Sorry if this is a "duh" question, but does the AOA indicator on the gunsight for those planes that have it double as something of an ILS type of tool for landing on the carrier? I see the lights on it changing as I try to maneuver into position but I'm not really sure what it's telling me.

I read zerocinco's carrier quals AAR and it sounds like the guage DOES give some useful info, I'm just not sure if I'm using it right. Does the top arrow mean "go up" or does it mean "you're too high"? Or does it really have no guidance properties and is really telling me my airflow AOA is bad and I'm about to stall?

I know the mantra is "practice until you're blue in the face, then do it some more", and that's fine - carrier landing is supposed to be hard, but it does kinda suck if there's no way to know if you're on track other than purely eyeballing it. I know maybe it's just a shortcoming of the game engine, I just want to make sure I'm using any and all tools to help if they're available (the guidance lights on deck aren't functional, right?)

What it gives you is the correct approach speed. But since you cannot see to land, we usually punch off the cockpit view thereby eliminating the AOA lights. So I usually get a green circle, check the speed and then fly that onto the deck.

The arrows tell you what to do with your nose to hold your speed. UP arrow wants you to pull up your nose because you are going too fast...and vice versa.

I think you can get it in about 5 tries. There is no cheat but there is a realistic trick. You want to have one thing to do over the deck, hit the wires. So you really need to get everything else done by a quarter mile out. The means, gear, flaps landing, hook...and lights if you need them.

You will need to have established what speed to hold. Let's say it's 132 knots. That is the airspeed that gives you the green doughnut. Then make the pit go away. You have all you need on screen.

Hold 132 knots. Expect a lag in the response of the engines. Don't wait to see 115 knots before you give it a LITTLE gas. At 170, you will do a nice fly-by. In a few seconds you will have it stabilized. If you are prepared, you will make small adjustments. If you are making large adjustments, go around and come back again.

NOW... you have everything done. You can do all that 5 miles out but you won't like it.

Now the thing to do is exactly what they do. Drive it onto the deck. That does not mean "drive it" like a Buick. It mean "drive it" like a spike. Your butt is the main gear. Make it go at the wires. Do whatever it takes to make the airplane (and your butt) arrive at 132 knots on the wires.

SMACK!! You are down.

There are of course procedures for "just in case" with the AB if you have one but let's assume you are going to trap. That's what you do.

You cannot do that if you are chasing the airspeed, running the throttle up and down, or yanking and banking. You have to have one thing to do. Put your butt on the wires.

Later, we will give you Delta Sierra and you can crack a ceiling and grab hold of a bouncing deck n the rain...but for most landings just get stabilized before you can tell what kinds of planes are on deck.

Start with the Scooter, then the Crusader, then the Phantom, then the Intruder, then the Vigilante.

Piece of cake.

And the best thing is no matter how good you get you will still be nervous after investing 30 minutes in a mission that you are about to paste your face on the fantail.

And one thing I left off in all that above: The Sight Picture.

See what it looks like in the picture above? He's a little bit low, maybe, but about right. You can see that can't you. Well, when you think you are low in the game, it is almost too late. And if you think you are high, same thing.

You need to know what it is supposed to look like and make the airplane be there. This one segment takes a lot of concentration but it's also very rewarding.

See the LSO? Your indications of the proper sight picture are more important than gadgets.

Thanks zerocinco. I made 3 or 4 traps last night. They were ugly, but I stopped on deck. You're right, getting the sight picture is the hardest part. I tried using the "if the angle and aspect of the object you're heading towards stays the same, you're gonna hit it" method from a basic boating safety course I took. It isn't perfect, but basically if the length of deck that I saw was getting bigger as I approached the ship I knew I was too high, and if it was getting shorter as I got closer I was sinking too low. The tricky part is "how much/what angle should I see to begin with" in order to connect with the back of the deck. The landing area on deck seems to be pretty generous, I thought for sure I would overshoot the last one, but I'm not complaining.

Keep your eyes moving. If you look at one spot, you don't get the perspective. If you look around, the information just goes into the food processor between your ears and comes out as a correct reaction. After a while, you will know a 3-degree glide slope without a thought.

Again, that's what they teach in real life. Jet pilots do not read gauges or HUD displays. They glance at them then look outside. You "read" the gauge in your mind. Glance and put your eyes back to work. The information will arrive at the right place and your hands will react. Otherwise, jets are too fast to get ahead of.

If you have to think, it is too slow. Sense organ>lizard brain>fight or flight. By the time your brain issues a command to start cursing, it is usually over. It's why fighter pilots don't have to be smart...just numerous.