Sea Flea: Fleet Ops (Single/MP, ALL Helicopters) - Helicopter Ship Landing Trainer

[cfrag]

Sea Flea: Fleet Ops (Single/MP, ALL Helicopters) - Helicopter Ship Landing Trainer

Version: 20230227 (added more ships)

Download: please click here   

Required Modules: Any of UH-1 Huey, Ka-50 Black Shark (2/3), Mi-8 Hip, SA 342 Gazelle, AH-64 Apache, OH-58 Kiowa, CH-47 Chinook or Mi-24 Hind 

Players: 1 - many, max. 3 per type  

Difficulty: This is an advanced landing training mission for helicopters
                 (and if you can land the Hind on the Handy Wind, I want to see the image to prove it! - done, first by @sirrah)

Feedback: Please use this thread to post suggestions, bug sightings etc.

Summary:
This is a multiplayer-capable helicopter naval landing trainer. Focus is on landing on ships, and it does not teach the radio protocols involved (although you can choose to observer them). The mission sports 12 different vessels to land on, with multiple difficulties to choose from.

Duration:
This mission is endless, you can train as long as you are having fun.  

Weather:
CAVOK, medium wind from the West.

How to play:
Choose your helicopter (2 hot, 1 cold slots per type), and once you are ready to depart, request a task from Sea Dragon, the fleet command authority. To request a task, choose Communications --> Other... --> Contact Sea Dragon. You can choose between three tasks:

• Easy:
  The craft you approach is very large (usually a carrier), the landing zone is large, and freely accessible from all sides
   
• Normal:
  The landing zone is readily accessible from most sides 
   
• Challenging:
  the landing zone may be difficult to approach, there may be objects (cranes etc.) blocking approach and landing may require lateral movement

After touch-down, your landing is rated for accuracy (100% for a touch-down dead center, 1% when you just barely managed to touch the outer rim)

You can cancel a task and request a new one at any time without penalties. 

While you are en route to your designated LZ, Sea Dragon will provide you with bearing and range so you will always be able to find your ship. 

Background
Now that you have graduated from "Lawnmower" Academy and can reliably land your helicopter and walk away from it, it's time to get serious: do the same with moving platforms. Ships, to be precise.

Off the coast, west of Batumi, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: gathered for the centennial festivities, a massive joint fleet is preparing for tomorrow's parade. Nearly all of the ships are now in constant demand for shuttle services, and we can use this for practicing ship landings. Admiral Behring is running the show, and "Sea Dragon" is her command authority.

OBJECTIVES
Choose your helicopter, and request Tasks from Sea Dragon. You will be assigned a ship to fly to and land on. For your education, landing zones are marked on the target vessels. 

You may request a task befitting your skill level. Once assigned, you can reject a task and then request a new one. 

Landings are graded in percent, measured from the center of the marked LZ. The higher the percentage, the better. Be advised that some of the more advanced landing zones are partly obstructed and may not provide a direct, into-wind approach.

During your approach we will regularly update you on bearing and range until you are 200m (600ft) away from your designated LZ - a nicety we'll only provide for promising rookies like you.

 

Have fun,

-ch

 

Edited October 19, 2024 by cfrag

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Thanks, any feedback needed?

[cfrag]

9 hours ago, VFGiPJP said:

Thanks, any feedback needed?

I always welcome feedback 

 

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

For my long overdue feedback comments on your other chopter hover challenge mission, I will DM you later.

Can I add Harrier to this?

[cfrag]

8 minutes ago, VFGiPJP said:

For my long overdue feedback comments on your other chopter hover challenge mission, I will DM you later.

Can I add Harrier to this?

"Hover, Damn!" will make a re-appearance soon, I'm currently updating the code base

You should be able to add the Harrier. The code currently doesn't check the airframe for suitability, so you should receive all F10 options. I'll try myself, but the problem is that although I can fly the Harrier, a can't vertical land it. You can simply add it to the Tawara, and see if it works. If anything goes awry, please let me know, and I'll try to fix it. 

Edited November 23, 2021 by cfrag

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Yes! Sir!

[sirrah]

On 11/22/2021 at 7:31 PM, cfrag said:

Difficulty: This is an advanced landing training mission for helicopters
                 (and if you can land the Hind on the Handy Wind, I want to see the image to prove it!)

Challenge taken!

Will the Moskva do for you sir?

(I'll try again and see if I get pointed out to the Handy Wind)

I kinda messed up (and eventually ignored) ATC there for a moment, but maybe I get bonus points for speed? 

(funny thing is, when I play the track file, I tend to get different scores )

Hind landing.trk

 

Fun little mission again @cfrag 

[sirrah]

aaand, the Handy Wind:

Which was actually a lot more easy than the Moskva (with its fences still up )

Hind landing on Handy Wind.trk

[cfrag]

Hmmm. And a 50-plus rating. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all! 

[cfrag]

Minor Update v1.0.1 - 20211125

Version 1.01 Changes

• Added the Harrier as flyable aircraft (hot/cold)
• Cleared the Tarawa's deck slightly for better multi-player support 
• No more double-dipping on a landings, folks!
• Carriers now have helicopters on plane guard duty

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

May I suggest you add the followings to the list of ships?

HMS Hermes: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3313776/

SS Atlantic Conveyor https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3319501/

Key (from left to right): HMS Hermes 1981, Tarawa, HMS Ocean, SS Atlantic Conveyor and Handy Wind.

Edited November 29, 2021 by VFGiPJP

[cfrag]

Hey @VFGiPJP,

   thank you for the recommendation! Those are indeed great ships - and unfortunately they would require that anyone who wants to fly that mission also installs those mods - that's a show-stop for me. You can do it yourself in a few minutes: add them in ME, and simply copy and paste the easy/med/hard landing zones onto the decks (where you want). Make sure you update the zone's property correctly (<linkedUnit> must exactly match the linked ship's unit name, and <baseName> must be unique). The mission code updates itself automatically to include the new landing zones.

Cheers,

-ch

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by cfrag

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

I treat these mods like skins. So I make my missions which require mods. I understand and respect your reasons and I would make my own version and will not publish it, the mission is still very much your thing.

[cfrag]

Update: 1.1.0 - 20220319

Hey, is that a speck of seawater on your monocle? No? Why not?

The Tarawa now sports three Apaches (two hot, one cold) for sea ops. Get it, get on!

-ch

 

[cfrag]

Update 20221120

• Small Maintenance 
• Moved to ED's User Files

-ch

[cfrag]

Update 20221219

• Added Ka-50 III

-ch

 

[cfrag]

Update 20230227

• Removed (hopefully temporarily) Neustrashimy (DCS 2.8.x broke compatibility with helicopters landing on the ship)
• Added Tilde
• Added Castle 
• Added Condell
• Added Achilles
• Added Invincible
• Added 052C
• Added 054A
• Added 071T

That fleet is shaping up nicely  - a shame about the Neustrashimy, I hope ED get around to fixing it soon.

Enjoy,

-ch

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by cfrag

[cfrag]

Update 20240624 - Added Kiowa

That little whirlybird is a heck of fun to fly. Let's get cracking and land on moving ships, too!

Enjoy,

-ch

 

[cfrag]

BUG NOTIFICATION: DCS 2.9.6.57650 and 2.9.6.57656

Please be advised that DCS 2.9.6.57650 and 2.9.6.57656 (updates from July 11 and 22) completely breaks this mission. A 'fix' for a previously reported bug has rendered central functionality of this mission inert: the mission can no longer detect if a helicopter has landed. Until this is fixed by ED this mission is unplayable.

Hopefully a fix in the future can restore this mission back to working condition.

Edited July 22, 2024 by cfrag

[cfrag]

Update 20241019 - Many DCS bugs worked around, added Chinook

Mission works again, and now supports the Chinook.

Enjoy,

-ch