A good landing is one of the most rewarding parts of a flight. "F18 Carrier Landing II" from RORTOS is all about landings, but provides little instruction on how to accomplish them. This second tutorial will explain how to land the default F18 aircraft using advanced controls.

For this article we are assuming that you are already reasonably capable of landing the plane using simple controls; if not, please read the first tutorial.

Using the advanced controls you now have more complete control of the jet. Your controls now include:

• Steering
• Throttle
• Flaps
• Brakes/Speed Brakes
• Landing Gear

Check this image where the controls are labeled:

Each landing will start you in the air, at relatively high speed, at 5 or 6 miles from your landing point, whether a carrier or base. The first thing you need to do is slow the plane down. With basic controls just reducing the throttle was sufficient. With advanced controls cut the throttle to about 1/3 and also apply the speed brakes:

The speed brakes control must be held down, so keep your right thumb over it while you continue to fly towards your target. Continue holding until the speed is under 250 knots. At that point, it's time to start using flaps:

I use half flaps at this point as shown. Just tap the flaps control at the mid point and the lever will move and stay there. Watch your speed and continue flying towards your target. If you start speeding up use the speed brakes as necessary.

When cleared to land, put down the landing gear:

Just tap on the gear control and it will move and you'll have three green lights showing all three wheels are down and locked. At this time also go to full flaps (flap lever all the way down).

Continue towards your target, watching your speed and using the instruments in the upper left corner for guidance as described in the previous tutorial. Your target landing speed is around 170 knots but be careful to not go much below that as you will stall.

If you've done everything right you'll soon see a view something like this:

My horizontal alignment is not perfect but it's close and the green circle in the upper left corner says that altitude is right. In a few seconds the plane is down and snags a cable. At this point cut the power to zero.

Carrier and ground landings are now different in one respect. When landing at a base there is no cable to stop you. You must cut power, but unlike when using simple controls that is not enough. You must also apply the brakes until you come to a full stop. Use the same control as the speed brakes and hold it full down until stopped.

Tips: In a real carrier landing the pilot goes to maximum throttle at touchdown, in case of a "bolter". In this way, if the hook fails to grab a cable the plane can just take off again. If you bolter in this sim you've already ruined your score so the value of going around is questionable. Also, while the ideal landing speed is around 170, you're being scored on how quickly you land rather than how well. You can certainly land successfully at a speed well above 170. With practice you can also keep your speed up for a longer time on the approach and thus improve your score.