Classic British Flight Sim

OK, that defrag didn't take so long after all, so I've been below streadily working my way through my Hanger Deck...

First off I started with the familiar F-18... lots of thrust and very responsive. Also good as a benchmark. Here is a "fantasy" screenshot... an F-18 and Buccs on Ark's deck... if only she'd survived that long! :-(



I forgot to mention in my previous post that on the Ark you need to line up your nosewheel over the shuttle, the grey block that sits on the deck. That way the launch bar can attach properly:



The shuttle seems a little off-centre on the Cat though... can this be fixed??

One of my favorites (could be controversial) is the Alphasim Scimitar...



How could I have forgotton the excellent SkySim Sea Vixen as well! What was wrong with me?! Again, lots of power, which needs to be applied on short finals as speed bleeds rapidly in a tight turn.



I'm a huge fan of classic FAA jets... can you tell!

Something else that you may need to check is the location of the launch bar in the aircraft.cfg

For the SkySim FAW1 and FAW2 Sea Vixens the aircraft.cfg should contain something like the following:

[launch_assistance]
launch_bar_pivot = 13.6, 0.0, -5.9
launch_bar_lug = 17.6, 0.0, -7.2


The the Alphasim Sea Venom I use the following:

[launch_assistance]
launch_bar_pivot=9.75, 0.00, -4.42
launch_bar_lug=9.75, 0.00, -4.42

For the IRIS Phantom FG1 I use this:

[launch_assistance]
launch_bar_pivot=21.6, 0.00, -3.8
launch_bar_lug=25.6, 0.00, -4.8

Others may use different values of course.

Another aircraft that is carrier capable "out of the box" in FSX Acceleration is... Dave G's new FSX Hunter!

The slow response of the single Avon makes for interesting approaches! Also keep the stick back on launch, as the nose dives for the water!

Not been able to find the Ark......I have set 9.15am local and GMT times....still no show....?

Tried from Culdrose and Norfolk also.....The Ark is in Sim objects ok......?

:doho: Just thought of something.....it needs AI shipping switched on don't it...?

Don't say that in the PDF.....What level..? 20 percent will make it show...?

Gonna try again..... :brick:

Tony

I have my Ships & Ferries set at 25%, if that helps.

Andy

Cheers Andy......Showing now.....

The T45 Goshawk is a joy to fly on and off the boat also.... :roll:

Tony

Ahh, there's always something I forget to put in the read me!
The Ark should show with shipping set to 10% or higher, I've got my slider set to 100% and to be honest you don't get that much so it shouldn't hurt your frame rates. The other slider controls the amount of random boats and pleasure craft, these aren't on a route as such and their density is controlled by a combination of the slider and the population density so they're going to have more of an impact on your fps.
I'm off on holiday shortly, but I'll have a look at making the catapult shuttle line up better with the textures and I might make it a bit shorter as well so it fits under the nosewheel properly.

Cheers SB....have a great holiday fella....

Tony

calypsos wrote:Can somebody spare some time to tell me how to use the AI carrier system (and in particular the Ark) within FSX.

I can only use the F18 through an 'adventure' or whatever they call it, and then the change aircraft tab is greyed out. Sorry if this is 'old hat', I came to FSX (and Acceleration) very late!!!

To use the aicarriers2 package you need to have Java installed (Java JRE 1.5 or later ).

The aicarriers2 installer should add the necessary changes to the exe.xml file to cause the aicarriers
program to be loaded when FSX starts and to display a menu item in the in-flight menu bar.

To 'add' the Ark Royal to the list of default carrier configurations you simply edit the
aicarriers.cfg file, found in the folder where aicarriers was installed.

Once that is accomplished, you simply select the 'formation' you want from the menu list.
Select where you want it placed...1 NM , 5 NM or 10 NM ahead.
Open the menu again and select "Forward" ( I think that's it ) to cause the group
to begin moving.
Continue flying until you spot the CV(s) and make your landing.

The ships will continue steaming un the direction you started them in unless you
access the menu again to alter the course with 'turn' commands.

I always check the wind direction before I 'launch' a fleet, then turn my aircraft into the
wind so that the wind will be 'over the deck' once the ships are launched. This will
make landings much easier and more realistic.

Here is my exe.xml file showing the lines that are added for aicarriers.
That file is located in the same directory as your fsx.cfg file.

Here are the first three entries in my aicarriers.cfg file, with the second one
containing the Ark Royal entry. Note that I have several addon AI ships called
out for my formations.
The readme file that comes with the aicarriers2 package contains alot
of information and should be read after you make the installation.

Paul

Thanks for all that info, Paul, when I find a spare few hours, I'll give it go!!!