F-18 carrier brake problems

[burner12]

I would like to thank all of you who have given me instructions on how to land on a carrier. but apparently the problem wasn't my flying after all. We just got a new computer with a dual graphics card and apparently one of them was defective. So I bet that was the problem. We just installed 2 new ones and even when I land left of the wirse where before it skidded me out now it traps me PERFECTLY! So thanks to all wo have helped. Don't you just hate it when technology fails.

[SpazSinbad]

OK then, how about a video of a trap please.  I've used FRAPS in the past and don't know of any other game video capture program; but likely there are others out there. I don't use FRAPS to capture the flying in real time because the real flying frame rate is affected adversely. My method is to playback the relevant portion while FRAPS captures the playback. FRAPS makes a very large but excellently detailed .AVI video. Then I use Microsoft Movie Maker 2 to edit/crunch this video into a usable size .WMV example. There are options to make the best quality for general use (tape at 3Mb/s) or lesser quality for file upload/download.

[burner12]

I don't know how to make a video using FSX. I have tried to record the flight by using the buttons it says to start and stop recording but I can't find that file, I don't think it recorded it. If you can give me instructions on how to record a flight I'll be happy to do so,by the way SpazSinBad thanks so much for your help!

[SpazSinbad]

Perhaps I used the wrong terminology for FSX about 'playback'. I don't mean "RECORD" the flight - sorry for confusion. I mean to use the 'Instant Replay' function. I still don't have FSX installed to give more detailed instructions. I guess I can look on FSX help website. The replay will be available at the end of the flight. There is a maximum number of seconds available, with a maximum for any flight. I guess you would want to replay the last 60 seconds of a landing? It may default to that. I forget. I'm not used to having to remember all this stuff to then type out instructions about it. Use the ALT key to look at the menus.

When changing views in 'Instant Replay' use the "Locked Spot" external view otherwise external view will be jerky. I think F11 key will give you that function.
__________________________________

Q: How do you get Instant replay on FSX?
A: "When in flight press "p" to pause the game then press the "alt" key to bring up the menu bar on top and choose 'Options'. 'Instant Replay' should be there."

Useful FSX help website perhaps: http://www.flightsimulatorguide.com/fsxfaq.html

[burner12]

Will it save the replay?

[SpazSinbad]

No. You can only repeat the 'instant replay' in that session of FSX and select that when starting the 'instant replay' only - as I understand it. There are add-ons that will 'record' stuff but I don't really know about them. I make the best flight. Select 'instant replay'. Use FRAPS to record the "IR" etc.

[SpazSinbad]

While back found an FSX Hornet 'INCORRECT line up landing' and have just found it again today but cannot recall the website. Anyway remember this is not my video and it is NOT a correctly lined up approach. The Hornet is flying along the WAKE which means it is NOT lined up on the angled centreline. For whatever reason it manages to survive this absurd approach. Luck I guess:

http://files.filefront.com/IncorrectHornetFSXapproacdwmv/;13581742;/fileinfo.html (11Mb .WMV)

[SUBS17]

Heres a couple of my traps, 1st ones with a full load of fuel.

&feature=channel

Yes another example of not using the Cat.

[SpazSinbad]

Subs17, Great. Thanks for the demo using the HUD as it is seen. Many advantages in that for sure. I cannot make out what your airspeed is though. Can you gives us an idea what it was for most of that first video please? Thanks. Nice line up and good on glideslope. Was that your heavy breathing? 

[Hanimichal]

I sacrifice the frontal wheel to have very stable landing in carrier

[SpazSinbad]

Hanimichal, thanks for a great video. I like the HUD in a separate view. I'll have to get to use that. Your approaches (as seen on Optimum AoA) should work OK - without sacrificing the nosewheel - as you are suggesting? How were you going before making the 'nosewheel sacrifice' modification?

[Hanimichal]

Hanimichal, thanks for a great video. I like the HUD in a separate view. I'll have to get to use that. Your approaches (as seen on Optimum AoA) should work OK - without sacrificing the nosewheel - as you are suggesting? How were you going before making the 'nosewheel sacrifice' modification?

I went like this   

[SpazSinbad]

Hanimichal, Thanks for the great video. Watching full screen in high quality mode I could see several details but not all. For example most of your landings were slow (with slow chevron). This means (amongst other things) your nose is too high compared to the Optimum Angle of Attack landing attitude. This will mean that the nose will fall through a much bigger arc to the deck (causing nosewheel to break?).

Another thing: It is difficult to see accurate airspeed from the HUD to gauge your All Up Weight (AUW). What is it or what is the fuel onboard when landing? If you are above the maximum carrier landing AUW you will crash no matter what. Either the U/C will break (too much weight) or the too high airspeed will break stuff (arrestor gear). Being too slow in this condition makes the effect worse (see previous paragraph).

On one landing I saw a slow chevron with the ball coming down from a high with 'drop nose to land'. This is a classic carrier crash scenario. Overall they look like good approaches but with any parameter NOT correct you will have a problem landing. This is the nature of carrier landings. Everything has to be spot on. There is little margin for error especially if you have the realism settings set at HIGH etc.

You may think I am being 'too picky' for commenting on the landings but this is the way an LSO will look at them in the real world - the comments are meant to help you get back to the 'perfect pass'. Overall they look like very good carrier landings but the detail can get you every time. For example one pass is slightly left of centreline coming back to the right but with the aircraft lined up on the axial deck, another crashworthy scenario.

My recommendation would be to use the realism set in the middle and fly your good approaches well below the maximum AUW/fuel onboard and fly accurately without the last second 'drop nose to land'. Otherwise this is known as 'deck spotting'. By this I mean a pilot can fly the ball but at the last second stop looking at the ball to look at the deck. The aircraft will appear to be TOO HIGH so the pilot reduces power and drops nose to land - bad. However if you can see the ball well which you are doing obviously then keep that going all the way to touchdown. Deck spotting is fatal.

With Optimum angle of attack the airspeed for the AUW is giving the accurate airspeed and aircraft attitude for touchdown / arrest. Keeping accurate lineup without drift is important also. I'm sure you will be able to do good landings from what I have seen in the video. Great videos and thanks for posting them.

Remember to anticipate all control inputs. Making a large correction close to touchdown is not a good idea.

[Razgriz]

Watch in HD

That's exactly how I'd land on a carrier, and it works perfectly fine for me.

[SpazSinbad]

Razgriz, I guess I'll have to make some carrier landing videos soon.  At moment I'm working on making an A4G Skyhawk PDF to upload to a free download website. Because it is large the 'file resaving process' takes 10-15 minutes so I surf the web waiting for the endless resave to finish (can't work on anything much due to process also taking over computer but surfing OK in tandem).

Looking at your landings on a field is not the same as carrier landings. Why? There is no meatball to follow for glideslope with your eyeball not perhaps being accurate for what it might look like. For example with a small 'FCLP' runway (being short) there is an illusion about glideslope information to the pilot compared to looking at a conventional length runway. I think I posted info from online about this in another thread but I'll repost the URL here: http://aeromedical.org/Articles/a&l.html

Even though your HD video is good value it is not set up like the marvellous video(s) supplied by Hanimichal for the carrier landings. I'm impressed by that setup and will have to try to improve on it (soon). The carrier landings shown must be more precise than field landings - no question.

Without the hook down in the field landings the AoA indexer is more or less unusable. The long delay during the blinking AoA shown will kill anyone for a carrier landing (with hook up). I do my FCLP with hook down. I wish there was a way to stop the blinking AoA indexer for 'hook up' FCLP.

In effect the field landings shown are in no way like a carrier landing for reasons described. Going on the engine sounds can be misleading but just looking at the videos for the 'flared' landings on the runway it looks to me like you are doing such landings. However I acknowledge that looking at what is shown can be misleading so don't jump on me. That is the problem doing FCLP without a mirror.

When I do FCLP at NAS Nowra there is a VASI (I think that is what it is but may have misnamed it). I use it as a guide with all four red lights showing (for the particular approach to Runway 26 at NAS Nowra). So when one yellow light shows I know I am high. How do I know I'm low? Good question. The runways at Nowra are very bumpy (big ups and downs) so when you see my FCLP videos (just rough ones for the sake of making a video - not to show a perfect FCLP pass - why? because there is no mirror) at FileFront you will understand why they appear that way. There are a lot of test Goshawk videos there also. It is a great aircraft (freeware) to learn how to use the AoA indexer in a strong wind down the runway for FCLP.

There are also test videos for an A4K KAHU Skyhawk (with a terrific see through HUD) under development by some Kiwis. Use the "Download NOW" yellow text button to get the .WMV version rather than any lesser quality .FLV version (processed by FileFront).

http://hosted.filefront.com/SpazSinbad/2366980
&
http://hosted.filefront.com/SpazSinbad/2116553

There are lot of various test videos in these folders but none are for carrier landings. Why? Because the testing is for the aircraft concerned and not for carrier landings. One day I'll get around to setting up properly for making videos in that environment. Some of the landings are hilarious because the airfield at Nowra is on a tabletop so that an approach can be made 'under' the runway 26 up a gully (which causes an horrific downdraught in strong westerly winds). My A4G PDFs explain it all. :-)

http://files.filefront.com/1GB+A4G+ONLY+15apr09pdf/;13602748;/fileinfo.html (1GB PDF)

I might add that in FSX it is difficult to carrier land for various reasons to do with the artificial restrictions imposed by the simulator itself (with the size of any computer screen not being large enough for the task). Field landings are always going to be easier because long large runways are easier to see at a distance compared to a very small carrier deck. I'll post a series of pics soon from a USN real carrier approach so that the 'deck spotters' can see (from a distance) how to get setup so that when closer they can see the mirror but be well setup to land. That is the problem - getting a good start for a good landing using the mirror with all parameters, 'meatball' (approach angle to deck), lineup and airspeed (optimum angle of attack at lower than maximum carrier landing all up weight) being correct.