Simviation Forums

Anyone got a consistent way of coming aboard in COCKPIT view ? HUD's easy, the LSO's not much use in cockpit view, lose a lot of missions with a bum landing !!! Jets especially dont think the LSO's rated on JETS !
Happ

I always fly from cockpit view, but don't often use jets. That LSO guy is a waste of space and I just ignore him. The only tip I can pass on for landing piston engine types is try and adopt a curving approach, keeping the carrier in sight as long as possible. Providing you don't crash into the back of the carrier, you should be OK as you can always do a go around if you are too high or too fast (as is my usual landing approach). Practice in the training missions in a number of different types until you can land them before you go off to war.

Practice practice. I got to the stage where I could land a Corsair on the deck of a carrier, in cockpit view at night. Believe it or not the LSO can be useful, especially when you can't see anything. Otherwise, just pay attention when he say's go right, go left, too slow, too fast, but always take his wave off's with a pinch of salt. I often landed anyway after being waved off by that guy.

As you say guys, practice etc, the corsair can be particularly difficult in cockpit view i find & if you've air-started a mission the altimeter can be way out in the corsair for some reason, jets are tricky on the small carriers ok on the big jobs Stennis, Essex etc.
Happ :-/

like everyone else said, it just takes practise

Yes, practise is the key. Here is a link to a on-line squadrons homepage, check out the carrier break pattern, it has quite good info about landing F4U (or any other ac) on the  carrier with the carrier in sight all the time, like they did in real life (and some other info also). It takes a bit practise to land like they tell you and I get allmost allways waved off but land safely and smoothly anyway (ignoring the LSO).  

It may help quite a bit if you make a mission (copy from carrier take off and landing) where you have a couple off destroyers work as turning markers. These help you to start the turns at right point.

And when you start getting your landings right add some wind to the mission to make it more interesting!  8)

I had a hard time too with carrier landings but as everyone else says, practice is the biggest key. The other thing I found was it helped to alternate between doing landings with chase view and then cockpit view.  Also, the F4F and F6F are easier to land  (not just in CFS2 but in real life, also.  F4U's were not even used on carriers until later in WWII.  The U.S. had too many accidents and confined them to land bases until the British later found a way to land them relatively safely on carriers).

the sweeping curve approach suggested by Hawker seems to be the best for me, the LSO is no good tho' it stays stuck in the flagged instruction untill you comply & then ITS TOO LATE !!!!!! nothing worse than doing a good mission then crash & burn
Happ