Global Task Force Overlord Knowledge Base

Carrier Landing Gear Profile

The F/A-18C Hornet features heavy-duty trailing-link landing gear designed for direct carrier-style recoveries. Fly on-speed angle-of-attack (amber donut / ~138 kts) directly down the 3.0° glideslope into the touchdown zone without leveling off.

Supported Airframes

FA-18C_hornet — DCS F/A-18C Lot 20 Hornet

Profile Highlights & Specifics

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

Sturdy Gear Limit: Permissible sink rate up to -900 ft/min without triggering a hard landing deduction (HRD / -0.5 pts).
Zero-Float Expectation (FLT): The RSO engine expects a firm on-speed touchdown. Any wheel contact shallower than -50 ft/min triggers FLT (-0.2 pts) unconditionally.

2. Tactical Shore Pattern Altitudes (800 – 2,500 ft)

Accommodates low-altitude naval shore-based break patterns (800 ft AGL) as well as standard military patterns (1,500–2,500 ft).

3. Bank Limits (Up to 90.0°)

Permits full 90.0° bank angles throughout the overhead break, crosswind, and turn to final.

4. Approach Airspeed Target (138.0 kts)

Graded against a nominal on-speed approach target of 138.0 knots (±15 kt allowable window).

Key Parameters & Tolerances

Parameter	Value	Standard Baseline Comparison
Pattern Altitude Range	`800 – 2,500 ft`	800 ft floor accommodates naval Case I shore patterns
Downwind Spacing	`0.7 – 2.0 NM`	Standard naval pattern spacing
Max Bank Angle	`90.0°`	Full 90° break authority
Max Turn G	`3.5 G`	Standard load limit
Final Glidepath Angle	`3.0°`	Standard 3.0° glideslope
Target Approach Speed	`138.0 kt`	Evaluated against 138 ± 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 (`FA-18C_hornet.json`)

{
  "aircraft_type": "FA-18C_hornet",
  "display_name": "F/A-18C Hornet",
  "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": 0.7,
  "downwind_spacing_max_nm": 2.0,
  "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": 138.0,
  "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
  }
}