F-2 MISSIONS
An F-2 thrown down the deck by the catapult at dawn, trailing steam
Basic Training

Catapult Launch

CAT SHOT Chapter 2 — Carrier Launch & Recovery

You start hooked to catapult one. Full power on the shooter's signal, and the steam catapult throws you off the bow — with the nose still level. Pull, or the sea is waiting.

AT A GLANCE

Where
Catapult one, the carrier VANGUARD
On the radio
The Air Boss and the shooter (English voices)
Sequence
Full power → the shot → climb to 500 m → level off
End speed
Depends on weight (heavier is faster)
Launch to trap
FULL CYCLE — cat shot → the carrier's pattern → break → trap

Once you can land on the carrier, it is time to leave one. Your first launch comes after your first trap because that is the order of a real carrier qualification: learn to get back aboard first, then learn to leave.

The mission

The sortie starts with you hooked to catapult one. There is no runway. Getting the jet up to speed is the catapult’s job; everything after that is yours.

How it flows

  1. The Air Boss and the shooter talk to you on the radio (English voices). You listen to the deck work through its sequence and wait for the signal.
  2. Full power on the shooter’s signal. The jet blast deflector rises behind you and steam comes up out of the catapult slot.
  3. The shot. At the end of the stroke you are thrown off the bow.
  4. Pull and climb. Climb to 500 m and level off.
Pull, or the sea gets you

The catapult gives you speed, not height. As you clear the bow the nose is still level. If you do not pull then, the jet goes straight down into the water.

What it asks of you

Heavier means faster

The end speed of the stroke depends on the jet’s weight. A heavier jet is thrown faster — once it is off the bow, it needs enough speed for the wing to carry that weight.

Launch to trap — FULL CYCLE

FULL CYCLE puts the launch and the landing into one flight.

LegWhat you do
The shotOff catapult one, out ahead of the bow and low
The patternTurn right, run back up the starboard side, and come in from astern
The breakBreak left as you pass over the ship
The trapTurn 180° coming down the port side and catch the three-wire

The carrier keeps steaming at 25 knots, so the pattern’s gates move with her. It is the same shape you flew around a runway, flown around a reference that does not stay put.

GALLERY

An F-2 at full power on the catapult, the jet blast deflector raised behind it
Full power — waiting for the shooter's signal
An F-2 the instant it clears the bow, the sunrise behind
Clearing the bow — the nose is still level. Pull

The major missions of the campaign in the Steam edition (Windows / Mac). Content may change in updates.

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