A few months ago I posted a request for help in figuring out why the nosewheel almost always broke off while landing the Acceleration F-18 on the aircraft carrier deck. Sink rate and speed were okay. I was puzzled.
One of the respondents suggested landing in a flatter attitude. I had been giving up elevator control after touchdown to lighten the load on the nosewheel, and I stopped doing this. Surprise! The problem of broken nosewheels went away. I personally suspect my technique would be fine in the real F-18, but I'm willing to adapt my technique to fit the flight sim. So, from here on out I make no effort to lighten the load on the nosewheel after touchdown and I'm getting consistent good traps.
Another discovery is that the carrier's glideslope lights are hidden on short final by a portion of the windscreen. By moving my head sideways a bit I can now see the visual glideslope (the carrier version of a VASI) on short final. Whee!
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