Ermm, how can it be so easy

[Arran Chace]

Just made today my first Carrier Landing (dmg on, real time weather), in a CIRRUS.... came in low, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ betty screaming abort... almost level with the flightdeck, so way to low, aiming for the first hook, lowered my gear with parking break on, as i though this plane has no arrestor hook, prolly gonna dive right of the other end of the carrier..

But.....

I touched before the fist hook, and got to a complete stop, before the first hook, then opened full throttle and took off again, not using any catapults.

Then i closed the game, thinking.... This game is as realistic as the average arcade sim, as what i did shoudnt be possible (not thinking about procedures, as i prolly broke every rule for carrier landings possible), stopping a plane before the first cable, and take off without any help, in a plane not dsigned for carrier landings, making a stop in a distance of 10 meters or less..

Normal runway landings are way harder, and need way more runway for a stop.

Is it me, or are Carrier Landings waaaaay to easy in Xplane...

[John W]

I honestly haven't tried them but a lot depends on the aircraft you are choosing to do the landing. Remember that most fighter jets land at about 140 knots or around there. If you choose an aircraft that has a touchdown speed that is significantly lower your experience will be quite different.

[WeirdWizardDave]

I'm no expert but doesn't it stand to reason that a GA aircraft could operate from a much shorter runway than a fighter jet? What's the stall speed on a carrier based fighter anyway? Lemmie just google this, okay Cirrus Vision Jet has a stall speed with flaps of 67 knots, an F15 I couldn't find an answer but someone quoted the landing speed at between 190 and 225 knots.

Also a fighter is going to weigh far far more than the 1681kg of the Vision jet which is going to affect breaking distance and stopping power.

I'm pretty sure you could land a Cirrus on a real aircraft carrier without any trouble at all.

[Arran Chace]

Originally posted by WeirdWizardDave:

I'm no expert but doesn't it stand to reason that a GA aircraft could operate from a much shorter runway than a fighter jet? What's the stall speed on a carrier based fighter anyway? Lemmie just google this, okay Cittus Vision Jet has a stall speed with flaps of 67 knots, an F15 I couldn't find an answer but I someone quoted the landing speed at between 190 and 225 knots.

Agreed, my airspeed was low, bordering Stall speeds, but it seems that the game somehow treats the Cirrus as beeing fitted with a Arrestor hook, as i got a few more tries, and only can explain the short distances in landings by having a magical arrestor hook, and magical cables that lie before the ones you actually see on the deck in the game.

And yeah, i do believe in reality you can land a Cirrus due its low airspeed compared to a fighter yet..
But i dont believe you can bring it to a stop, before the first arrestor cable, with a distance of about 10 meters to bring it to a complete stop.

And i dont know if its possible even to get it without help off the deck flying again, but then its a small plane with a powerfull engine, and low takeoff speed, so maybe using like i did the whole deck, it might be possible too..

Still i disgress the landing distance without having a arrestor hook, and really as i said the game somehow magically adds these to the plane, and somehow have more grabbing points for the hook then that there are..

Got a few replay in case you want to see better of what i try to explain

[John W]

It may not be an arrester hook engaging, rather the landing gear catching on the arrestor cable.

[Echo Kilo]

You also need to account for the carrier's own movement as well. If the carrier is moving at 25 kts, and you are close to stall speed at, say, 70 kts, the speed difference between you and the flight deck is only 45 kts. Like wise during the take-off, the carrier's own speed will be added to your airspeed. It's possible that X-Plane has some sort of "magical" arresting system. Carrier approaches as well as the Space Shutlle etc. are considered as fun stuff and not intended to be totally realistic representation of the real thing.

Btw, back in the 1960's the U.S. Navy experimented with C-130 Hercules carrier ops. They did something like 20 landings and take-offs (without using arresting gear or catapult) from USS Forrestal.

[Arran Chace]

Originally posted by Echo Kilo:

You also need to account for the carrier's own movement as well. If the carrier is moving at 25 kts, and you are close to stall speed at, say, 70 kts, the speed difference between you and the flight deck is only 45 kts. Like wise during the take-off, the carrier's own speed will be added to your airspeed. It's possible that X-Plane has some sort of "magical" arresting system. Carrier approaches as well as the Space Shutlle etc. are considered as fun stuff and not intended to be totally realistic representation of the real thing.

Btw, back in the 1960's the U.S. Navy experimented with C-130 Hercules carrier ops. They did something like 20 landings and take-offs (without using arresting gear or catapult) from USS Forrestal.

Yeah, i am now convinced that X-Plane adds some magical Arrestor Hook to every plane trying to land, as i went back and tried to land a Twin Otter on the deck, and again same result, it stopped within 10 to 15 meters from where i touched the deck, just before the first cable thats shown on the deck..

I assume the graphical location of the cables and the location of the cable itself on the model where it "grabs" might be a tat off, in combination with that magical Arrestor Hook, but alas it does explain to me why a plane thats not designed to land on a carrier has such a short landing distance needed.

And true, its a fun thing... as like there is a Oil Rig in the Ijselmeer in the Netherlands and an Aircraft carrier in Den Helder, but i dont mind... Just was amazed how relative easy it was to land on that carrier with such planes, really thought it would be much much harder, like trying to do it with the Phantom, that i still havent be able to do ;)

[John W]

Have you tried to toggle the tail hook? Shift+Alt+q is tailhook down, Shift+Alt+w is tail hook up. X Plane probably assumes that you are landing a Navy Fighter Jet on the carrier.

[Arran Chace]

Originally posted by John W:

Have you tried to toggle the tail hook? Shift+Alt+q is tailhook down, Shift+Alt+w is tail hook up. X Plane probably assumes that you are landing a Navy Fighter Jet on the carrier.

Yeah, seems to be the issue, that the game "thinks" you are in a different plane, and somehow lowers a magical arrestor hook, after i read your comment, and used Shift-Alt-W and landed, i needed indead half the deck to come to a stop, what i expected.. Thanks...