F-14B rollover

[Woody81]

Hi! i'm currently practicing to land on the carrier without becoming a ball of flames and i'm struggling. I'm finding that with flaps and/or dlc activated and the gear down that she becomes very hard to control, in most cases rolling over and ending up wet. is there something i'm missing? just if i dont use the flaps/dlc the AOA indicator is showing that i'm going too fast.  I got onto the deck a few  times yesterday only to end up as a bolter.... didnt realise i'd snapped the hook off! Any advice much appreiciated!

07

james

[iantron]

That rollover is probably happening when you're too slow. It is difficult to control slow. I correct slow quickly though as it is dangerous. Rudder input can help manage the roll if you find yourself too slow through.

[BreaKKer]

120 KIAS is the rough stall speed. Don’t go below that

[Exorcet]

This is a symptom of stall. When you exceed your max AoA, the airflow detaches from the wings. This isn't always symmetric, so you can end up rolling violently.

You need to keep your AoA below the limit. If you follow the proper speed that should keep you from exceeding your AoA limit, but remember it's the angle and not the speed that causes the issue. You can stall at high speeds too if you have too much AoA.

[Woody81]

Thanks a lot all, that does make sense. I've been trying to do it as it explains in the pre-mission diagram but maybe fully retarding the throttle is too much. Once it stops responding to my inputs I'm guessing I'm already too slow. The speed indicator is pretty hard to read though... Hopefully I'll get used to it eventually! 

[Zaphael]

You almost never full retard a throttle to land the deck on the carrier. The DLC and the brakes are there to introduce drag and reduce lift so you keep your throttle in responsive region when landing. 

Find your onspeed AOA, get your lineup, and adjust DLC for glideslope. Only then you fine tune your throttle just a hair. 

[iantron]

I think I see what's happening. You do fully retard the throttle when you start your brake. That is only to slow down though. As you approach on speed during your downwind, you'll have to throttle up again to keep on speed. Just follow the aoa indicators adjusting throttle to keep level at 600'.

[Jackjack171]

Always keep the throttle moving as well. Turn your speakers up if you can, with the Tomcat (Thank you HB) you can see the airframe vibe a bit when you add power (since we can't feel it). Try to stay ahead of the power curve. I fly the pattern slightly fast (amber doughnut over a red chevron) until out of the approach turn. It helps when I roll out.

[Akrescue130]

Also remember as you turn, overall lift is decreased, thus requiring more power and speed to maintain correct alpha. As you roll out onto final wings level, you'll have to then reduce that power that was added in the turn

[Woody81]

Thanks a lot guys, yeah, definitley too little power and too slow speed. I've practiced a few airfield landings using the dlc and keeping the power on more has definitley helped. just done my best airfield landing ever tbh! shame the track files for the Tomcat are messed up!

[Woody81]

After another couple of hours practice, I managed to set her down! Got 3 landings one after the other, 3 wire first, then 2x 1 wire. Jester wasn't happy but I was! 

[Jackjack171]

41 minutes ago, Woody81 said:

After another couple of hours practice, I managed to set her down! Got 3 landings one after the other, 3 wire first, then 2x 1 wire. Jester wasn't happy but I was! 

Awesome! Once you get the feel for the power on glideslope, it gets better. The B has that great power cushion advantage. I fly the A more and always have to remind myself that I'm in the A. My point: Have fun with those engines with DLC and you'll be flying OK 3's soon enough!