Find a usable aircraft carrier in MSFS, set up the F/A-18, catch an arresting wire and diagnose static decks, bolters and missing carriers.
To find and land on an aircraft carrier in Microsoft Flight Simulator, open a carrier activity or use a carrier add-on with a map marker or published coordinates. Fly a tailhook-equipped jet such as the F/A-18, hold an on-speed approach without flaring, lower the hook and add power at touchdown until the wire catches.
How do I find an aircraft carrier in MSFS?
Microsoft Flight Simulator has no universal carrier location that works for every installation. Carrier availability differs between MSFS 2020 and 2024 according to installed activities, optional content, platform and add-ons.
- Check installed activities first. Look through the simulator's challenges and other activities for a carrier mission. These normally position the aircraft and carrier automatically.
- Read the carrier package instructions. A functional add-on may provide an airport code, waypoint, map marker, coordinates or a saved scenario. Searching the World Map for the word
carrierwill not find packages that lack a searchable marker. - Select the supplied departure point. Some packages let you start on deck; others require an airborne start or departure from a nearby airport. A moving carrier may leave its original map position after the flight starts.
- Confirm platform compatibility. PC users can install suitable carrier scenery from our MSFS aircraft and add-on library. Xbox and PlayStation installations cannot use PC Community-folder packages, so they need carrier content offered inside the simulator for that platform.
Older videos may show licensed activities or optional packages that are not installed in your copy. If the described carrier does not appear, verify that the required content belongs to your version rather than assuming the coordinates are wrong.
| Carrier type | What it supports | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier activity | Predetermined aircraft, location and landing conditions | Quickest way to practise |
| Functional carrier add-on | Arresting wires and sometimes catapult operations | Free flight and repeated practice |
| Static scenery carrier | A visible model, sometimes with deck collision only | Sightseeing or touch-and-go attempts |
A visible carrier is not necessarily functional. The deck needs collision enabled to support an aircraft, while arresting wires and catapults require additional simulation logic.
How do I make a carrier landing in Microsoft Flight Simulator?
A successful carrier landing is an on-speed, no-flare approach in a compatible aircraft, followed by immediate power in case the hook misses the wires.
- Choose a carrier-capable aircraft. The F/A-18 is the practical starting point where it is installed. Avoid excessive fuel or stores, because extra weight raises the required approach speed and sink energy.
- Assign the tailhook control. Search Controls Options for
tail hook, bind it to an accessible button and test that the hook moves before joining the approach. A lowered hook cannot catch wires that the carrier package has not modelled. - Set up several miles astern. Align with the angled landing deck rather than the ship's bow. Lower the landing gear, select landing flaps and extend the hook early enough to verify each indication.
- Trim for on-speed angle of attack. In the F/A-18, use the angle-of-attack indexer and E-bracket rather than chasing a memorised airspeed. Aircraft weight changes the correct speed.
- Control the glide path with power. Use pitch and trim to preserve on-speed angle of attack, then make small throttle changes to adjust the descent. Follow the optical landing system when the carrier provides a working one; otherwise aim to touch down in the wire area.
- Do not flare. Hold the landing attitude through touchdown. Flaring can carry the hook over the wires or cause a long, floating touchdown.
- Apply military power at touchdown. Keep the aircraft straight and add power as the main wheels meet the deck. If the wire catches, close the throttle after the aircraft is clearly decelerating; if it misses, the added power gives you a safe bolter.
- Go around after a bolter. Keep the gear, flaps and hook down, establish a positive climb and set up another approach rather than forcing the aircraft back onto the deck.
Carrier technique is much less forgiving than an ordinary runway approach. If speed control, trim or flare timing is still inconsistent, first work through our practical explanation of stable approaches and landings. For cockpit indications and aircraft-specific setup, use our detailed F/A-18 carrier-landing procedure.
Why will the arresting wire not catch?
The usual causes are a static carrier, an unextended hook, incompatible add-on components or touchdown outside the arresting-wire area.
- The hook passes through the deck: the scenery probably lacks functioning arrestor logic, or a required carrier component is missing.
- The aircraft lands but never slows: confirm that this exact carrier supports traps and that the selected aircraft exposes a compatible tailhook.
- The hook skips over the wires: avoid flaring, check the hook indication and touch down positively in the wire area.
- The aircraft bounces: the approach may be fast, off the correct angle of attack or descending too sharply. Stabilise earlier instead of trying to repair the approach over the stern.
- AI control ruins the approach: disable AI piloting and automated landing assistance. These systems may treat the moving deck as scenery rather than a valid runway.
Can I launch from the aircraft carrier too?
You can catapult-launch only when the carrier, aircraft and add-on logic support one another. A carrier with working arresting wires does not automatically have working catapults.
Follow the package's launch procedure, because some systems require a designated parking spot, launch-bar command, brake action or throttle setting. If the aircraft simply rolls forward, verify compatibility rather than increasing power and driving it off the bow.