FLIGHT DECK 4

you can 'fire' the catapult. I just have to remember how to do it. I'm with you though, it was a bit of a let down. The choice of planes is good, but you'd expect to see more on the flight deck than just you. Depending on which plane I pick, sometimes the plane loads up half inside the deck.

Okay, so how to launch off the deck. Get yourself more or less centred on the cat track. Go in locked spot view and the blast shield will come up and sometimes go right through you. Put the parking brake on and put your throttle all the way to full. I think then all you do is release the parking brake. If you have your sound turned up you'll hear a 'whoosh' as you take off. Not all that exciting, but it is a start I guess.

I have yet to be able to land though.

I'm doing this from memory so it might be a good idea to double-check.
Flightdeck IV was originally released for fs9. For FSX you are entitled to a free update -- go check and tell me if I'm wrong.

I'm just musing here because rowcoach says that 'sometimes the plane loads up half inside the deck.'
It makes me wonder whether you guys do have the update. If you do, then we're back to the bad old days of the Abacus Flight Deck where they posted all kinds of updates for different MSFS versions AND CFS2 and none of them worked. EVERYBODY had problems.

In case you've missed it, the Readme file is accessible via the Start Menu. Here is an excerpt:

Catapult Launching
You can catapult off the USS Ronald Reagan from any of the 4 catapult zones on the end of the deck. Unlike the previous Flight Deck III, you no longer need to run another program or 'arm' the catapult. To perform a launch, you need only follow these simply steps:

1. Be on the catapult
2. Have the Parking Brake Set
3. Apply Full Throttle
4. Release the Parking Brake

Once these conditions are met, the plane will be thrown into the air at speeds around 140 knots.

NOTE: The throttle, as detected by the Flight Simulator, MUST be at 95% throttle or higher. If you are unable to launch, try recalibrating the throttle or press F4 on the keyboard to manually force full throttle. The aircraft must also be stopped or as close to stopped as possible. If the plane is rolling too fast even with the parking brake on, the catapult will not launch the plane.

Catching the Wire
Catching the wire is quite tricky in real life and that is no exception in Flight Deck 4. The only requirements to landing the plane on the deck are to have the tail hook down and land on the cables. Each aircraft panel is equipped with a special button on the instrument panel that will raise and/or lower the tail hook You can only catch the wire if the hook is down. Set the plane down on the wires as seen on the deck with the hook down and you will stop.

The plane will only be able to move again once the tail hook is raised. Click the button on the panel to raise the hook, the keyboard shortcut if you assigned one to release the cable.

A bit further down is a paragraph on how to use the IFOLS - that might assist you with your landings.

FWIW, there is no mention anywhere of AI traffic on the carrier.