Carrier Operations

Recovery (Case I and II)

• Case I: Upon completion of your mission, return to the carrier and enter a left-hand holding pattern tangent to the BRC with the ship in the 3-o’clock position. The maximum diameter of the holding pattern is 5nm. Flights establish their assigned holding pattern altitude 10nm prior to entering the pattern. Entry into the pattern is tangential with wings level. The minimum pattern altitude is 2,000 feet, and a minimum of 1,000 feet vertical separation between holding altitudes is maintained. When it is judged that the deck will be clear at the time the first aircraft is to land (i.e. there are no aircraft, personnel, or obstructions in the landing area), the first section of aircraft in the holding pattern will “push” from 2,000 feet and arrive at 800 feet, intercepting the ship’s course 3nm astern. This section overflies the ship and “breaks”, i.e. turns left out of the holding pattern, over the ship’s bow. The break turn is a 3-4G turn designed to put aircraft 1.1-1.3nm abeam (next to) the carrier at an altitude of 600 feet, with gear, flaps, and hook down, showing an on-speed (amber) AOA indication. Subsequent aircarft in the pattern break up to 4nm upwind of the carrier, depending on traffic. After the break aircraft fly downwind and turn back towards the ship at a bank angle of 27-30 degrees. The rate of descent is varied so as to arrive in a wings level configuration with a 650-750 feet per minute rate of descent so as to intercept the glideslope and centerline. Altitude will be approximately 300 feet with approximately 17 seconds until landing. Case I recoveries are typically performed using radio silence.
• Case II: Upon completion of your mission, follow vectors to the carrier as given by ATC. When within 10nm of the ship in sight, aircraft enter a Case I holding pattern and proceed as a Case I recovery. If the flight does not have the ship in sight at 10 nm, the flight may descend to not less than 800 feet. If a flight does not have the ship in sight at 5 miles, both aircraft shall be vectored into the bolter/waveoff pattern and action taken to conduct a Case III recovery for the remaining flights.

Case I and II recoveries are not modeled in Jane’s F/A-18. However, it is easy to “fake” them by simply flying the realistic flight paths and altitudes, breaking, and turning into a final approach. The pop-up ball (described below) can be activated inside of 2nm by activating the POPUP_IFLOLS command (default keystroke “CTRL+b”). If you “fake” a Case I or II recovery, be sure to watch out for AI flying a Case III recovery.

NATOPS VFR Recovery Pattern