A-4E Skyhawk: Will it work with Supercarrier?

Hey! I'm finishing to prepare my entry in DCS, so far I've been unable to get the game to work with my actual graphic card but as early as I got the right cables I can mount the upgrade.

I only have one purchased module, the Mirage 2000 but I have the A-4E Skyhawk ready to fly too.

My plan is to buy terrain and training missions for the 2000 first (Nevada Test and Training Range, Red Flag Campaign) but if I was to purchase the Supercarrier module, will I be able to start training with the A4E before I get something more advanced?

Thanks!

I’d doubt it. IRL, the A4 used a bridle, not a nose gear launch bar. That’s why the older carriers have a extension off the front of the catapult to catch the bridle.

You could trap, but no way to hook up and launch.

F4 also used a bridle.

In DCS I think it can, not tried it tho.

Is that something that would be retrofittable?

They would need to make the attachment 3d model.

The super carrier module does not have the sponsons or whatever they are called that protrude off of the end of the catapults for bridle launched aircraft, since those aircraft have long since been retired. Would look ridiculous and for all of the purists here this would cause much ruminating and whining.

All those did was to catch the cable so it can be reused.

The super carrier module does not have the sponsons or whatever they are called that protrude off of the end of the catapults for bridle launched aircraft, since those aircraft have long since been retired. Would look ridiculous and for all of the purists here this would cause much ruminating and whining.

Bridal catchers is what you are talking about. Yup, totally different, and ancient way of doing business.

Have to wait for Heat Blur to release their carrier.

You can actually see F-4s and A-4s being hooked up for launch in this video.

I tried it yesterday.

The A-4 can land but it wont hook up to the catapult.

Thanks, guys for all your replies.

@DerVulf: It might not need to physically hook up for launching...

I've been looking into it myself obviously and saw this Youtube video from Grim Reapers.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgD-iReH3sg

I'm quite familiar with the difference between the two systems since our Aeronaval had to go from one to the other with the introduction of the CDG, and the F8-FN was phased out.

But apparently, the A4 could be launched from a carrier, at least the USS John C. Stennis as is the case in this video, unless changes to the game made it impossible since this video was released.

I will be investigating further because, contacting support, because I just can't afford an F-18 right now.

I still work at my PC upgrade and the next move will be to double the RAM, after a new graphic card, HOTAS, 8' screen as radar repeater, it's a lot of investment to make in a short time.

My priorities will be to make what modules I have useable, so, terrain and missions are a must, and it would be a pity if I couldn't train for carrier Ops with an A-4.

I'll keep you posted, If anything new comes from support (settings or mods) I'll let you know.

Fly safe!

The A-4E can still launch from Stennis, trap, launch again. It even has the new FLOLS overlay when you're in the groove. I did a little video last night - will post later. The problem is that there's no way to communicate with Stennis. The only radio menu options are to talk to the ground crew after you land, and they simply ignore you. I'll try today with the new supercarriers and let you know if I managed to get it to work.

Let me try again, since my question was apparently misunderstood. I'm not interested in the game, obviously they can do whatever they're coded to do.

I was asking : is a bridle style undercarriage easily retrofitted to a launchbar style undercarriage? On a real plane, not in the game

I seriously doubt that it would be practical to retrofit launch gear. It would be a design consideration from the outset, considering the sorts of load that would be exerted when launching.

Keep in mind that it took over two decades after the introduction of nose-tow aircraft for bridle launched aircraft to be completely gone from the decks of US carriers. If it could have been done at reasonable cost, it would have been.

The A-4E can still launch from Stennis, trap, launch again. It even has the new FLOLS overlay when you're in the groove. I did a little video last night - will post later. The problem is that there's no way to communicate with Stennis. The only radio menu options are to talk to the ground crew after you land, and they simply ignore you. I'll try today with the new supercarriers and let you know if I managed to get it to work.

Thank you.

For as long as I am able to launch and trap I'll take it until I can afford an F-18, meanwhile, we could suggest the developers of the A4 to make it fully compatible with Supercarrier.

Thank you.

 

For as long as I am able to launch and trap I'll take it until I can afford an F-18, meanwhile, we could suggest the developers of the A4 to make it fully compatible with Supercarrier.

That's unfortunately impossible, since the team would need an official license of the A4 and with that they could maybe become a 3rd party and get the sdk to implement all those features which are missing from the a4 like radio coms, etc..

You can also get the su33 which is an fc3 module (like the su25) to practice carrier ops and its also quite cheap to the other carrier modules. Just a suggestion.

That's unfortunately impossible, since the team would need an official license of the A4 and with that they could maybe become a 3rd party and get the sdk to implement all those features which are missing from the a4 like radio coms, etc..

 

You can also get the su33 which is an fc3 module (like the su25) to practice carrier ops and its also quite cheap to the other carrier modules. Just a suggestion.

I see... well I'll stick to my plan and Stennis will have to do for the moment...

I see... well I'll stick to my plan and Stennis will have to do for the moment...

Hey, Thinder, I tried the A-4E (v. 1.3) on SC and it sort of worked - back up until you're almost touching the JBD. Hold the brakes, full throttle, let go of the brakes. Once off the deck, you will sink towards the waves, but if you do it right, you'll be able to recover and fly on.

It gets much better, though! After I tried the above, I found the original A-4E-C thread. The developer has come up with a new beta version (1.4b12), and that (sort of ) works with the SC catapult, so no need for all that back-up-and-pray stuff I described above. It's a beta version, so it probably has bugs, but if you just want to practice SC shots and traps, you should be happy. The only issue I saw is that after lining up perfectly in the groove, the plane drifts significantly to the right. It's almost like the carrier is making a turn while you're 3/4miles behind. Not hard to correct, but a bit annoying. I'll post a video later to illustrate what I mean. I'll report it as a bug (wasn't there in v. 1.3), but I wonder if other people are experiencing this issue as well.

Anyway, happy flying with whichever version you choose. :)

Doc

My plan is to buy terrain and training missions for the 2000 first (Nevada Test and Training Range, Red Flag Campaign) but if I was to purchase the Supercarrier module, will I be able to start training with the A4E before I get something more advanced?

 

Thanks!

If you eventually plan on getting the Hornet as well, you should consider not getting the SC before that and keep doing it on the Stennis meanwhile. You'll get the SC for less when having the Hornet which probably is of benefit to you if you can't afford these at once.

I seriously doubt that it would be practical to retrofit launch gear. It would be a design consideration from the outset, considering the sorts of load that would be exerted when launching.

 

 

Keep in mind that it took over two decades after the introduction of nose-tow aircraft for bridle launched aircraft to be completely gone from the decks of US carriers. If it could have been done at reasonable cost, it would have been.

What about the A-6 and E-2? They both flew in the Phantom era, but also off modern Nimitz afaik. Did they have a ship borne alteration, or were those aircraft modified for longevity?

Bridal catchers is what you are talking about. Yup, totally different, and ancient way of doing business.

Last time I checked (been a while) the French still use them. Toss 'rm into the ocean; they don't have bridle catchers.

What about the A-6 and E-2? They both flew in the Phantom era, but also off modern Nimitz afaik. Did they have a ship borne alteration, or were those aircraft modified for longevity?

The shuttle could handle launch bars or bridles. IIRC some of the older carrier aircraft had hold-backs attached to the same pivot as the hook, but that might be my imagination.

I know they used frangible dog bones in the hold backs. Different technology than we see on the SC.

In any event, we get back into 1960-1980 and there was very little standardization. Different aircraft launched differently, and they just knew who was next and were ready for it.

Says the guy who never stood on a carrier deck during flight operations.

I played with both the stable version (v.1.3) and the latest beta version (v.1.4.b.12) of the Community A-4E-C today. Did some flights both from the SC and from the old Stennis. The new (beta) version of the A-4E works (sort of) with the cat on the SC, but there's no communication and there are at least two bugs I came across (see the video below). The stable version of the A-4E is wonderful, but only works with Stennis (though I did manage to take off without the catapult from SC). At any rate, here's the video for those who care to see it...

I had no idea it was that labor intensive for the Bridle aircraft.