McKronenberg

Radar Intercept Officer VF-103 of vCVW-17 is looking for new Radar Intercept Officers The RIO is the fundamental element of the Tomcat, whilst the pilot flies the plane, the RIO communicates, navigates, uses the radar, builds Situational Awareness and so much more. Without a RIO the tomcat is nothing. The RIO is not just the support role in the backseat, he IS a vital part of the Tomcat. RIOs can make or break the plane; a good RIO can compensate for a bad pilot, whilst a good pilot cannot compensate for a bad RIO. VF-103 has developed a 9 flight syllabus to teach you the basics of being a RIO in a Mil-sim environment. If you've ever wanted to lead a plane, a crew, a section, a division or a Strike package into combat; vCVW-17 is the right place for you. If you enjoy Virtual Naval Aviation and an Organised Air Wing to be a part of, then join us now. We fly as realistically as possible whilst keeping a light-hearted attitude about it. We have a dedicated SNA (Pilot) and SNFO (RIO) Syllabus. We cover everything from Formation flying, CASE I Procedures, to Basic Radar Theory, Advanced Intercepts and BVR Timelines. You wanna learn how to Really Fly the Tomcat? JOIN US NOW! We fly every tuesday and thursday at 20:30 CET. After FRS Virtual Carrier Air Wing 17 will go through its workup schedule to then Deploy for its 2024 Cruise. Join our Disnullcord: https://discord.gg/kkyWJa7Fey

CVW-17 Flyoff ! Christmas time 2023 F-14 Bombcat!

Radar Intercept Officer VF-103 of vCVW-17 is looking for new Radar Intercept Officers The RIO is the fundamental element of the Tomcat, whilst the pilot flies the plane, the RIO communicates, navigates, uses the radar, builds Situational Awareness and so much more. Without a RIO the tomcat is nothing. The RIO is not just the support role in the backseat, he IS a vital part of the Tomcat. RIOs can make or break the plane; a good RIO can compensate for a bad pilot, whilst a good pilot cannot compensate for a bad RIO. VF-103 has developed a 9 flight syllabus to teach you the basics of being a RIO in a Mil-sim environment. If you've ever wanted to lead a plane, a crew, a section, a division or a Strike package into combat; vCVW-17 is the right place for you. If you enjoy Virtual Naval Aviation and an Organised Air Wing to be a part of, then join us now. We fly as realistically as possible whilst keeping a light-hearted attitude about it. We have a dedicated SNA (Pilot) and SNFO (RIO) Syllabus. We cover everything from Formation flying, CASE I Procedures, to Basic Radar Theory, Advanced Intercepts and BVR Timelines. You wanna learn how to Really Fly the Tomcat? JOIN US NOW! We fly every tuesday and thursday at 20:30 CET. After FRS Virtual Carrier Air Wing 17 will go through its workup schedule to then Deploy for its 2024 Cruise. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/kkyWJa7Fey

@_YaeSakura_

TARPS !!!

VF-143 and VF-11 2004 just after their last tomcat cruise, I am making both squadrons. Both CAG birds are in the works, and still very very work in progress. Thank you to @static_actual for providing the tail art for the VF-11 CAG jet.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3334464/ It is done

Youre Right I dont

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Hey, Kronenberg from vCarrier Air Wing 17 here. In this post I want to rant a little about the state of Supercarrier, about the changes that are coming, and give concrete suggestions on how to improve that module for us. To start off, here is a little bit about us as Carrier Air Wing 17. We have been around DCS since 2021 and nowadays we are an airwing with roughly 30 active members equally split between VF-103 flying the Tomcat and VFA-34 flying the Hornet. We try to simulate US Naval Aviation as realistically as possible in DCS and we strive to find a good balance between "milsim" while doing things that actually make sense in DCS. This means we're not super big on roleplaying and we will omit real life procedures if they do not make much sense. We often fly strike packages with 16 Aircraft and over 20 players. This means we will all load up into the mission, spawn aircraft on the carrier deck based upon our LSP (Launch Sequence Plan) and then, on event time, launch those aircraft. We simulate Cyclic Ops, meaning all event aircraft will recover together on the carrier deck after the Cycle has been completed. Another point before I start with my ranting: We understand we fill a niche in DCS, and that we are not the entire community (although there are other groups like us). I will talk about a lot of things that make sense for us and balance that with things that the rest of the community does. There are two things I'll talk about: 1. Ongoing bugs/Issues 2. Future features. So with 16 Aircraft that want to launch one after another will cause a huge amount of issues. First, we cannot even spawn 16 aircraft on the carrier at the same time reliably. While there might be enough spawn slots on the carrier, as soon as there are more than 4 aircraft spawned into the carrier we cannot reliably spawn in anymore. That means we need to re-spot the aircraft that are already spawned in. One of the bugs that we encounter a lot is when the catapults break in launch operations, or will no longer accept an aircraft. Also the JBDs can get stuck while extended. While recovering, the crew will return to the LA or catapults while other aircraft are in the system and on approach. This means if I taxi to CAT 2 to park I have to avoid the CAT1 or 2 JBD because the SC module will trigger the JBD. However, I will say: the catapults are better and have not been breaking as much since the last time I ranted (see this video). When it works we also love the catapult crew. It's a nice feature to have and it's really cool for immersion. Which is why it would be nice to be able to control all this as an option or menu item. Here you might say: "Okay guys, just spawn in start up and take off immediately - where is the big deal?" Well, that's not how carrier ops work IRL. We want to simulate proper launches and recoveries within a set amount of time (a cycle). It is our identity and seeing as it is literally how carriers have always operated IRL, we should be able to do it. We obviously realize that not all communities operate like that. But a good part of it wants to be able to simulate real life procedures. On to future features, and here is something that actually really scares us: The plane directors, specifically the new feature. They are obviously a really cool feature, but it is highly likely that they will not work for 16 planes. A lot of people bought SC thinking we can simulate realistic carrier operations. Instead we are getting “Super Carrier - The Animation”. If the Plane Directors are a feature we cannot turn off in the mission editor, or cannot control, we will not be able to use the Supercarrier module anymore. We want to be on CVN-73 not the Stennis and benefit from what works. Otherwise, our choices are to uninstall the Supercarrier in the wing or use the Forrestal and that would be awful. Here are the features we actually want in the Supercarrier. First, please give us custom spawn slots/positions (like takeoff from ground on an Airfield). This would solve a lot of issues we have with spawning in. We could put all our Tomcats at the stern of the boat, all the hornets in the Sixpack, no respotting needed. We just spawn and launch on time. Then you might say: "hey our AI routing would not work with that" - and sure that’s true, but the solution is make it an option in the Mission editor so that we can choose. We do not use any AI at all for our missions. Please give us the option to have custom spawn slots, and the people that do not want to have that, just do not tick the option in the ME. The next thing goes hand in hand with the spawn slots: give us an overall "Manual Mode" for the carrier. We have human controllers and LSOs every time we fly and we do not need the AI comms at all. It is beyond frustrating not being able to turn on the deck lights on without calling into the aircraft carrier with the AI comms. Or when the AI starts to talk after people bolter and then anyone else just gets talked over. In general the AI comms are just not useful to us, because the AI just talks on top of us. Basically, a manual mode for the SC features would be best. Custom spawn slots/positions (like takeoff from ground on an Airfield) and give us the ability to turn off the plane directors. This way groups like us can choose to work the Supercarrier on our own and without too much interference. Don’t get me wrong, we love the module, but I just want to put into perspective what is actually important. Primarily, we are just requesting features to be handled by ourselves so that we can choose to use the module in a way that makes sense for realism-focused groups. Overall we are just frustrated with some of the features that we have and that have been promised. And looking forward it does not seem like any of these issues are going to be addressed. Thanks for your work ED! TLDR - Here is what we need: Reliable Aircraft Spawn Slots: The ability to reliably spawn 16 aircraft on the carrier at the same time for realistic launches and recoveries. Custom Spawn Slots/Positions: Provide custom spawn slots/positions on the carrier deck, similar to airfield ground starts, to facilitate smoother operations without the need for respotting. Manual Mode for the Carrier: Introduce a manual mode for the Supercarrier, allowing human controllers and Landing Signal Officers (LSOs) to manage carrier operations without AI interference. Option to Turn Off Plane Directors: Allow the option to turn off the Plane Directors feature, which might not be practical for use with larger groups of aircraft, such as 16-plane operations. Fix Catapult and JBD Issues: Address bugs related to catapults breaking during launch operations and issues with the Jet Blast Deflectors (JBDs) getting stuck while extended.

And Finally after 1 year I have updated my VF-103 Final Tomcat Cruise liveries. https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3319743/

CVW-17s VF-103 goes dirty again nullnull

VF-154 2000s WIP nullnull

No Not Public

Just to expand upon @Harkers reply: IRL if there is no LSP (launch Sequence Plan) the aircraft launch interval is determined by the aircraft parking spots on the carrier. All Aircraft that fly in a days cyclic schedule are parked on the flight deck. Aircraft working together on the same mission might be launched out of sequence. This will require them to rendezvous when airborne. This is accomplished at a predetermined location, usually at the tanker, overhead the carrier or at an en-route location. The location is pre-briefed and often depends on what the mission will be. More often, jets will launch less neatly, and your lead/wingman may launch several minutes before or after you. In this common case, you would meet at the prebriefed point. For training/local missions this is almost always at the overhead tanker or the overhead holding altitude. However, for combat missions going in country, you would likely meet en-route. This can be done without spending much gas. For example, The aircraft launching first can do a 90 degree turn away from course to allow the following aircraft to catch up using geometry. This would then use the same procedures as a normal CV Rendezvous, just without a constant turn by the lead aircraft. When using the catapults next to one another, aircraft are normally launched with a 30 second interval, but could be launched together by launching 1 aircraft from the bow (Cat 1 or 2) and one aircraft from the stern (Cat 3 or 4). This is called a “covey launch.” It is important to note that covey launches only occur during Case I departures. Case II and III do not allow covey launches to take place. If the covey launch occurs between 2 unrelated aircraft. Then they will just fly parallel at 300kts and 500 ft and at the end of the departure each go separate ways. If the covey launch occurs between two aircraft of the same formation, then one of two things will happen. Most frequently, the Airboss will say “cleared to join” right after the jets are safely airborne and they can fly together. This will mean that it is perfectly fine for wing to accelerate and join up with the lead right away before reaching 7DME, however the Case I departure altitude of 500ft AGL will have to be adhered to. Less often, the Boss will not say anything, and they will join up after 7 miles. For practicality in DCS we in Carrier Air Wing 17 most often use the Covey launch with Aircraft of the same flight. That means we join up immediately after launch within 7 DME. We do not simulate Airboss giving us the cleared to join, because we always know who we are launching with. So there you go, the IRL Procedure and how we do it in DCS. It is important to take not that DCS is much simpler than real naval aviation (starts with the parking spots on the flight deck, we can park as we want and move on the deck as we want for example) as such we simplify things in DCS. I hope this was helpful and sorry for the long reply!