Carrier Ops (continuation) from MSFS

jmig

SOH-CM-2025
A discussion on what DCS modules to purchase developed in the MSFS 2020 forum. A few thoughts.

I agree that the Flaming Cliffs module is a great first purchase. The F-15 alone is worth the price, and I (think?) you may get the Nevada/Nellis map with it.

As for Carrier Ops, unless someone really desires the F/A-18C, I suggest the free T45C be used for Carrier Ops until you are comfortable with traps. The T-45C, at least for me, is a lot easier to land on a carrier.

If you prefer to blow up sh..stuff the A-10 (paid version) is an excellent choice. If you need a fast mover, look into the F-16C. It too is excellent at blowing up things, both in the air and on the ground.

I have the F-86 and enjoy flying it in the pattern. I have not attempted any of the addon campaigns.

If you like the WWII era, the new Normandy map is excellent, and I have both the P-47 and P-51 to go with the two WWII maps. I have never survived a dog fight in the P-51. However, the graphics of getting your ass shot off are amazing.

I do not have any of the former Soviet aircraft. Having spent three years on nuclear alert during the Cold War, I have no desire to fly any USSR aircraft, but that is just me.

I do have the UH1 Huey, however, I have never tried to fly it. so, I can't say much about helicopters. I have read, however, that the flight models are excellent.

Just my thoughts.
 
John (and All),

I have some experience with the F/A-18 around the carrier in DCS (and RW in the S-3A) and always use the "Missions" menu from F/A-18 and Supercarrier. There is a list of things I do and usually land in one piece. (I can list the procedure if anyone is interested.)

My question for John is how do you setup around the carrier using the T-45? Thanks.
 
John (and All),

I ...
My question for John is how do you setup around the carrier using the T-45? Thanks.

Jay, Under Instant Action, the T-45 has two FAM flight missions. One is day and the other night. Both will put you engines running on the deck. You can then taxi to the catapult and launch using the normal procedures.
 
Ok, thanks John and Jay for setting this up ! Let's see if i can make this my second home here. ;-)

Because of all the Controller tribulations (not really sure i will be happy with having to setup controls for each and every aircraft i want to fly. Seems quite redundant to me atleast regarding aircraft controls and other basic operations. It's not like there's an *option* to either use this format or not, right ?...) i have only been fooling around with the P-51 around the default scenery.( got to say i could do this for hours what with the fantastic Fly-By View and totally amazing Merlin Sound ! ;-). Since i don't have either the F-14, F-18 or T-45 yet i have only been aboard the Russian carrier with the SU-33 (i think it was...) Nothing much to see there so i leave it maybe for later.

I will now install the T-45 and see what's up on the Nimitz deck. In the videos i saw it looks absolutely stunning ! I did get the impression that the deck crew only help you with launching (which looks awesome!) but not with parking after trap ?

One general question about DCS if i may: AFAIK it's 'only' prop-/jetfighters that are available sofar, right ? Is there any sign of f.i. a B-17 or even a C-47 we might welcome sooner or later in DCS ? And re carriers what about a COD, Greyhound, Trader, Tracker or Hawkeye ? Anything like that in the DCS pipeline that you guys know of ?....

Thanks very much sofar, gents, very exited about it, can't wait for my first launch ! ;-))

Cheers,
Jan
 
Ok, thanks John and Jay for setting this up ! Let's see if i can make this my second home here. ;-)

Because of all the Controller tribulations (not really sure i will be happy with having to setup controls for each and every aircraft i want to fly. Seems quite redundant to me atleast regarding aircraft controls and other basic operations. It's not like there's an *option* to either use this format or not, right ?...) i have only been fooling around with the P-51 around the default scenery.( got to say i could do this for hours what with the fantastic Fly-By View and totally amazing Merlin Sound ! ;-). Since i don't have either the F-14, F-18 or T-45 yet i have only been aboard the Russian carrier with the SU-33 (i think it was...) Nothing much to see there so i leave it maybe for later.

I will now install the T-45 and see what's up on the Nimitz deck. In the videos i saw it looks absolutely stunning ! I did get the impression that the deck crew only help you with launching (which looks awesome!) but not with parking after trap ?

One general question about DCS if i may: AFAIK it's 'only' prop-/jetfighters that are available sofar, right ? Is there any sign of f.i. a B-17 or even a C-47 we might welcome sooner or later in DCS ? And re carriers what about a COD, Greyhound, Trader, Tracker or Hawkeye ? Anything like that in the DCS pipeline that you guys know of ?....

Thanks very much sofar, gents, very exited about it, can't wait for my first launch ! ;-))

Cheers,
Jan

Jan, It is not as complicated as it sounds. Most of the basic controls are standard from one airplane to another. If you set up the pitch and roll axises to your controller, they will work for other aircraft. Most of the controls that or commands that apply to one aircraft will apply to the rest. Where you will get differences is between specific controls. For example, the bomb arming switches may be different from the P-51 to P-47. Jets like the F-16 and F-18 will have different weapons command because they access the weapons differently.

As of now, the deck crew only help launch you. They may be some LSO radio calls, but I don't use the radio, so I can't say for sure.

Since DCS is a combat simulator, only aircraft with weapons capability (there are a couple exceptions) are controllable. Aircraft like C-17, B-52, or AI only.

Down the road...Razban is working on a F-15E, which like the F-14 should have an AI WSO. Eagle Dynamics should release the Apache soon. Dino is coming out with a DCS version of the 339. There is a free A-29 Tucano out there and a free F-22. I "think" someone is working on the F-4 Phantom, but I can't say for sure.

Be aware that Eagle Dynamics often releases an "Early Release". The aircraft will be half price and will have maybe two thirds of the weapons and systems operational. They then add weapons and weapons systems over a couple of years until the airplane is finished. I think it is a good deal. All the major systems work, and the price is right. To give you an example the F-18C just recently got ground mapping radar and the weapons which depend on it. You could drop bombs before, just not the latest smart weapons.

I hope this helps you.
 
Jan, to complete on nice freeware there are these:

C-130 with droppable loads: Discord channel:https://discord.gg/pZDB8X6r Latest version:https://mega.nz/folder/zJIDACSD#oqif8uEN1N2MNwIJAJ2mPQ
Fantastic community A-4C-E: https://heclak.github.io/community-a4e-c/
Pretty descent A-29 Tucano: https://github.com/luizrenault/a-29b-community

I was also annoyed to have to set up controls for each plane but when you dig into the details the official modules have you understand that it is important.

With all these you have enough to keep your hands full for a while. For carrier ops the ultimates would be the F-18 and F-14 but I would suggest to wait for a sale to get them as ED often have them. Train in the T-45 first, as a real naval aviator would.

The F-18 is the more complete module but the F-14 is unique in "atmosphere" and character. The AI RIO and his chatter alone is a hoot!
 
Good to see you all here.

John, I took a shot at the T-45, installed it, launched and found it a little "sensitive" (unstable) around the carrier. For a "free" aircraft, however, it is pretty nice.

I have found the F/A-18 to be very stable around the carrier (as long as you are flying in the envelop) and easier to bring aboard than my (brief) experience with the T-45. If you are really looking for a carrier "qual" you might want to check out the F/A-18.

In addition to the "free" / community supported aircraft mentioned, the A-4 looks really good and it is on v2.0 (so it has been in development for awhile). This is also a carrier aircraft.

I'm going to install the A-4 tonight and conduct some carrier ops. I'll report back.

Other free aircraft I know of are the F-22, the C-130 (Super Hercules) mentioned above, Rafale, Lockheed U-2, EA-6B,....etc. (go to https://forums.eagle.ru/forum/69-mods-and-apps/ to see a bunch of "mods" including aircraft).
 
Wow! Thanks for all the tips, guys, much appreciated ! :D

First and foremost i need to get my T-45 show up in DCS. I think i followed a OvGME setup tut to the letter but still no T-45 in DCS. I just plopped the T-45 folder in the DCSWorld/Mods folder to see what happens. Upon loading DCS a message appeared saying that the T-45 was not a valid file and therefor denied. Ok, so that's clear.

I then installed OvGME as adviced by a DCS mod install advisory. Here's how it looks after setting up the config and placing the T-45 folder where it should be (according to the tut) :

ovgmeset.jpg


Do you see anything wrong here ?

Must say i cannot find the VNAO_T45 anywhere in the DCSWorld folder. Should OvGME place it in the DCSWorld/Mods/aircraft folder along with the Spitfire, SU-25, SU-33, TF-51D ? It is not there....

Would love to hear what i'm doing wrong....

Thanks much !
 
Jan - I did my setup the way it is suggested at the A-4 Community webpage https://08jne01.github.io/community-a4e-c/ . They direct you to install file(s) to

C:\Users\username\Saved Games\DCS\Mods\Aircraft

I don't run Steam, so no comment re Steam, but this worked for me when I installed the T-45.

Last evening I did carrier approaches with the F/A-18, T-45 and A-4. The best experience (also most expensive) is the F/A-18. It has great HUD and HUD symbology (like the velocity vector) along with MFDs that are easily visible and can be configured to be of great help in the pattern (I use HSI and HUD on my MFDs). Its is solid in the pattern and on approach when properly configured. I believe auto flaps is one of the reasons for its solid feel.


The T-45 is difficult for a couple reasons. I find the HUD difficult to see, I am not able to get all information on the MFDs that I can get on the F/A-18 (primarily the TACAN indication for the carrier). These issues may be overcome with more use of the T-45, but my sim time is limited so that may not happen. The T-45 flaw that I can not figure out is that I landed it 2x in a manner where the hook should have captured a wire, it did not! There is a problem with the T-45 hook engaging a wire. For those of you that are going to use the T-45 you should investigate and sort out this problem before you get frustrated.

I did not spend too much time with the A-4. You do not have a HUD or velocity vector, so it is speed (indexer), line up, rate of decent, and FLOLS (or the DCS version of that). I was able to get the A-4 arrested on the second attempt. Once aboard you have to have differential braking because there is no Nose Wheel Steering, so I did not taxi around the carrier deck.

Last evening results: F/A-18 - 1 for 1; T-45 - 0 for 2; A-4 - 1 for 2.

Good luck all.

P.S. Forgot to say I use TrackIR which helps looking around.
 
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Ok, thanks John and Jay for setting this up ! Let's see if i can make this my second home here. ;-)

Because of all the Controller tribulations (not really sure i will be happy with having to setup controls for each and every aircraft i want to fly. Seems quite redundant to me atleast regarding aircraft controls and other basic operations. It's not like there's an *option* to either use this format or not, right ?...) i have only been fooling around with the P-51 around the default scenery.( got to say i could do this for hours what with the fantastic Fly-By View and totally amazing Merlin Sound ! ;-). Since i don't have either the F-14, F-18 or T-45 yet i have only been aboard the Russian carrier with the SU-33 (i think it was...) Nothing much to see there so i leave it maybe for later.

I will now install the T-45 and see what's up on the Nimitz deck. In the videos i saw it looks absolutely stunning ! I did get the impression that the deck crew only help you with launching (which looks awesome!) but not with parking after trap ?

One general question about DCS if i may: AFAIK it's 'only' prop-/jetfighters that are available sofar, right ? Is there any sign of f.i. a B-17 or even a C-47 we might welcome sooner or later in DCS ? And re carriers what about a COD, Greyhound, Trader, Tracker or Hawkeye ? Anything like that in the DCS pipeline that you guys know of ?....

Thanks very much sofar, gents, very exited about it, can't wait for my first launch ! ;-))

Cheers,
Jan

Welcome to DCS Javis! I have to say, you will love it. For carrier aviation, there's nothing that compares. Not even close. And if I may make a recommendation - F-14 Tomcat. It comes with both A/B models. And multiple A variants. And the U.S.S. Forrestal. Probably the best simulation I've ever flown. Down to the "walkman" tape player you can activate to listen to your favorite music on! Including the FFWD and RWD functions and sounds! A true 1980s simulation.
 
Good to see you all here.

John, I took a shot at the T-45, installed it, launched and found it a little "sensitive" (unstable) around the carrier. For a "free" aircraft, however, it is pretty nice.

I have found the F/A-18 to be very stable around the carrier (as long as you are flying in the envelop) and easier to bring aboard than my (brief) experience with the T-45. If you are really looking for a carrier "qual" you might want to check out the F/A-18...

For me it is the opposite. The T-45 is stable and easy to get into the groove. I am having a time mastering the F-18C. Landing it correctly is hard for me. I have over 2800 RL hours in military aircraft (mostly B-52 and F-4). I can easily land the F-15 (Easy peezy), F-5 (a touch more difficult because of the wind loading, the F-16 (just watch your decent rate at touchdown) F-86 (Speed on final is life). But the damn F-18, it is impossible for me to stay on speed. Every time I turn final, she wants to stall, I increase thrust so when I roll out on short final, I am too fast. So, I chop the throttles point the nose at the touchdown zone, almost stall again to the point a quick 100% then cut, cut, cut saves the landing. Not by the book! LSO would fill up his book with comments.

Maybe I should just accept the fact that I am USAF. :) Give me two miles of concrete baby.
 
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Jan - I did my setup the way it is suggested at the A-4 Community webpage https://08jne01.github.io/community-a4e-c/ . They direct you to install file(s) to

C:\Users\username\Saved Games\DCS\Mods\Aircraft

I don't run Steam, so no comment re Steam, but this worked for me when I installed the T-45.

Last evening I did carrier approaches with the F/A-18, T-45 and A-4. The best experience (also most expensive) is the F/A-18. It has great HUD and HUD symbology (like the velocity vector) along with MFDs that are easily visible and can be configured to be of great help in the pattern (I use HSI and HUD on my MFDs). Its is solid in the pattern and on approach when properly configured. I believe auto flaps is one of the reasons for its solid feel.


The T-45 is difficult for a couple reasons. I find the HUD difficult to see, I am not able to get all information on the MFDs that I can get on the F/A-18 (primarily the TACAN indication for the carrier). These issues may be overcome with more use of the T-45, but my sim time is limited so that may not happen. The T-45 flaw that I can not figure out is that I landed it 2x in a manner where the hook should have captured a wire, it did not! There is a problem with the T-45 hook engaging a wire. For those of you that are going to use the T-45 you should investigate and sort out this problem before you get frustrated.

I did not spend too much time with the A-4. You do not have a HUD or velocity vector, so it is speed (indexer), line up, rate of decent, and FLOLS (or the DCS version of that). I was able to get the A-4 arrested on the second attempt. Once aboard you have to have differential braking because there is no Nose Wheel Steering, so I did not taxi around the carrier deck.

Last evening results: F/A-18 - 1 for 1; T-45 - 0 for 2; A-4 - 1 for 2.

Good luck all.

P.S. Forgot to say I use TrackIR which helps looking around.

Thanks very much, Jay, particularly how to install mods ! :D

Took a little effort of course, i am a so called 'Flying Dutchman' so my Windows is in the dutch language so, to begin with, there's no such thing as a 'Users' folder at C:\. No problem because i have used that a lot (it's actually called 'Gebruikers' which means, yes, 'Users' ;-) But i didn't know that went on with 'Opgeslagen Spellen' as 'Saved Games'.. Took a while before the quarter dropped.. Also had create Mods\Aircraft myself but it turned out to work alright. Finally my T-45 turned up in DCS/ Quick Mission. Hurray!

The thing is though that steering the T-45 on the deck is quite problematic. Ended up between the fish most of the time. Also, at first the launcer recognised me but later on no more. (does it matter which of the T-45's in the menu listing i choose ?...) Atm it's just too difficult to line up on the cat because of the minimal nosewheel steering (there's no left/right brake available is there ?...)

Anyway, I spend a great time on the deck watching F-14 and F-18 launces and traps. Absolutely fantastic ! Already worth the price for the carrier package i'd say ! Wow!!

I found all the view keys to look around, also truly fantastic, but is it like we actually cannot 'move' around the deck ? You know, like we are walking ? Atleast i haven't been able to find keys or key combo's that let me move along the lateral or longitudinal axes. Actually i find this hard to believe, what with all the meticulous work that must have gone into creating this superb carrier model. Far above anything else i have ever seen in a sim !

Also, i figure selecting the T-45 day mission and then, at the Fly Menu selecting either the F-14 or F-18, is not the correct way to just enjoy the carrier ops on the deck. Both aircraft launch, do a circuit around the carrier and then trap and park. I can imagine we can also enjoy watching 'real' launch or trap operations where jets launch or trap one after the other ? Or is that too much to ask for ?

I'll give the T-45 another go but i do hope there might be left/right braking available. Is the minimal steering a known problem with the T-45 ? ( i can turn on a nickle with the P-51...)

Very exited i am on board the carrier now, i'm sure on of these days i'll get to launch as well one way or another.

Thanks a lot for your help, Jay, much appreciated !
 
Javis, there is a free camera option. Also you can unlock the camera by press LALT+F2. Then use the mouse to move the camera point around. numpad "*" & "/" moves the camera distance from the object, while RCNTL+"*" or "/" increases or decreases the FOV (zoom). You can even change the Aperture blur in DCS. The camera settings are truly mind boggling. The Carrier has some specific hot keys for points on the carrier deck, such as going to each CAT position or to the LSO station. I believe these are something like RCNTRL+F10 or F9. I don't recall exactly ATM.
 
Jan - For steering on the carrier deck you need to have Nose Wheel Steering (NWS). Assign the Nose Wheel Steering to a button on your joystick and when you push that button you can make sharp (sometimes very sharp) turns using rudder pedals for steering. If no rudder pedals maybe try assigning your rudder movement to arrow keys. Hope that helps.

P.S. John - I always prefer 2 miles of concrete. Back in the old days it meant shore duty, the "O" Club and a large, soft rack (double meaning intended).
 
Thanks very much, Jay, particularly how to install mods ! :D ...... the minimal nosewheel steering (there's no left/right brake available is there ?...)

Anyway, I spend a great time on the deck watching F-14 and F-18 launces and traps. Absolutely fantastic ! Already worth the price for the carrier package i'd say ! Wow!!

I found all the view keys to look around, also truly fantastic, but is it like we actually cannot 'move' around the deck ? You know, like we are walking ? Atleast i haven't been able to find keys or key combo's that let me move along the lateral or longitudinal axes. Actually i find this hard to believe, what with all the meticulous work that must have gone into creating this superb carrier model. Far above anything else i have ever seen in a sim !

...

I'll give the T-45 another go but i do hope there might be left/right braking available. Is the minimal steering a known problem with the T-45 ? ( i can turn on a nickle with the P-51...)

Very exited i am on board the carrier now, i'm sure on of these days i'll get to launch as well one way or another.

Thanks a lot for your help, Jay, much appreciated !

Did you turn on Nose Wheel Steering? (S key) If you have rudder pedals you have left and right wheel brakes under the axis commands.
 
jmig, surprised to read about your Hornet issues based on your background. I flew the 18 alot waiting on the F-14 to release and most agree the Hornet flies as if on rails, as a FBW aircraft should. There are several IRL guys that made carrier tutorials for the Hornet and many, many gamers that have as well. I would use the Lex series (former USMC 18 guy) for some basics. Maintaining AoA is key and just leave it there, since I'm not getting IRL graded, I also "spot" the deck by placing the VVI/FPM where I need it.
https://youtu.be/bLOZJ0tpzRs
 
jmig, surprised to read about your Hornet issues based on your background. I flew the 18 alot waiting on the F-14 to release and most agree the Hornet flies as if on rails, as a FBW aircraft should. There are several IRL guys that made carrier tutorials for the Hornet and many, many gamers that have as well. I would use the Lex series (former USMC 18 guy) for some basics. Maintaining AoA is key and just leave it there, since I'm not getting IRL graded, I also "spot" the deck by placing the VVI/FPM where I need it.
https://youtu.be/bLOZJ0tpzRs

I think there is something wrong with my Hornet setup or configuration. My problem is the VV is all over the place. Even Caging it seems off. It is hard to fly when the VV is in the top left them bounces to the bottom. I cannot keep the VV in the E bracket. So, I point the nose at the runway and use my F-4 experience to judge airspeed, descent, etc.

This afternoon I tried it again using a simple mission I made at Tonapaw. After two approaches and touch and goes, one straight in from 15 miles and the other a pull out of takeoff into the downwind. Both gave me the trouble mentioned above. I then went into the mission editor and change the aircraft to the T-45. No problems. VV and E bracket worked as expected, and I touched down on speed. Took off and changed aircraft to the F-16. This one worked too.

So, I am scratching my head as to what can be wrong.
 
I find the Tomcat more responsive on throttle adjustments than the Hornet so I usually do better traps on the big cat.

John, have you tried ATC in the Hornet? It makes things easier as it automatically adjusts power to give you optimum AOA. You then just point the nose to keep the ball.
 
I find the Tomcat more responsive on throttle adjustments than the Hornet so I usually do better traps on the big cat.

John, have you tried ATC in the Hornet? It makes things easier as it automatically adjusts power to give you optimum AOA. You then just point the nose to keep the ball.



Yes, I have. It has made things worse.
 
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