DCS World - SUPER-CARRIER DECK LAYOUT Training

[@Alex-yx1nu]

Served aboard USS Enterprise CVN-65 as a Blueshirt , Yellowshirt and Flightdeck Safety Petty Officer. Been flying the DCS F-18 for 1.5 yrs and having a blast every time I go up. I fly VR and when my jet is parked on deck , I get out and stand near angle to watch flight ops just like the old days. Flightdeck is most dangerous and exciting place to be on a carrier especially at night. After the Navy , I became an airline pilot and now fly a corporate jet. Flightdeck

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

That’s awesome. DCS really helped us connect with the old days and the mission! Our guy GALT is a retired weapons guy from the USAF and now an airline pilot as well.

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

I was an Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (AO2) on the USS Theodore Roosevelt from 86 to 90. Got out just when Desert Storm was brewing up. I was in the G3 Division of the Weapons Dept. which were in charge of the ship's magazines. Any weapons carried by the aircraft we supplied. We would break them out of their containers, assemble them, place them on the specialized carriers and ship them up on the weapons elevators and any unspent weapons would make the reverse trip. I was primarily air to air missiles and air to ground. I was one of 6 that had Maverick specific training. I also was QA and if they called down from the flight deck they had an issue with a weapon, I went up to fix it. Most of the time it was restringing an arming wire that got tangled up, they rolled too close to the island in the bomb farm and damaged a stabilizer fin, etc. Occasionally it would be a more serious issue like the seeker head of a Sidewinder had gotten smashed, the ARM/DEARM handle broken off because some gorilla turned it too hard. Going up during flight ops was a love/hate ordeal. As an 19 year old the excitement was off the charts, so was the fear. So many times I would be focused on my job that a taxiing aircraft would turn and the jet blast would either push me towards the edge of the deck, or roast me, or both. Controlled chaos. If your head wasn't on a swivel, you could easily die. Our first cruise we lost 3 sailors. One to an E-2 Hawkeye propeller, one overboard and never found and one to a broken arrestor wire. It snapped and killed him and cut a helo damn near into. So this module has a special place for me. It is very realistic. Makes me proud when I see it working.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thank you for this testament to the hazards of a Carrier Flight Deck...if you haven't seen it, check out this video where we got cleared down in 1995 to do a pass on the Lincoln during Southern Watch...we were cleared to 1000 abeam, 1000 AGL. Cheers, Juice kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5WbfWaMfMR9p5I

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP Will do. I actually don't have this module yet. When I downloaded the Syrian map, it took all the hard drive space I had left! There's a new 2 TB disk on the way, I will be back in business soon. First priority is the carrier module, then the F-18 Hornet, then Combined Arms, then.....lol perhaps I should have bought a 3 TB drive...

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

If you’re looking at moving DCS to a new driver, we have a video on that as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qny7e36CgtpkhJo

[@MACE1-1]

I've had the roast a few times on the ramp and hate it...

[@stdan3746]

My brother boarded the Roosevelt while it was deployed to the Med at the end of the Gulf War. He was a Master Chief (Red Shirt) and on that deployment he and his crew were the ones building the weapons. I had the opportunity to do a Tiger Cruise from Bermuda back to Norfolk when 71 returned from the Gulf War. My brother went out 3 more times w/ the Roosevelt, Washington, and Mitscher (DDG-57). From their he took CMC of Soudia Bay, Crete and finished out his career of 26 years. To you, thank you for your service!!!!!

[@brunofagulha]

When i was on a virtual squadron the training days i love most were carrier ops. Managing landing with a bunch of pilots in the air takes DCS to another level. Good times.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Was just listening to the Fighter Pilot Podcast and the episode on precision landing mode or PLM. They made a good point that CV landings and takeoff should be administrative so that we can focus on the tactical and when everybody is well trained and knows where they’re supposed to be and what they’re supposed to be doing it it runs virtually zip lip for smooth and quiet operations. Currency is the key iPhone with my guys as we can have somebody take a few weeks off and have to be retrained lol.

[@brunofagulha]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP yeah i know the feeling :) after awhile we started to be proficient as a group and was awesome too. It was given a task to everyone of us besides flying and that helped to the missions get better, our missions briefings improved, etc. We had hardtimes with some new people conflicting with the squadron but the CO always took imediate actions and the problem was solved. I recall that some training nights it was only me (XO) and the CO flying. Sometimes we put days of work in a mission and on the sortie night 2 or 3 cancelled in last minute and eventually messes with the mission dynamic. But gladly it was not common.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Virtual High Fives around right? It feels good when we do it...my favorite missions is where we all get off the boat, to the training or combat area, back in one piece and nobody crashed into the Fantail...

[@jamesc9001]

Great video. I worked the flight deck on CV-66 and CV-64 during the late 80's and early 90's. Great to see such an amazing and realistic tribute to CV Ops to include my beloved F-14a. (former VF-33 Roof Rat PC and IWT troubleshooter).

[@SeanJM013]

The 3 weapons elevators are Upper Stage 1,2 & 3. They only go down to the hanger Bay. The weapons are then transfered to Lower Stage elevators 1-8 down to the magazines. Can't have an elevator shaft travel through 10 decks(04 Level-7th Deck) not safe if there is a fire/explosion. Also the starboard side of the island is called the Bomb Farm and the port side aft of The Street is called the Hummer Hole for E-2D parking.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Cool. I hear that Ford Class elevators go from the magazine all the way up to the deck, using electric power and over double the weight limit of what they can carry.

[@jamesbevan9989]

Island is term for superstructure on a carrier but superstructure is anything on a ship above the main deck. Loved the video, found your channel and just subscribed a few days ago. Find your videos very informative, thank you.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thank you for the feedback and glad to have you onboard!

[@daviddewald4540]

I was deployed on the Truman last year as a Plane Captain with VFA-34 while we never lost anyone on the flightdeck, crunches (aircraft collisions) were plentiful even had a tractor hit on of our drop tanks on the bow. We (not 34 but another squadron *cough* *cough* 211 *cough* *cough* ) did lost a jet over the side in a squall (flight deck was secured at the time), in the same squall a H-60 rotor blade snaped injuring a sailor. Lots of good information you put out and most of it correct. The 5 wire (for the barricade) is actually the wire in-between 3 and 4 as you can see the barricade stanchions line up with it. A few more locations that were missed was the 1 Row and the 4 Row the outboard spots next to Cats 1 and 2 respectively, jets are parked in the 1 row in most of the pictures in the video. Infront of the island (port side technically) between the Landing area and the island, is the Helo Hole where the Helicopters are folded and parked as well as the forward and after Hummer Holes where the E-2s are parked. We called the Patio the Shelf but that is a east coast/west coast difference. Another tidbit is the whole deployment LSOs were aiming 10 feet infront of the 2 wire I don't know why but 3 wire isn't always the target, they also didn't have the 3 wire installed a lot either.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Cool. Thanks for pointing that Barricade out! Very helpful information!!!

[@StrongHarm]

FYI, there's a Steam game called "Carrier Deck" which does an outstanding job of showing the difficulties of managing the deck. It's a simple game, but very fun and informative.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Cool, I'll check it out...J

[@oxringoxo]

just as an added FYI here, launch orders by CAT are 1-3-2-4. So your dash 1 would launch cat 1, dash 2, on cat 3, dash 3 on cat 2, dash 4 on cat 4. If a cat is inoperable for parked traffic, or maintenance, you just supplement cat 1 in its place, as it is clear of all foul lines for approaching traffic in the groove, or those awaiting the trap from the marshall stack

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks.

[@oxringoxo]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP no. Genuinely thank you for great content.

[@charlesc7723]

Great video, lot of good information on things I didn’t know. Sounds like you guys have a organized group. That always makes it more fun. Look forward to more great content in the year to come.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks! Still lots more to discover and DCS is great because it keeps our minds working as we learn more about the simulation.

[@rwhunt99]

Well done. and keep up the good work it makes everything much easier if we know what to do and how to do it!

[@maxe7213]

Congrats ! Youre now at 10K subs !

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thank you so much!

[@TOMCATnbr]

Very informative and clear. Thank you 👍

[@nickgrey4136]

Brillant stuff. Many thanks dear Sir. Kind regards, Nick

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks for checking us out...call me, I have some ideas. ~Juice

[@nickgrey4136]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP Where would be best to call you ? Thanks Nick

[@wavehopper4183]

Really useful video. Thanks for sharing it.

[@belgeode]

Excellent Video, Juice!! Happy New Year to you and yours!!

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Same to you! HNY Bel...

[@droneexplorer9229]

Great video! For a covey launch its best to use cat 1 and 3 then 2 and 4. Reason is because 1 and 4 slightly angle in towards each other.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Perfect, thanks.

[@OllyDenning]

thanks for this really useful👍

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

🫡 definitely check out the super carrier operations guide by Peterras and former hornet pilots. Or just a superficial guy to get you started with the deep absorption rest with references. Enjoy the journey 😉

[@ALPHARICCO875]

Super Vidéo 👍 Happy New Year

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Happy new year and thanks for the like...it was fun to make.

[@williamt7557]

Outstanding video, Thanks

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Hoping it helps some of the new CV pilots and all the credit goes to my mentors Lex and GB!

[@pinkfloyd7572]

Really interesting video. I have the SC but don't use it to its potential. Might have to change that.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

It should be getting better soon when the developers finish working on the code and free up time for SC animation and art.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

VNAO has a good, well organized CV Ops Discord server...check them out. discord.com/invite/U396DT7j?Discord%20Widget&Connect

[@MrCanadaeffect]

PLAT cam is Pilot Landing Aid Television Camera. Not platform camera.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks...

[@TheChumbaba]

Very useful guide, ty

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Glad it was helpful! Simple information flow, easy peasy. It helps me, our AWG pilots, and hopefully others. Happy 2023. ~Juice

[@VFA-264]

Nice informational M8...

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

I try...but no fluff is my style...LOL. Cheers, Juice

[@luckoket3378]

very good

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@oldmanfunky4909]

An awesome resource! Thank You!

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

And you guys can always add to the discussion!

[@vgwalldecals]

I was attached to VA83 (A7E's) from 73 to 76. Did two cruises on the USS Forrestal as a Brown Shirt, first one in 74 the second in 75. The flight deck has to be the craziest place on earth to work. Not a place to be walking around with your head up your ass.

[@StrongHarm]

I was always... tumescent... while on deck. The entire time. I'm not exaggerating. 12 hours as a white shirt with a dungaree tent got uncomfortable. I knew I was in the right line of work though. What other (honest and decent) job can effect a person like that? If ED can simulate the deck to that level, they may have created a virtual treatment for ED.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

I would love a jet fuel scented candle for my sim play. What I loved about AF Flightline Ops and Deployments (perhaps you noticed it too) was that everyone there with me was there with a purpose...no spectators or slackers to deal with. Working with professionals like you guys that have worked this environment is something I greatly miss in retired life. For me, DCS helps remember the good times and some of the bad too...which in retrospect, were only bad at the time. ~Juice PS. Someone link me where I can buy that jet fuel scented candle...thanks.

[@StrongHarm]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP I'm right there with you! I've been out for more than 25yrs and I still breath deep when I can find a whiff of JP. I buy a front row table at the airshow for just this purpose. Billington farms has a "Jet Fuel" candle, but I've never smelled one... and it's ***Soy*** Wax so I question how good it could be. I buy Sgt. Wicks Man Candles. They have one called "High Octane" that's very JP. Some other scents I burn from them are Guns and Coffee, Leather, and Firewood. Good vet owned company. Yeah, you nailed one of the hardest things about adjusting to civilian life for me... and I warned my son who's now active duty. Working with civilians is a whole different world... and you can't blame a civi for being a civi (or Delta Alpha Charlie if you know what I mean). I still struggle all these years later. The good news I gave my son is that he can put in only 50% effort and still shine by achieving twice as much as anyone in his company. Can you imagine if the media and Hollywood featured the professionalism and competence of our U.S. Military instead of their "hard hitting" "anti-hero" "shocking exception" focus? They'd have so many good stories and this nation would be truly proud. A fella can dream.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

I tried jobs with clock watchers...but ended up doing my own thing in aviation real estate...retired from that to consult for Bohemia and Razbam/ED when they aren't pissed at me. J

[@Only_God_Is_Allah_SWT]

*In DCS, can you buy an entire aircraft carrier and use it to the fullest?* *Like, you fly Super Hornet, land and then go to the control room and drive the carrier or use its radar as a radar operator in the same mission?* *Can you assemble entire strike group and sail for example, to conquest of countries or sail it to fight some skirmishes?* *BTW, excellent video.* 👍

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks. DCS is my only flight simulator for now and I am extremely excited about the future.

[@debbiestimac5175]

Nice! Subscribed!

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Awesome, thank you!

[@debbiestimac5175]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP You are quite welcome, Happy New Year!

[@flyboy98753]

You actually can control the cut and wave-off lights from the LSO platform. They also have the option to select the deck lights but I haven't gotten that to work yet.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Great information! Thanks

[@davidabarak]

I'm not sure which ship was first, but at some point Nimitz class ships went to a three wire system, I think skipping number four. Apparently whichever one they ditched was rarely used. All of this stuff I describe was on Carl Vinson more than 35 years ago. We had one flight deck chief get run over and he lost a leg. The worst was when a final checker for an A-6 was blown between the Intruder and full power and a mis-directed A-7. He hit the jet blast deflector (I heard he was burned pretty badly), and that bounced him up high and into the water. He was alive - barely - when they picked him up. My only close call wasn't really all that close. We were the spare Viking for a night launch. (I was a SENSO.) The environmental control system in Vikings (and maybe other aircraft types) had a nasty habit of sucking in the jet exhaust from other airplanes. My eyes used to sting and water, so I'd loosen my mask and let oxygen bleed up into my eyes to mitigate it. But this one night that trick didn't work, and when it came time to leave the plane I couldn't keep my eyes open. We were parked in the six-pack so I was close to safety. I got down on the deck and fumbled around a bit for a padeye, but someone saw me, grabbed me, and guided me to safety. A little embarrassing. We lost one A-7 in a flight deck accident. Something went wrong and as it taxied from starboard to port before making a right turn to line up on the cat, there was no steering or braking. The pilot ejected safely and the airplane went over the side. ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXjShHaObrtnnNE ) One of our Vikings is in the video but I wasn't in it - I saw the accident on the PLAT TV as it played out. The only accident I was involved in was fairly minor. We were lined up on the cat when we had a "crunch," another airplane bumped into us. Our launch was suspended as they checked out the airplane for damage. There was none, so we launched... but the pilot forgot to release the parking brakes. All I could sense was a slight lurch to the right (I thought our wingtip brushed against another airplane) and then a slight lurch to the left. I don't remember hearing anything. Our tires exploded (heard at least as far down as the hangar deck) and the flight deck non-skid surface actually ate into each of the two wheels several inches. We got airborne with absolutely no problem. I remember hearing the air boss on the radio, "Dragonfire 700 (or whatever the side number was, did you have your brakes locked (or set)?" They had us land back on the boat right after the launch cycle ended - our spare flew the mission for us.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks for sharing your story and we’re so happy to have you here to share it. I’ve lost teammates over my twenty. Did you guys have to take the Barrier to get aboard after the tires incident? ~Juice

[@davidabarak]

@@AIRWARFAREGROUP Nope, it was a regular trap. Bumpy though. There was one situation that did concern me, though. One night we were in marshal, flying with another Viking. Either the TACCO (Tactical Coordinator) or COTAC (TACCO sitting in the copilot's seat once Viklings went to single pilot) looked over at our plane and thought the tailhook was drooping much lower than it should have. There was some discussion between the pilot, the squadron rep (tower flower) in Primary Flight Control (Pri-Fly) probably the Air Boss, as to whether we should land or divert to Perth (the latter was my hope!). It was decided we should land back on the boat. That concerned me though - if the hook was damaged and broke loose after catching a wire, we'd be too slow and too far down the flight deck to get back into the air, and the last thing I wanted to do was eject right next to the ship at night. It turns out the guy who saw the hook, new to the fleet, had never seen a hook in the down position in flight, only on the flight deck where the deck itself prevented full extension of the hook. So nothing was broken, we didn't eject. I probably ate a burger once we'd wrapped up the final details of the flight. Boring... thankfully.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Glad you had a good ending and were able to tell us the story. I love real-life adventures like these! ~Juice

[@JAR-STINGERS]

Great explanation Juice, enjoyed it a lot sir!

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

I love the STING tutorials myself...have a great 2023 Jar...Juice

[@raylemus72]

Good vid! Thank you.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks for the feedback…it’s not perfect but goes mostly off the guide manual. Check it out for more information. 😊

[@tommaxwell429]

Served on the USS John F Kennedy CV67 in the late 70's as part of ships company. Spent many hours watching flight ops-F14's at the time. Yes shipboard life in general can be very dangerous. But lots of practice, drills, training, yelling and it becomes 2nd nature. Flight deck ops are often characterized as a well choreographed ballet. And the most interesting part is the actors are often kids in their late teens and twenties. Prior to the USS JFK, I was stationed aboard the USS Belknap CG-26. There was a young LT JG on the bridge during a rainy night of operations in the Ionian sea. During the execution of a major maneuver he turned to starboard instead of to port and put us on a course to cross in front of the John F Kennedy. He recognized his confusion and called the Captain to the bridge who was able to slow the ship and turn her more to starboard which put us on a course going the opposite direction of the JFK. We sideswiped her passing under the angle deck which sliced off our superstructure starting just above the bridge windows all the way back to the fantail. We ruptured a fueling station and thousands of gallons of JP dumped all over the ship starting a major fire. 7 Sailors died that night and we thought we would lose the Belknap. Several ships came alongside in heavy seas to help fight the fires and evacuate the injured. I can still hear the crashes and feel the percussion of the ships pounding against each other during the night. We fought fires all night long in heavy rain and heavy seas. We were fortunate to save that ship. If you google USS Belknap JFK collision you can see some pictures. Ironically, I got transferred to the JFK after that collision and served out the rest of my duty on her. The Belknap was towed back across the Atlantic and rebuilt in the Philidelphia shipyards. Both the Belknap and JFK have been decommissioned and scrapped since. Witnessing flight ops was a highlight of my life I will never forget. F14's rule!

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks for the story. I love stories like these and hearing from fellow veterans about their experiences in their service. Googling it now. ~ JUICE

[@mcintoshdev]

When I was in the Navy in the 80's the saying was that the most dangerous job in the world is Night Carrier Flight Crew. Then followed by Skyscraper Window Washers with Day Carrier Flight Crew in at third.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Thanks for the input...cheers, and thanks for catching that statement. Our videos might be long, but they are filled with good discussion laced throughout. ~Juice

[@SeanJM013]

Have a buddy who was the Ordnance Handling Officer on USS GRF and was responsible for the turn over (from the ship yard to Navy personnel. He got ulcers as s result. I'll try to get some info on them(GRF elev).

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

See if we can find open source information to share. Google should have the information. I’ve seen a little bit already on video but it looks like the power source changed and the weight capacity went way up! Thanks.

[@Isimus]

Fantastic content. Many thanks for sharing with the community!

[@dcbc9619]

Great Info, Thanks!

[@ComdrStew]

One problem with the Super Carrier is the paint on the deck and a lot of real pilots even say this. The paint is not bright enough. You need a mod to make it look more correct.

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Sounds like something ED could consider adopting…post a link if you can, thanks!

[@SeanJM013]

The longer the deployment, the more dirty and faded the FLT DK would get.