Global Task Force Overlord Knowledge Base

Carrier Landing Gear Profile

The F-14 Tomcat is configured with carrier-style no-flare touchdown evaluation. Pilots must fly on-speed AOA (~135 kts) directly down the 3.0° glideslope onto the runway. Do not level off or hold off into an extended flare.

Supported Airframes

This configuration profile applies to all Heatblur F-14 Tomcat variants in DCS World:

F-14A-135-GR — F-14A Tomcat (TF30 engines)
F-14B — F-14B Tomcat (F110 engines)
F-14BU — F-14B Upgrade (PTID / Sparrowhawk HUD)

Profile Highlights & Specifics

1. Carrier Gear No-Flare Evaluation (`flared_landing: false`)

Sturdy Gear Allowance: The heavy carrier gear allows a hard landing limit of -900 ft/min (compared to -800 fpm on land-based fighters).
Strict Float Penalty (FLT): Touching down with a sink rate shallower than -50 ft/min triggers the FLT penalty (-0.2 pts) unconditionally, reinforcing proper carrier landing technique on runway recoveries.

2. Widened Downwind Spacing (0.8 – 2.2 NM)

Because of the Tomcat's gross landing weight, sweep-wing dirty aerodynamics, and higher turn inertia, the lateral downwind corridor is expanded to 0.8 – 2.2 NM (vs 0.7 – 2.0 NM default).

3. Aggressive Bank Limits (Up to 90.0°)

Supports military overhead tactical break turns with bank angles up to 90.0° without triggering bank penalties.

4. Approach Airspeed Target (135.0 kts)

Final approach speed is graded against a nominal target of 135.0 knots (±15 kt window, 120–150 kt acceptable range).

Key Parameters & Tolerances

Parameter	Value	Standard Baseline Comparison
Pattern Altitude Range	`800 – 2,500 ft`	800 ft floor accommodates tactical overhead patterns
Downwind Spacing	`0.8 – 2.2 NM`	+0.2 NM wider corridor for swing-wing turns
Max Bank Angle	`90.0°`	Expanded from 60° for tactical breaks
Max Turn G	`3.5 G`	Standard load limit
Final Glidepath Angle	`3.0°`	Standard 3.0° glideslope
Target Approach Speed	`135.0 kt`	Evaluated against 135 ± 15 kt
Hard Touchdown Limit	`-900 ft/min`	High-capacity carrier gear threshold
Float Touchdown Limit	`> -50 ft/min`	Strict carrier-style float penalty
Touchdown Zone Target	`3.0% – 25.0%`	First quarter of runway length
Touchdown Lineup Tolerance	`15.0 m`	Lateral centerline offset limit

Complete Configuration (`F-14B.json`)

{
  "aircraft_type": "F-14B",
  "display_name": "F-14B Tomcat",
  "flared_landing": false,
  "pattern_alt_ft": 2500.0,
  "pattern_alt_min_ft": 800.0,
  "pattern_alt_max_ft": 2500.0,
  "downwind_alt_tol_ft": 300.0,
  "downwind_spacing_min_nm": 0.8,
  "downwind_spacing_max_nm": 2.2,
  "max_turn_bank_deg": 90.0,
  "max_turn_g": 3.5,
  "final_glidepath_deg": 3.0,
  "final_glidepath_tol_ft": 80.0,
  "threshold_crossing_height_ft": 50.0,
  "final_lineup_mean_tol_m": 15.0,
  "final_lineup_rms_tol_m": 30.0,
  "final_speed_target_kts": 135.0,
  "final_speed_max_std_kts": 15.0,
  "touchdown_centerline_tol_m": 15.0,
  "sink_rate_hard_fpm": -900.0,
  "sink_rate_float_fpm": -50.0,
  "tdz_min_pct": 3.0,
  "tdz_target_max_pct": 25.0,
  "tdz_long_max_pct": 40.0,
  "score_weights": {
    "downwind_max_pts": 1.0,
    "turn_max_pts": 1.0,
    "final_max_pts": 1.5,
    "touchdown_max_pts": 1.5
  }
}