In the overhead? I believe that depends on conditions and time of day. If it’s a Case I recovery, pattern is over the carrier and (if I’m remembering right) there’s 1,000 feet of vertical separation as planes start heading down to trap. All this is done zip-lip, aka no radio calls until… rolling out on final?
If it’s at night, you’ll have the AC’s (air traffic controllers) in CATCC will direct aircraft into the marshall stack, and landings will commence then, with each plane holding one mile apart, and with 1,000’ of vertical separation. (This was the only form of air traffic control in Jane’s F/A-18).
Lol, so the official release date of the 30th is, as I kind of predicted, the very day that I am hopefully going to be cleared to go back to work after my little mishap with a tiled floor. At least I will get the Persian Gulf to explore with the Harrier.
Of course they had to release the Persian gulf when I’m in a different airbase… well whatever.
Maybe I have time to teach my wife how to update DCS World
I think the active (i.e. not in the stack) E-2C (orbit offset a few dozen miles from the carrier) watches the evolution on radar and does any necessary radio comms to coordinate - minimal, one way stuff. Altitudes and marshal stack location are prebriefed…I think the E-2C gives the “push” call and after that its all timing…you wait a certain amount of time at each level of the stack…get to the bottom and then head to the boat…which you can’t see so your are flying the needles until…well…until you do, hopefully, see the boat…did I mention it was called “dreaded”.
I seem to recall that they would practice the zip lip part it on clear nights–less chance of running into each other or the spud locker.
I am right there with you! I have been sitting on butt for 4 weeks recovering from my Achilles surgery, and it would have been the perfect time to dive in and learn the hornet.
I just found out today (got that cast off!) that my recovery plan is being accelerated by about 2 weeks, which means that by the 30th I’ll be in full blown “catch up with real life” mode. Probably very little time for simming…
Good news in the grand scheme of things, but would have been nice to be an expert hornet pilot by the time I got back to work…
Taken by one of the STENNIS Photo Mates (PH) during the 2004 WESTPAC deployment…will DCS recreate the wingtip vortexes in the cat steam?…maybe i the first SP
I have to say…I’m Not that disappointed the Map is coming first,…I’m going to really enjoy some low level,roof top flying in The Huey through some of those highly detailed towns and cities.
I want to recreate some Black Hawk down Shniz. Smoke burning at each interection. Some CTLD fast rope insertions and lots of skinnies shooting at our poor little utility helicopters
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