etting
take-off and landings under your belt will go a long way
towards enjoying F/A-18 Korea. Even though the aircraft is an
extremely complex piece of machinery, getting comfortable with the
sequence to get it airborne and bring it safely back on the ground
can be easier than expected. Below I have outlined the steps for
those that just want to up and flying. Along with this sequence is a
couple of hints you may find useful.
Hint: Use the arrow keys and watch for incoming traffic before you take off. Get ready to leave just as they land. Flying over the top of their aircraft as you take-off will cause their aircraft to explode from your afterburners.
Once airborne use the Shift-C keys to talk with ATC. They will direct you on a heading for downwind which should be 180. Maintain 100% power, 460 knots at 2500 ft. Maintain this speed for 1 minute. Use "-" key to reduce throttle to 72% power. Turn heading 013 and maintain 170+ knots till you are ready to enter final. Once you are in the downwind pattern use Shift-T to talk with the tower again. Follow instructions for getting onto final. Drop in flaps with the F key, then use the G key to drop your gear. Line up on the run way, use Shift-T to get clearance to land from the tower, then watch your Chevrons and On-speed AOA right down to the ground. Be prepared to sink fast and hit the ground hard. They call it a controlled crash in the F/A-18 Hornet.
Hint: Don't fly this plane to the ground like you're in your local family Cessna. It comes in fast and hard. You actually feel like the ground it coming up to meet you. With the AOA and Chevrons centered you will think you are to fast and much to high to land. The aircraft will sink fast and land hard. This is how it is done. Once you can do this on the ground, you're ready for successful landings at sea.
Hint: After you have landed you might find that you hook the last of the four wires. This will set the nose of your aircraft looking off the end of the ship. Once you have clearance to taxi, be sure to hold HARD right rudder making a sharp turn as you power up the engines to taxi or you might find the nose wheel going off the edge of the ship.
Takeoffs are GREAT! Shift-t gives you contact with the "Boss" (Control Tower). Taxi to one of the three catapults on the ship and stop as soon as the nose wheel crosses. Set the brake and deploy the launch bar with the Spacebar. Be sure your launch bar indicator lights on the panel. Use the backspace key several times to get afterburners going, hit the spacebar and the Cat Shot will catapult you from 0 - 130 knots in under 5 seconds. Raise you nose 10 degrees till you reach 180 knots. Use G and F to raise your gear and flaps.
Hint: Don't taxi on that deck without permission of the "Boss" and be sure to use the arrow keys to look around before you taxi so you don't hit other aircraft. Also, be sure you have aligned on a catapult correctly before you try to take off. Afterburners will not get you up to speed faster enough if steam catapults are not helping.
