Stennis ball

[fmedges]

I’ve been flying boat approaches more than usual, prob at least 3 a day and I have come to the conclusion that there is something off with it. If I fly the ball only it will be centered no problem with me sawing the throttles and then as soon as I get over the stern the damn thing rockets off of the top. If I fly by paying attention to both the ball and velocity vector than I have no issues. Is this a personal problem or is something just off?

[Tholozor]

The current Stennis model is roughly 5% smaller than it should be, so the ball isn't quite right on the glideslope in relation to the position of the wires.

 

Here's an in-depth breakdown:

[Creepy]

If I fly by paying attention to both the ball and velocity vector than I have no issues. Is this a personal problem or is something just off?

 

When you say pay attention to the VV... 1) are you referencing the VV in terms of "placing the VV in the crotch" of the flight deck and leaving it there, or 2) do you mean reference in the sense that you use it to judge your overall rate of descent?

 

If #1: Yes, this works and will get you aboard... but it's very much pushing the "I believe" button...

 

If #2 (what I personally do rw and in sim): For every power or lineup correction you make, the VV (and attached E bracket) gives you immediate feedback as to what the jet is doing/what it's trending towards.

 

Think of it as, if you have no idea what the jet's energy state is, you're just adding/subtracting power arbitrarily and hoping you don't hit the back of the boat or blow the ball off the top of the lens... yes, the jet's energy state is hard to gauge in the sim since you can't actually feel the jet start to droop or float, it's all visual... but you need to know how to read it to have a (repeatably) smooth approach.

 

You should visually scan 3 things on every approach, the ball ("meatball"), lineup, and AoA. I look at the VV (vice the vertical velocity above your altitude... which takes your eyes off important things, like the steel you're about to hit) which gives you lineup (looking through HUD to the ship) and AoA (E Bracket), now just shift between the ball and VV and you will be able to more quickly pick out any deviations before/as they occur to facilitate faster responses and overall smaller magnitudes of deviations... ideally leading to less bolters and ramp strikes!

 

Keep in mind, the closer you get to touchdown, the more sensitive the ball becomes to power corrections (good old angles and trigonometry). So the same power correction you use at the start of an approach that gives you noticeable ball movement will be WAY too much of a correction at the ramp.

 

Last little takeaway technique some people use during the Case I pattern is referencing the ICLS bullseye at about the 45 position to help assess whether they are currently high/low as well as the trend of the bullseye indications to assess any power corrections leading into the groove/wings level transition.

 

The current Stennis model is roughly 5% smaller than it should be, so the ball isn't quite right on the glideslope in relation to the position of the wires.

 

Here's an in-depth breakdown:...

 

That's a really good in the weeds breakdown of the outside factors as well, understanding what the IFLOLS is showing you/how to apply that knowledge is definitely a key to success.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Creepy

[Curly]

The ball gets more sensitive the closer you get to it as function of geometry. This is true in DCS and in real life. In DCS the phenomenon is more drastic because of how the meatball is implemented in game.

 

Closer to the IFLOLS, smaller deviations from glideslope are read as larger errors. A two foot error from glideslope still reads on the ball at 3/4 of a mile. Because at that range a centered ball is 11 feet high. When you get to the ramp, the glideslope “window” is only 1.6 foot high. So if you’re two feet above glideslope at the ramp you’re seeing 1 ball high.

 

If you’re two feet from glideslope during you’re whole approach, You really won’t notice it until your at the ramp. If your two feet above the glideslope you’ll see a center ball window until your 230 feet from the IFLOLS. At which point the ball will suddenly move high. Not because you drifted higher, but because the window got smaller. In DCS you can’t see the windows getting smaller because the steps are discrete You are either in one specifics lights field of view or your are not. In the real world you would see the ball rising as you got closer. In the real world, at 1/4 mile if you’re 2 feet above glideslope, you would see half ball high. Since DCS has discrete steps you won't see an indication of change till you're outside a window.

 

Just remember the magnitude of the changes have to get smaller the closer you get to the IFLOLS.

 

 

 

Notice the discrete steps in DCS IFLOLS. Only one ball lit at a time, no halves.

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Curly

[fmedges]

All good info thanks guys. Yes I use the VV to quickly judge the relative movement of the aircraft b it don’t solely focus on it. My scan is lineup VV AOA ball instead of just lineup ball aoa.