What do I need for carrier ops?

[DogTailRed2]

Hi,

thanks for all your responses and yes that UTube vid is the one played at Yeovilton.
I thought it looked a bit `fake` but is still exciting to watch in the Carrier exhibit none the less (if you have never been then do it!).

Regarding the FSX Expansion pack. What does it give in terms of extra functionality. Does it provided the cat and hook, is that the deal.
Or is there somthing else? I'm not too worried about missions or extra aircraft as I find the default FSX aircraft not very realistic and pretty near impossible to taxi.
Unless you like doing doughnuts all the time!

Cheers,

Ted.

[SkippyBing]

The Acceleration expansion pack gives you carrier ops to a moving deck with arrestor wires and catapults which are fully integrated with FSX rather than relying on gauge trickery etc. blast doors raise and there's a nice mirror landing sight. You also get helicopter load lifting, which is about a bazzilion times harder than in real life and air racing which I suck at! The extra aircraft are an F/A-18 Hornet for the carrier ops, an EH-101 and a race spec P-51. Oh and there's a new carrier.
It also includes SP2 which can make installing a faff as you'll have to un-install SP2 if you've already got it to install Accel.

[impearse]

I got the Gold Edition of FSX, which includes the Accel pack. had a play with the FA-18 and carrier landings, and gave up :-( Would like to have anohter go with a Sea Vixen or similar - used to see lots of them when my Dad was in the Navy and we lived in Rowner. Lovely aeroplane.

[DaveB]

Hi Ian..

The best Sea Vixen for the job can be found at Skysim. It's payware I'm afraid but I don't think you'll be disappointed by what you get. It's one of the few aircraft I can get onto Ark Royal time and time again ;-)

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[impearse]

Hi Dave,

I've read about that Vixen, got some good reviews. Alas, it will have to wait for a while as my pocket money is spoken for

[DaveB]

Alas, it will have to wait for a while as my pocket money is spoken for

Boy.. how I know THAT feeling The begining of the month and I'm still brasic from the previous month :-( There aren't enough days in a month for me to catch up!

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[DogTailRed2]

Took the plunge and ordered the expansion pack.
Hopefully I can uninstall sp2 and then install the pack without too many problems.
I'll post some screenies once I'm up and running.

[DaveB]

Hi DTR2

You shouldn't have ANY problems mate. Uninstall SP2.. start the sim.. close it down.. pop the Expansion disc in and away you go ;-)

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[sketchy74]

Alas, it will have to wait for a while as my pocket money is spoken for

Ahh so you are married too huh? Oh well join the club! LOL Only kidding! But to follow on from Dave's Point the Vixen is very good indeed.

[phixer]

Hi Dave,

I've read about that Vixen, got some good reviews. Alas, it will have to wait for a while as my pocket money is spoken for

Go on, go for it. You won't regret it. I have waited for some years for a good Sea Vixen sim, having been on 766 and 893 back in the mid 1960s when the Fleet Aire Arm was an air force. I have been enjoying flying this around the states, west and east coasts up and down the seaboards, using flight plans and IFR (that can cause conflicts at times especially on ground movements to parking wher I wish ground control would make up their minds whether to continue to taxi or stop for some traffic not even near my position) that I have not yet bothered to install Ark and do some trapping as they call it in the states. Trapping to us guys involved women! ;-)

I must admit to using the GPS which of course is a historical anacronysm but my excuse is that I don't have an on board Observer to do the navigation. There are no fuel transfer controls to monitor as would be the case for the nav'.

On 766 I worked on a wide variety of Vixens. They were not all the same. There were the FAW 1s and FAW 2, then the original FAW2 with an in-situe LOX charging pack in the belly - that would have been fun on a flight deck! The full Mk2 had LOX packs in the booms. There were also about three pre-tenth FAW1s with oxygen and air (hydraulic accumulator) charging points in different places and these could only carry the smaller capacity drops on the outboard pylons.

Later I was on board Ark Royal with 892 Phantoms when 809 float tested one of their Bucc's. I also was on watching and in the ACR getting some lads organised as crew whilst I carried out some engine test runs when there was this flap amongst 809 ground crews. Somebody had come in yelling that he could not find 03x and we all rushed out to look for him only to see the radome bobbing in the wake of the ship.

BTW Rowland White of Vulcan 607 has a new book out 'Phoenix Squadron' about the Honduras diversion in early 1972. It was an interesting trip that. Rowland visited me for a research chat and used 13 of my photographs in the book. I'll leave it to you to work out who I am.;-)