How to Land on a Carrier (Includes non-naval aircraft!)

[Ska_King_Felix 1,450]

So this is how you land on a carrier with a naval plane (general guide):

 

1. Come in on an approach, lined up on the carrier from 3 km (1.86 miles) away.

2. Extend Combat flaps and reduce throttle to around 50-60%.

3, Extend takeoff flaps and reduce throttle to around 30%.  Extend gear, you should be about 1 km out (0.6 miles)

4. Extend landing flaps.

5. Land like you normally would, except at a slower speed and flare (pitch up while almost stalling, this will let you catch your tail hook on the arrestor cables).

 

How to land on a carrier with a  land-based (non-naval) plane*:

 

1. Come in on approach, lined up from about 3 km out (1.86 miles) and at least 300 feet above it.

2. Extend Combat flaps.  Do not reduce throttle until about 2.5 km away, reduce to 40-60%.

3. Extend Takeoff flaps, extend the gear.  You should be about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away.

4. Extend Landing flaps, reduce throttle to 30% when you are about 0.5 km away (0.3 miles)

5. When you are 200m away (0.12 miles), cut throttle to zero and use air brakes/dive recovery flaps if you have them.

6. When you are almost directly over it and at an altitude of 80-100 feet, retract flaps and hold down the Up elevator key.  You will stall right onto the deck at around 60-100 MPH.

7. Fire your guns, brake, tail wiggle, anything you can do to slow down.

 

In case of a failed approach (you have to know this by the time you pass 1/3 down the carrier deck):

 

1. Full throttle and WEP.

2. Nose at 0 degrees attitude.

3. When you get off the deck, extend Landing flaps.

4. If you haven't crashed yet, change flaps to Takeoff and try to keep in level flight (not attitude!) as well as accelerate.

5. Retract flaps once you are fast enough and try to make another approach.

* Note: VERY HARD with tricycle gear.

 

Good NON-NAVAL planes to practice carrier landings with (i.e., easy to land):

USA:

P-26's

P-36's

P-40E

P-39's (easy despite tricycle gear; however, they tend to break easily)

Germany (incomplete):

He 51's

Early Bf 109's

USSR:

To be filled out

Great Britain (incomplete):

Hurricanes (however, they don't roll for beans, and don't use flaps if one side has ripped off.)

Early-to-Mid Spitfires (harder than the Hurricane, but doable; they tend to ground loop on the carrier and slide right off the deck)

Fury series

Japan:

Ki-10

Ki-27

Ki-43's

Ki-44's

Early Ki-61's (almost as easy to carrier land as the Ki-43 and Ki-44!)

Italy:

To be filled out

France (incomplete):

D.371/D.373

H-75 Hawks

D.500/D.501/D.510

 

 

Keep in mind this will probably always be a Work in Progress due to changing FM's, notify me if I need to make any edits.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Ska_King_Felix

[Dominator48 408]

I suggest landing on carrier with land-based plane with gear up. Make approach like for the standard landing, don't lower your gear, and try to hit the deck as smoothly as possible and with your plane as level as possible in that moment. There will be some damage to the plane, but if done correctly repair time will be equal to rearm time (depends on crew training levels).

I have even managed to "land" on carrier with B-25. Broke one wingtip, but that was repairable

[xF4LC0NxPUNCHx 3,603]

It's entirely possible with land-based planes, both with gear up and down, though gear up is easier. I've done it with a B-25 too but using only flaps since my elevator had been shot out (don't ask me to do it a second time, though)

[Ska_King_Felix 1,450]

17 hours ago, Dominator48 said:

I suggest landing on carrier with land-based plane with gear up. Make approach like for the standard landing, don't lower your gear, and try to hit the deck as smoothly as possible and with your plane as level as possible in that moment. There will be some damage to the plane, but if done correctly repair time will be equal to rearm time (depends on crew training levels).

I have even managed to "land" on carrier with B-25. Broke one wingtip, but that was repairable

Some planes you can't belly land, unfortunately.

[Dominator48 408]

4 hours ago, Ska_King_Felix said:

Some planes you can't belly land, unfortunately

With fixed undercarriage, true. With floats - water is your place. Bigger ones (4-engined e.g.) - to big to fit. Any more?

[Ska_King_Felix 1,450]

He 162 (if they didn't fix the DM, see PhlyDaily's clip of him blowing up doing a perfect belly landing on a carrier in his 2016 montage).

[Dominator48 408]

Got it. I'm not that developed...

[Ska_King_Felix 1,450]

6 hours ago, Dominator48 said:

Got it. I'm not that developed...

I'm even less :P 

[KnightsCross20@psn 3,636]

On 4/7/2018 at 7:07 PM, Ska_King_Felix said:

So this is how you land on a carrier with a naval plane (general guide):

 

1. Come in on an approach, lined up on the carrier from 3 km (1.86 miles) away.

2. Extend Combat flaps and reduce throttle to around 50-60%.

3, Extend takeoff flaps and reduce throttle to around 30%.  Extend gear, you should be about 1 km out (0.6 miles)

4. Extend landing flaps.

5. Land like you normally would, except at a slower speed and flare (pitch up while almost stalling, this will let you catch your tail hook on the arrestor cables).

 

How to land on a carrier with a  land-based (non-naval) plane:

 

1. Come in on approach, lined up from about 3 km out (1.86 miles) and at least 300 feet above it.

2. Extend Combat flaps.  Do not reduce throttle until about 2 km away, reduce to 50-60%.

3. Extend Takeoff flaps, extend the gear.  You should be about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away.

4. Extend Landing flaps, reduce throttle to 30% when you are about 0.5 km away (0.3 miles)

5. When you are 200m away (0.12 miles), cut throttle to zero.

6. When you are almost directly over it and at an altitude of 80-100 feet, retract flaps and hold down the Up elevator key.  You will stall right onto the deck at around 60-100 MPH.

7. Fire your guns, brake, tail wiggle, anything you can do to slow down.

 

In case of a failed approach (you have to know this by the time you pass 1/3 down the carrier deck):

 

1. Full throttle and WEP.

2. Nose at 0 degrees attitude.

3. When you get off the deck, extend Landing flaps.

4. If you haven't crashed yet, change flaps to Takeoff and try to keep in level flight (not attitude!) as well as accelerate.

5. Retract flaps once you are fast enough and try to make another approach.

 

Keep in mind this will probably always be a Work in Progress due to changing FM's, notify me if I need to make any edits.

Nice list...don’t forget those planes that have dive brakes. They are a big plus. Hit the dive brakes just as you reach the stern of the carrier, doing everything you stated above first. I usually don’t even bother with my flaps. 

[TheElite96 5,839]

Nice and helpful, thanks for your contribution @Ska_King_Felix