Yet more for your consideration!! After doing and teaching for years there are many different ways of skinning the DL cat! Here are a few of my hints to add to the rest
First thing is always check the landing area well before committing to a landing. As previously stated little pipes, bits of rope etc are always appearing even in well prepared areas.
Watch the ship movement for a while,a roll/pitch or corkscrew does not continue, it follows a cycle of several increasing movements and then settling out before starting again, you want to use this quiet period.
Into wind is good for approaches but not if the ship is between you and the wind. I've seen a small UK carrier create enough turbulence to bend a stationary rotor blade up and over the rotor head. approach allong the windward side of the ship and depart to the same side. a relative wind about 30 deg of the ships head is usualy good. Also it will keep you out of the ship exhaust which does no good to your power output and usualy tastes like @$#%.
Don't try to follow the deck up or down or side to side, again as stated use the horizon to keep a relative hover attitude stable and try to keep a steady power. Getting in to a full hover before you move in to obstructions is easier than trying to establish one in amongst obstacles over a moving deck.
Make a positive landing don't try to grease it on, Stab/SAS out and use lashings if available (Just remember to take them off before launch) Again aircraft can slip even on full non slip flight decks. (Seaking on Hermes during the Falklands got the tail wheel 5 feet out allong a gantry whilst running when the ship rolled!!)
Take off be positive but not a moon shot. Lift off the deck to a comfortable height, do checks then depart you don't want to realise something is wrong just as you leave the only landing site for miles around.
Depart clear of the superstructure then KEEP climbing (Again a friend failed to at night and flew in to the sea!!)
It's not a black art but just precision handling of your aircraft but with moving targets, remember the ship is a lot bigger than you and has a lot more mass. They all move cos 'so does the 'Oggin and no two waves are alike.
Have fun and take it carefully!!
