap CV in the '60's (there's even a phot of an F-4B cross decking out there somewhere). My vote? USS Midway - a ship of reasonably large size, certainly operated many of the DCS naval aircraft currently (and coming soon) available. Although not designed for, there is a photo of 2 x F-14s that trapped & launched onboard (weather divert). And whilst I'm sure is no longer a state secret, I did read that in her last configuration (Desert Storm) she had so much top weight that her pitch & roll in any sea state above state 4 made landing a real exercise in sorting out the men from the boys.... either way, I should add that the stuff already available is great, ALL the pipe dreams etc in this thread are just pleasant wishes that we are all entitled to have

UK used helo's as plane guards (Wessex) up to the end of cat & traps (Ark Royal 1978). I am unaware of the RN using plane guards (helos) for any of their Harrier Carriers from 1980 onwards. I will offer a guess that this UK decision is driven by statistics of Risk versus Reward. i.e. why put additional risk into conducting flying in a helo (+ adding hours onto airframe) when the probability of a crash is significantly reduced? As to USN AV-8 ops - again, without stats to hand, I suspect that despite the high crash statistic that comes with the AV-8 in service, operating around the boat is relatively safe ( or rather involves fewer accidents than the conventional CV ops) and thus generating an additional helo airframe ("line" on flying programme) is considered un neccesacary? (plus what helo airframe - unless carrying a detachment of USN -60Rs or whatever, winch fitted, diver/aircrew trained, you will be limited to USMC helos (or MV-22s) which are not trained or capable(?)) Modern warships today have very capable seaboats (RHIB types) which can be launched much quicker than the traditional seaboats of ships of the 60's & 70's - this was the UK RN's preferred solution and proved more than adequate for recovering aircrew who "chose"(?) to opt to swim rather than land on the deck. Again, I would offer a guess that this method is the prefered option for US LHAs etc.

As another pilot that struggles with trim for On-Speed, can I highlight my cheat (& probably demonstrate my complete ignorance of F-14 systems). My "cheat" is to temporarily engage the Auto Throttle on the downwind leg, this puts the aircraft "on speed" and seems to trim the aircraft correctly. With a shortcut key mapped on throttle, I can now dis-engage the auto throttle and fly the remainder of the pattern with the F-14 apparently trimmed correctly. (or really lazily fly the rest of the groove using DLC and fore & aft stick movements in auto throttle).... My question is: Does the use of auto throttle cause the aircraft to trim automatically (like altitude hold does)?

Quick & simple answer before a real expert jumps in here: Landing ashore - I guess normal Navigation lights plus nose wheel Landing Light On ship, (and I've only been on US Carriers for Hornet/Rhino/Prowler ops) it is just the Nav lights. (The landing light is not required, too bright for the LSOs and would NOT allow the LSOs to see the Red/Amber/Green "on speed" lights that are set into the nose wheel leg. Slime (formation lights) can be left on or off. Here's a 2018 vid - look at the light configuration for landing and note NO lights for taxing around on deck. By the way, (if I remember correctly) the Nav lights ONLY get switched on AFTER aircraft is hooked onto the cat and is the equivalent of giving the salute for take off.

Upgraded to an SSD - no longer takes 10 mins to load a game ! - Problem appears to be RESOLVED. I cannot replicate this problem, no matter how quick I click etc - so issue was with my set up.

yes - but that is correct. So in Multiplayer, you can load up someone else's F10 T01 - T XX targets. With 18 slots to fill on your CAS page, My fix is to note what time you uploaded "your" targets and match against the time entered on CAS page. Of course you do have the ability to go in to F10 map view & delete another players "T01 - Txx" targets - if he has already uploaded then this should NOT be a problem for him. Good on line etiquette should see players deleting their own "T01 - TXX" markers once they have uploaded onto aircraft (at least delete after attacking target) note: I have only just learnt that you can use the "T01 etc" as navigation markers in NAV MODE and as Targets for the TPOD to slew to when using "Designate" button on map page....

sometimes I get same - but I can'trule out not enough "Dead zone" on stick curve settings. What do your trim dials (down left) show you when this occurs? I think the Harrier is one of those old types that when you trim it physically moves the stick. Certainly when you use trim to make minor adjustments to role when in auto pilot yousee the stick move. So 2nd question : can you see whether your stick is moving to left or right when you have hands off ( & trimmed) I do think this is the hardest aircraft to trim when fully loaded.

[playing in MP, stable version 2.5xxx] Using JDAMs (GBU-38s Pre Planned) and loading the CAS page with targets (either on ground or in air) from F10 map = no problem. To clear CAS page target entries from MPCD (using the up/down arrow to select), the use of the "ERAS" button on the ODU is required. I would say that 40% of time, doing so causes my game to crash (but no effect on server) which I can subsequently rejoin. There appears to be a correlation between how quickly I click the ERAS button, and/or from what zoom I am using. i.e. if I am in a rush and try to click with haste whilst not zoomed in on ODU, then I am more likely to ensure a freeze & crash. combinations of removing my target markers from F10 map (good etiquette for online play!) and removing/unclicking target selection 1-10 from ODU makes no difference. Not seen this issue reported elsewhere, so I accept this may be entirely my problem rather than a bug. Luv the HArrier by the way - thanks :)

another test you could run is to set up the target as pre planned (i.e target data inputted from F10 map and loaded as "T1" either before (easier) or after take off). Now fly to target and use TPOD to set up TOO JDAM target. In the CAS page data is there a way now of comparing the position/ data - they should be the same. Noting the comment above about dropping at/as near to 100% as poss. I've always dropped in the 90's (%) but today in MP, I dropped 10 GBU-38's (pre planned) in the 40% range because of need to take avoiding action. 9 out of 10 direct hits and a good 30% damaged against an MBT for the 10th ....so I'm not entirely sold on holding out for that perfect 100% drop point.... just a thought :)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-4B_of_VF-96_aboard_HMS_Hermes_(R12)_in_1963.jpg Although as Speed of Heat & Joey45 state in earlier posts, this F-4 (despite wing tanks) is probably only half full of fuel...... Looking forward to your pre 1970 version - thank you for sharing your amazing work.

As much as I love Heatblur's F-14, one drawback is that when you are hit, 99% of time it is fatal and you enter the blackout spin to doom. Today in MP I took a hit but had the great satisfaction of fighting with a damaged engine etc to get her back to the boat. I needed emerg Gear down and emerg hook down (first time used) and by mistake, blew the canopy. - all adding to a very enjoyable immersion into the game. After several passes I finally trapped, shut down (no NWS) and got the ground crew to "repair". Aircraft was repaired, and I reset the gear & Hook levers to normal. But hook remained down, NW Steering was not able to be engaged and canopy remained missing (even though as part of the post repair start up, Jester reported "closing canopy"). Solution was just to respawn in another jet, but I suspect this missing repair is a bug? (With so much to interact with in cockpit, I would LOVE to have more failures when hit rather than the normal loss of wing & spin...) Thank you

I once had the privilege to witness case 3 (night time) recoveries from both CATC and the LSO's platform. From what I remember, G B's answer above (post #2 ) sounds right. The night time viz was so good, you could see 5 or 6 aircraft lined up on their final bearing, anyone who bolted took the downward heading and was "slotted" in where CATC could work a gap. As I recall the real challenge was all the Legacy Hornets & Rhinos had a similar across the ramp speed of 137 (ish) KIAS whereas the Hummer's were nearer 115 KIAS. So the plan tried to put the Hummers at the back of the queue as with their slower "on speed" KIAS it created bubbles in the recovery. Like all plans, works well until the 1st bolter and then you have a real mix of a/c types strung out in a long line astern the ship. I always thought it looked "easy"......then I played DCS and got an insight into the mental challenge and high work load that this skill requires.

I'm just entering the "learn how to navigate phase" with the F-14 and I find Jester's menu options somewhat confusing. TACAN is easy and I think I can get to telling Jester to set up either waypoints 1 - 3. This morning in teaching myself how to use the LANTRIN, I was able to do as above, create a waypoint on F10 map, name it "target 1" and find it in Jesters menu (as well as the LANTIN "next waypoint slew" function. But from Jester's Menu, what is "destination" point and the numerous other options? Can someone here direct me to a really good Youtube tutorial, please? Thank you EDIT : not sure why I couldn't find it before, Spudknockers vid is exactly what I was looking for - explains everything from WPTs 1- 3 , IP, ST Destination and how to create & name..........

not for me. Just loaded the MOD for the 1st time yesterday and despite my frustrations at getting to know how to use it, it does what it says on the tin. I've only got the stable version of DCS loaded, sill to install the Beta version (so I know when the next update occurs, I'll have to probably re-install the Lua file. Mind you, I'm running DCS on HDD Hard drive, so loading any game does take a while for me. Game loading freezes "yes" - but not due to this Mod , and never a freeze whilst on controls page hope this helps?

One last question to anyone who'll answer: do you find either the F/A-18, F-16 and/or the M2K much easier to tank with than the F-14? Like you, I struggle with the AAR. Hornet is the easiest due to the auto trim (modern jets!). When I had more time to play DCS last year, I made a point of doing 5 mins worth of AAR at the end of an evening, just to keep my eye in. Just recently I've had the chance to get back into playing DCS, and guess what, my AAR skills have almost completely faded.......

Not that a Carrier can't be heard by submarines for some distance anyway when cats (shuttle) hit the water brake etc (!) but I'm sure that NOT using afterburner significantly reduced the acoustic signature transmitted down thru' the ship into the water - so whether a win/win consequence or actually one of the User Requirements by the Navy??????

Always struck me as strange that real world GCI controllers used magnetic rather than true in the last 20 years or so with their Bearing calls. Does anyone know if this is just a legacy issue from the "old & bold" who had to do it to 1960's generation of jets that still drove around on Magnetic headings? And how on earth does everyone cope when conducting Flag exercises up in Alaska or Northern Canada where the Mag variation is seriously out of phase with True......my brain hurting now so I'll stop typing :)