Maybe just placebo but it seems as if not just the carrier has greatly improved friction characteristics but the other Russian boats with landing pads as well. Helicopters don’t seem to slide around the deck anymore.
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Oooh!
Now THAT is news I want to hear!
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Well, just found out there’s a special function called “Wheel brake start” in the controls, with a default keybind of Lshift-W. According to the gauges in the pit, this function has a braking force of 200kg/cm^2 compared to the ~105kg/cm^2 the toebrakes provide. The Wheel brake start will keep you stationary untill the AB’s kick in, and I’ve been leaving the ramp ~20km/h faster than previously, guess I’ll have to restart the number crunch 
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So for dropping bombs in more than multiples of pairs I need to set a Ripple interval on the 33 (keys V + LShift V? for +/-)? I change the interval but can’t see where in the cockpit it indicates what’s changed. Am I meant to be using the ‘Salvo’ mode and then just hold pickle so they all drop off at once? The manual is pretty light on these details.
@near_blind we should do a coordinated MP Su-33 pure carrier mission, as in a fourship with two ground attack, two top covers. I suck at mission building. 
EDIT: Ok, so a LCTL+V salvo mode does the trick, although no cockpit switch animation to indicate that it was pressed, so you just have to count in your head I think how many times you pressed it. Would be nice if the AI wingmen would drop more than a pair sometimes as well.
done
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Set a time and I’ll be there
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I had ‘Catan family night’ tonight and it went on for ages due to offspring #2 building blocking roads like a crazed sheep fueled despot. I was jonesing pretty hard for more carrier highjinks though.
@near_blind - you up for MP Sunday night? (I be on as early as I can PST evening).
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I also will be on tomorrow night
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Yeah, i can be around for that.
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He guys I am doing some far less enjoyable simulator work in Denver this weekend. But I’ve been looking forward to a trap day with friends for years. I think the last time I did it was during the late Flanker era. So if a couple of you or more do have a go at it, an AAR would be nice. I am curious how the game now handles multiple planes around the boat.
As an aside, I am a bit disappointed at the underwelming enthusiasm for PFM on the DCS forum. To me this is like a brand new module–but free. And what better way to prepare fir the F-18 than to get good with something simple (startup-wise). Just shows we all have different itches to scratch.
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I will be around for tailhook time as well this evening. Although there is a new Star Trek tonight…
I will not. I am pulling an all nighter for inventory…yay
My guess is everyone is to busy trapping to be posting things on the forums I haven’t seen much criticism either.
I reckon @BeachAV8R will be keen on his return, so we’ll have to pencil something in for next weekend as well.
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And the weekend after that as I too shall live
One thing I didn’t realize until doing it a few more times tonight (so hopefully it helps others) is that the refueling autopilot is more a ‘nudge’ thing than a ‘hold against’ mode. What I mean by that was that once the refueling probe is out then the mode kicks in, so I assumed it was sort of like a force trim, when really it turns the flight stick into more of a ‘nudge to go up a bit, then release’, ‘nudge to roll right a bit, then release’ input. The refueling autopilot is just looking for single inputs and then wants the stick returned to center. Together with the auto-thrust (and the thrust inc/dec hooked up to a switch on hand) knowing that makes it significantly easier.
Now I just need to know what the lights mean on the refueller pod itself, as in, green for ok, but red / orange flashing indicates a bad closure/extend rate? The lights are for station keeping in terms of speed?
Also, on that last mission with @near_blind and @Fridge I should have looked at the F10 map to get a better mission brief, I’m just such a SP noob that I always assume that thing is off. It did feel good to be putting some of these carrier practice to a real mission.
Still amazing fun with Carrier ops.
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NATO has standardized refueling status lights, assuming they use a similar system:
Status Light (Dimmable)
• Red
− Dead hose/tanker not ready
− Flashing red means “emergency disconnect”
• Amber
− Solid amber means “tanker is ready”
− Flashing amber means “approaching inner limit of
the refueling range”
• Green
− Transfer pumps energized and fuel is flowing
Again, I’m making the assumption they follow a similar convention and could be completely wrong. If I’m wrong, it’ll be correct for any NATO asset and the Hornet 
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Cool little mission, took a bite and did pretty well. Had 2 disconections but was able to reconnect even during a slow turn. Is there some kind of refuel autopilot in DCS, as i read somwhere about it but in the end did it in old-fashioned “manual-mode”.
Also got some pics 
edit: Just read fearlessfrog post - so the autopilot engages automatically when the probe is extended? Wasn’t that already modelled that way in LOMAC? I rememeber after refueling I had somekind of autothrottle engaged which I had to turn off.
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Tanker Lights:
GREEN (alone or with any other light) = You’re good!
AMBER = Closer in than ideal
RED = Further out than ideal
FLASHING AMBER = Moving IN relative to Tanker
FLASHING RED = Moving OUT relative to Tanker
The Refueling Autopiot is a simple wing leveling autopilot and does not engauge autothrust as did LOMAC. It is not intended to help you find and keep the basket. It forces all deviations from level to be intentional and serves to make the process more stable. It isn’t a horrible idea just like the autopilot in the Ka50 isn’t a horrible idea. But the ideas don’t translate well to PC joysticks. In the case of the Su33 refueling autopilot, I believe it makes the process a tad more difficult, particularly while the tanker turns and the pilot is forced to hold a constant stick pressure to match the IL78’s bank.
The probe’s retract is on a two minute timer to allow ram air to purge the refueling line. That the nav HUD mode is stuck during this process is a known bug.
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The probe retracts right away without any delay for me. I think I’m playing the wrong version then (open-beta branch on Steam).