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Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
Aerosoft F-14 Tomcat - RELEASED
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DaveB
Charter Member
Hello Mate
Reading of your problems, I thought I'd give it a go myself. Being one of the great unwashed who bought this set 90% for the carrier and 10% for the F14, I've not spent a great deal of time in the F14 (shoddy I know as this is a stunning model). I can't recall having 'worked' her before on carrier ops so I read the manual (fascinating as Mr Spock would say). Having trapped.. I had the manual open at the relevant section and followed it as best I could. First thing that didn't appear to work for me was shift+w to crouch the nose leg although I have to say it looked pretty crouched. I tried this a few times with no visual indication anything had happened. Anywho.. NWS was working so I'd been able to get to the cat ok. Shift+i got me into launch mode though looking at the manual now.. I guess I should have used shift+l. It was all getting busy and I didn't want a telling off. I only did this a few moments ago and already I can't remember if I did actually hit shift+l too
Whatever.. she pulled down and the blast deflectors came up so I presumed all was good. Got a telling off for not being at zone 5 (I thought I was) so pushed the throttles to the stop.. waited for the needles to bend then hit shift+spacebar. I didn't actually leave like a scolded cat but I reckon 150kts was up as I left the deck. I've no idea where the inlet ramp controls are but I didn't sink to the sea so got away with it.
The gear wouldn't come up.. I presumed I'd broken it but it did eventually come up with shift+g.. no, probably ctrl+g.
I love the Tomcat pilots briefing though to do it as 'natural' as he describes would take many many hours so I'll continue to blag it for now. All I can say is that it's worked for me though I have to say, not exactly as described in the manual. I may not have water rudder mapped.. I'll have to check. I'll also make a point of finding where the inlet ram controls are!!
Have you tried using it on any other carrier or just Kitty Hawk?
ATB
DaveB
Reading of your problems, I thought I'd give it a go myself. Being one of the great unwashed who bought this set 90% for the carrier and 10% for the F14, I've not spent a great deal of time in the F14 (shoddy I know as this is a stunning model). I can't recall having 'worked' her before on carrier ops so I read the manual (fascinating as Mr Spock would say). Having trapped.. I had the manual open at the relevant section and followed it as best I could. First thing that didn't appear to work for me was shift+w to crouch the nose leg although I have to say it looked pretty crouched. I tried this a few times with no visual indication anything had happened. Anywho.. NWS was working so I'd been able to get to the cat ok. Shift+i got me into launch mode though looking at the manual now.. I guess I should have used shift+l. It was all getting busy and I didn't want a telling off. I only did this a few moments ago and already I can't remember if I did actually hit shift+l too
Whatever.. she pulled down and the blast deflectors came up so I presumed all was good. Got a telling off for not being at zone 5 (I thought I was) so pushed the throttles to the stop.. waited for the needles to bend then hit shift+spacebar. I didn't actually leave like a scolded cat but I reckon 150kts was up as I left the deck. I've no idea where the inlet ramp controls are but I didn't sink to the sea so got away with it. The gear wouldn't come up.. I presumed I'd broken it but it did eventually come up with shift+g.. no, probably ctrl+g.
I love the Tomcat pilots briefing though to do it as 'natural' as he describes would take many many hours so I'll continue to blag it for now. All I can say is that it's worked for me though I have to say, not exactly as described in the manual. I may not have water rudder mapped.. I'll have to check. I'll also make a point of finding where the inlet ram controls are!!
Have you tried using it on any other carrier or just Kitty Hawk?
ATB
DaveB
The inlet ramp controls are just above the engine crank switch. If they are not in auto there is a good chance you are going to get a flame out on launch
A bit above that next to the gear handle is the Kneel switch that you operate before the Shift-I
At launch, rotate smartly to 15 degrees pitch and you should be off and running.
A bit above that next to the gear handle is the Kneel switch that you operate before the Shift-I
At launch, rotate smartly to 15 degrees pitch and you should be off and running.
DaveB
Charter Member
Cheers Joe Bob
I actually found the kneel switch while trying to get the gear up after launch. Thinking about it.. when I took off from Culdrose, the intention was to load up Kitty and 'land on'. Because of this, I left the aircraft dirty (gear down and flaps 1 notch) rather than cleaning up and loading Kitty.
I really must try and use the F14 more because it really is good. The only downside is that I much prefer the D and habitually go for that version.
ATB
DaveB
I actually found the kneel switch while trying to get the gear up after launch. Thinking about it.. when I took off from Culdrose, the intention was to load up Kitty and 'land on'. Because of this, I left the aircraft dirty (gear down and flaps 1 notch) rather than cleaning up and loading Kitty.
I really must try and use the F14 more because it really is good. The only downside is that I much prefer the D and habitually go for that version.
ATB
DaveB
Victory103
SOH-CM-2026
Cees, what boat are you using? I've never had any major issues with launch, if I did I just moved to a different catapult on Javier's CVs. For those starting out, you can cancel out the engine issue in the ACM prior to take off, otherwise get good at air starts if you are sloppy on the pedals. For newbs, suggest flying the "B" to have tame engines and HUD. Pre-start make sure the ramps are AUTO and the Throttle Mode/Temp are BOOST/NORM (not sure if these are even working). Highly suggest mapping your stick as well, key commands like the wing sweep, flaps, and NWS (needed for autopilot) make the flying less challenging until you get to the boat!
I'm using the Kitty or the Nimitz. Same result. A lot of useful information here! Wether it gets me catapulted? I'll let you know tomorrow. First I must get some sleep and then my pupils are craving for my lessons in Dutch language. 
Wish it was already weekend!
Night,
Cees
Wish it was already weekend!Night,
Cees
Cees,
The teeter-totter question should be, if you're locked into the CAT, does a green message bar appear when you try to launch? If yes, then it might be setup, and should provide a hint to the problem.
If the answer is no, then it may be deeper. Also, what version of the sim are you running?
The teeter-totter question should be, if you're locked into the CAT, does a green message bar appear when you try to launch? If yes, then it might be setup, and should provide a hint to the problem.
If the answer is no, then it may be deeper. Also, what version of the sim are you running?
One (major) issue is that there is an error in the latest complete build for FSX Steam. Instead of the Gold/Acceleration fileset, it installs the FSX SP2 fileset (e.g. carrier-incompatible).
To fix it; uninstall the current version and then install the Gold/Acceleration version, and manually point the installer to the FSX Steam directory.
To fix it; uninstall the current version and then install the Gold/Acceleration version, and manually point the installer to the FSX Steam directory.
Yossarian1943
SOH-CM-2025
Release of update is now planned for next Wednesday, March 9th. 
March 9th is a very official date for release (as things currently stand). The change list is pretty amazing, this update so significant for the AS Tomcat as the F110-GE-400 was for the real jets. 
With V1.20 the AS Tomcat has a place on the podium in the "The Very Best Fighter Jets for FSX" category. 
With V1.20 the AS Tomcat has a place on the podium in the "The Very Best Fighter Jets for FSX" category. 
