DCS F-14 Case I Carrier Landing - Help Desperately Needed!

Precision will pay dividends.

Initial (flying past the carrier to the break): 400 kts at full sweep. Trimmed to maintain 900ft.

Break: 1.5nm - Deploy airbrake and chop throttle completely. Ease into a fairly hard left turn (don't just crank into it). At 300kts wings to auto. 250kts Gear down. 200kts flaps and DLC deployed. Leaving the break you should be within 1.4nm or less from the carrier in the downwind at around 800ft (to begin with if you're within 200ft +/- that's a good start).

Downwind: Aim to be at 600ft. You will need to trim a fair amount and constantly ease off or apply throttle to hold 600ft while trimming.

Turn to final: Try to keep it on-speed or as close as possible (faster is better at this point, slow will make you wobble like crazy). A slight descent (around 100-200 ft per minute usually, or keep the velocity vector just slightly below the horizon line).

Be aware if you add too much throttle in the turn the DLC will retract so it's something to be mindful of.

Keep the bank angle fairly shallow and keep referencing the carrier location. You don't want to have to scramble to find the exact carrier location when you roll out.

Final: If the final turn has gone well you should have the carrier in front of you and you'll be at around 400-500ft. If you are low just increase speed slightly and fly level, if high just reduce throttle and work the DLC. Don't dive for the deck.

Tips:

If you find yourself sagging in the turn and losing altitude just reduce your turn angle. If you're gaining too much altitude increase the turn angle (dip the left wing a bit).

Try and perfect each phase of the Case 1 so that you can do the same thing every single time.

Land on airfields the same way. Some times it's actually easier to learn the case 1 approach on a runway first.

Try not to get frustrated. It's going to take a considerable amount of time and no one can do this straight away, it's tough.

/r/hoggit Thread Link - youtube.com