Carrier Ops in FSX

[falcon409]

When all I flew was FS9, I would say 50% of my flying was Carrier Ops based. I loved doing traps and launches, especially when, in MP, others were shearing their landing gears off on the stern or taking a dip off the bow, lol.

Now that I fly exclusively FSX and have been since about 8 months after it was released, I think I've only been on a rolling deck once and that was a long time ago. I would like to get back into it but with only the bare essentials to begin with. So I have a few questions:
1) Does FSX contain everything I need to be able to use any tail hook equipped aircraft without having to install half a dozen other addons to handle cable activation on final, trap zones, configuring aircraft to work beyond the default, etc.?
2) do I need addons like Arrcab or Carrier1-2 or 3 or whatever version it is now.?

Just wondering!!

 

[dswo]

1. Acceleration will set you up for carrier ops, no further add-ons necessary.

2. Treat yourself to Javier Fernandez's freeware Nimitz, which kept me busy all summer.

Beyond that, pretty much anything with a tailhook should work, including the Acceleration F/A-18, Dino's freeware Goshawk and Tomcat, and Piglet's freeware Skyraider.

The hardest thing, for me, is still finding the carriers. There's a freeware HUD that came out a few months ago -- it can be set to tune in the Nimitz.

I've also created a series of Nimitz and Clem carrier tracks with saved flights that start on deck; you can find them under my name, wilson-okamura, at flightsim.com or avsim.com.

If you want to land on WWII-era carriers, there are several freeware models. I've collected three of the USN ones and set them running around the Solomons in this thread: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/32831-Solomons-Carrier-Traffic-Testers-Needed. If you just want the download, skip the first one (it's off-line anyway) and go to the last page of the thread. I just put up version 1.3 this afternoon: the download includes all of the ships you'll need, as well as the scenery that makes them go. You just need to supply the plane. (There's one saved flight; it uses a recent freeware plane -- not part of my download -- by Phil Crowther.

 

[fliger747]

The CV6 Enterprise is a particularly nice WWII addon. Still waiting for a nice Essex! The one that Michael Davies was working on had terrific potential.

The Addon module AI ships allows one to place the carrier and control to some extent it's speed and course, aso has a where is the carrier selection....

Very convinent for setting up carrier sessions.

T

 

[orionll]

1. Yes, if you have Acceleration you should be set.
2. No need for other addons, but here are some good ones:

Javier Fernandez's Nimitz: http://flightsim.com/file.php?cm=SEARCH1&fname=uss_nimitz_ike_version2.zip
Larmont Clark (lc0277)'s AICarriers2r2: http://lc0277.nerim.net/AICarriers2r2.zip
Dino Cattaneo's T-45: http://flightsim.com/file.php?cm=SEARCH1&fname=t45cv185.zip
Dino Cattaneo's F-14: http://flightsim.com/file.php?cm=SEARCH1&fname=f14da106.zip
Jivko Rusev's improved HUD's:
FA-18: http://www.simviation.com/simviation/?ID=7181
T-45: http://www.simviation.com/simviation/?ID=7266
F-14: http://www.simviation.com/simviation/?ID=7302

If you're looking to fly some multiplayer carrier ops, there's usually a session up every Saturday using my multiplayer mission (http://d1.frostysoftware.com/2809/SFCarrier2.zip). We use Skype for voice communication.

There are also some mods for the default Acceleration FA-18 here: http://voodoo.wikispaces.com/AccPack+F18+Tweaks.

 

[falcon409]

David, thanks for the work you did on the Carrier tracks. . .excellent work. I tweaked the "flt" files to use the T-45 for Ops rather than the Hornet. I'll get plenty of Carrier time just using your setups.

Orion, the links on simviation for the HUD produce downloads with "0"kb. I've tried all of them and the download is an empty zipfile.

 

[peter12213]

Try flightsim.com for the huds Falcon, I think they've got them too!

 

[orionll]

That's strange. I just tried re-downloading them and they seem to work.

I believe Peter is correct, but I think Jivko only uploaded the FA-18 HUD to FlightSim.com.

Edit: Yep, only the FA-18 HUD. Here's a link: http://flightsim.com/file.php?cm=SEARCH1&fname=realistic_hud_fsx_hornet.zip.

 

[falcon409]

Yep, I downloaded that and tried to adapt it to the Goshawk, but it doesn't work. I don't use the Hornet.:salute:

 

[falcon409]

I think at this point, the only thing I need is the panel.cfg file for the Goshawk adaptation. I have the gauges installed, the switch panel pop up is in the cfg file correctly, but the actual HUD doesn't show when I use the switch panel.

 

[orionll]

Here are the important parts of the new panel.cfg for Jivko Rusev's modified HUD for Dino Cattaneo's T-45:
__________

// Panel Configuration file
// T-45C Goshawk
// Copyright (c) 1999-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

[Window Titles]
Window00=Main panel
Window01=Radio Stack
Window02=GPS
Window03=Minipanel
Window04=HUD Switches // <--- this adds the HUD switch panel

VIEW_FORWARD_DIR=-1.000, 0.000, 0.000

//----------- This is the full screen HUD; choose your preferred zoom factor for your resolution and WideViewAspect setting (see Readme) --------------
[Window00]
Background_color=0,0,0
visible=1
ident=MAIN_PANEL
alpha_blend=0.95
window_pos= 0.000, 0.000
window_size= 1.000, 1.000
size_mm=1024

//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 330, 230, 364, 712 // <--- zoom_1.5, aspect ratio 16:9 (e.g. 1280x720, 1920x1080) WideViewAspect=True
//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 390, 324, 243, 475 // <--- zoom_1.0, aspect ratio 16:9 (e.g. 1280x720, 1920x1080) WideViewAspect=True

//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 317, 211, 388, 760 // <--- zoom_0.9, aspect ratio 16:9 (e.g. 1280x720, 1920x1080) WideViewAspect=False
//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 339, 245, 345, 675 // <--- zoom_0.8, aspect ratio 16:9 (e.g. 1280x720, 1920x1080) WideViewAspect=False

//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 309, 230, 405, 712 // <--- zoom_1.5, aspect ratio 16:10 (e.g. 1680x1050, 1920x1200) WideViewAspect=True
//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 377, 324, 270, 475 // <--- zoom_1.0, aspect ratio 16:10 (e.g. 1680x1050, 1920x1200) WideViewAspect=True

//gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 317, 241, 388, 684 // <--- zoom_0.9, aspect ratio 16:10 (e.g. 1680x1050, 1920x1200) WideViewAspect=False
gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 339, 271, 345, 608 // <--- zoom_0.8, aspect ratio 16:10 (e.g. 1680x1050, 1920x1200) WideViewAspect=False


//------------------ This is the HUD switch panel (Shift + 5 ) ------------------------
[Window04]
size_mm=175,438
position=6 // 0 for upper-left corner, 2 for upper-right, 6 for lower-left, 8 for lower-right
window_size=0.125,0.500
visible=0
ident=10050

gauge00=FA18_HUD_Switches!Panel Background, 0,0,175,438
gauge01=FA18_HUD_Switches!Nav1CRS, 55,342,32,32
gauge02=FA18_HUD_Switches!Nav2CRS, 55,382,32,32
gauge03=FA18_HUD_Switches!GPS CRS, 55,298,32,32
gauge04=FA18_HUD_Switches!Nav-GPS, 75,120,37,74
gauge05=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD Clock, 45,189,90,50
gauge06=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD Steering Switch, 68,229,37,74
gauge07=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD Reject Switch, 35,13,28,28
gauge08=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD Altitude Switch, 35,53,28,28
gauge09=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD ILS Switch, 108,13,28,28
gauge10=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD Cage Switch, 108,53,28,28
gauge11=FA18_HUD_Switches!HUD Power Switch, 78,75,37,74

//--------------------------------------------------------
[Vcockpit01]
Background_color=1,1,1
size_mm=512,512

visible=1
pixel_size=512,512
texture=$t45vc

;1 = left DDI
;2 = right DDI
;3 = center DDI

//gauge00=fa-18!MFD, 36,36,440,440, 4 NOSCANLINES <--- this is the default VC HUD!
gauge00=FA18_HUD_VC_R!FA18_HUD_VC_R, 62, 0, 415, 457 // <---this is the new HUD