Cat launch line up cues ?

How do real F18 pilots know when they're inline with the shuttle for CAT launches?

Are there visible cues on deck, that they know where the front wheel is or is this all controlled by yellow shirts?

If this is the case, will we see something similar in the Carrier DLC ?

It's not really realistic jumping from F1 to F2 to make sure you're aligned, for lowering the launch bar.

At about 48 seconds you can see the director giving ques to line the jet up. About 1:05 you can see someone directing the launch bar into the shuttle. Takes a few people, and a ton of hand signals.

As it is right now in this sim I use visual cues from anywhere on the deck. On my first carrier session I taxied to a perfect line up with cat2 for instance. As I was inching in closer to the shuttle after it disappeared under the nose I switched to external view and continued a slow creep toward the shuttle. Once I was on the cat track I lowered my launch bar and let it creep up to the shuttle. I hit the toe brakes immediately, went back to cockpit view and tried to pick up any distinctive marks lining up with let's say a bottom of a canopy bow or whatever else works for you. I picked a hatch on the deck (touching canopy bow). I memorized these cues for every catapult. (not an easy task for my cranium :/) So... every time I taxi to any of the cats I manage to stop right on the shuttle without switching views. When I hit "U" command there is a barely perceptible jump letting me know I'm hooked in.

I hope in the near future a competent AI deck directors will guide me in, confirm my weight (I think they use electronic display these days?) and respond to my snappy salute from my VR "hand" and …

Hey Trev We must've hit post at the same time. Nice to se you're doing it the same way.

Yeah I know about the F2, that's how I've been doing it, I'd rather a visual cue that I can look left or right to know I'm lined up enough to lower the launch bar, and press U, for a more immersive feel.

Thanks anyway guys.

Yeah I know about the F2, that's how I've been doing it, I'd rather a visual cue that I can look left or right to know I'm lined up enough to lower the launch bar, and press U, for a more immersive feel.

 

Thanks anyway guys.

Well, that's exactly what we were talking about but it would probably be best to find these references yourself. Once you have them you won't have to use F2.

These are two references I use

I use those circular things on the ground. Find one thats lined up with the cat and use it as a reference. The front gear is actually lined up underneath the pilot seat so find the circle thing on the ground and when it's lined up with your side view from the cockpit, you're on that cat. I can't imagine what ED has in store for carrier ops after looking at this video:

Ppl have produced custom textures for the carrier deck. It would be nice if someone added a custom texture with some visual cues for lineup. Realistic? No, but neither is liking up a jet by yourself without any help from deck crew.

Will they be adding "pushback" vehicles for when you either overshoot out of error or lag past it while lining up on a heavy MP server?

F2 will not help you on most multiplayer servers as they will turn off outside views :)

Also if you use the above techniques and you have trackir, your head will not always be in the same space in jet even if it is in real life so make sure it's centered or turn it off to line up.

If you have a buddy launching with you on adjacent catapults they can spot for you.

Hopefully soon we will have ground crew to line us up.

That doesn't help the OP to determine as the pilot how far to go up the track.

 

OP, once you're lined up use F2 to taxi forward to the right spot. Then go back inside F1 and take not of the alignment of the canopy bow to the various red bordered hatches around you on the carrier deck. Repeat for all four cats as required.

 

Until ED makes with the live bodies on deck directing, this is the workaround.

OP's question was how it's done in real life. The video demonstrates how it's done in real life. He'd already noted right now he uses external views. In real life there are no visual ques. Pilots follow the yellow shirts. The reason every aircraft carrier has the rating symbol of the AB, the anchors with wings, is a not so subtle reminder that they run the flight deck. In real life a pilot who ignored the director, and followed his own visual ques, would have a short career. Same as the one who kept spotting the deck, and ignoring the FLOLS. I think we all get the fact this is a sim, and there are limitations. So as far as DCS goes, I'd say do whatever gets you hooked up. There's really not a right or wrong way.

In real life there are no visual ques. Pilots follow the yellow shirts. The reason every aircraft carrier has the rating symbol of the AB, the anchors with wings, is a not so subtle reminder that they run the flight deck.

Amen

Source: former US Navy ABH3

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Will they be adding "pushback" vehicles for when you either overshoot out of error or lag past it while lining up on a heavy MP server?

+1

What is the current protocol if you overshoot or out of alignment...exit mission and try again?

+1

What is the current protocol if you overshoot or out of alignment...exit mission and try again?

Turn around and try again...

Ppl have produced custom textures for the carrier deck. It would be nice if someone added a custom texture with some visual cues for lineup. Realistic? No, but neither is liking up a jet by yourself without any help from deck crew.

+1000

+1

What is the current protocol if you overshoot or out of alignment...exit mission and try again?

I was doing some landings this morning, where I would taxi around and get hooked back up, and thought I had overshot the spot, had guessed at it and when went to exterior view I was a little past it. Went ahead and lowered launch bar and pressed U, plane lined up and hooked up ok.

So if not too far it will compensate, otherwise if it is too far I just taxi around the deck and get aligned up again.

That's exactly what we're doing, trying to tell you how to teach yourself. Just telling you how to understand the visual cues you need so that you don't have to use F2 anymore. We weren't suggesting you have to continue to use F2 every time, just enough to get that calibrated eye, since there are no yellow shirts to direct you.

 

There's no "book" answer for your question.

 

In real reality the holdback bar will be attached before you're told to pull forward the last few feet and if it's in the slot correctly you'll be prevented from pulling too far forward.

 

Watch this kid at work:

 

 

You can probably see the kinda brass colored bracket in the cat track in front of the holdback bar claw. In the case of the EA-6B, the claw receiver (don't know the exact nomenclature) is, I believe, locked hydraulically. You'll notice several different size and shape holdback bars for the various aircraft.

 

Either way, that bracket prevents the holdback from going too far forward and the shuttle from going too far back. Whether ED has a plan for simulating to this level of detail only they know.

Thanks great video, very informative!

Push backs need to be a thing. I can taxi right along the scupper, and crank it 90 degrees into a spot. Just need a bunch of flight deck crewmen to run over and push it back tail over water.

One knows it caught, when there's steam coming from the rail.

No steam no throttle, or you'll just drop from the deck.

Push backs need to be a thing. I can taxi right along the scupper, and crank it 90 degrees into a spot. Just need a bunch of flight deck crewmen to run over and push it back tail over water.

We never did pushbacks for parking. You can ride the scupper and angle the aircraft just fine as long as you dont put the nose over the shot line. Only one time did we ever do a pushback to park a running aircraft, and that was because his nose was just over the foul line while we doing an emergency pull forward.

We never did pushbacks for parking. You can ride the scupper and angle the aircraft just fine as long as you dont put the nose over the shot line. Only one time did we ever do a pushback to park a running aircraft, and that was because his nose was just over the foul line while we doing an emergency pull forward.

You didn't have to deal with lag hopping lol. On a small server with 2-3 players and no asserts it's not bad, but on the mega servers even with 16gb ram and 150/25 cable myself and others will hop a little on the deck, and us a pain right as you go for hookup, and if your side by side on the front cats, no turn around room.

Ahhhhh,,,, I see your point