Originally Posted by
glendalegoon
Will vertical landing planes be able to make low visibility approaches and landings?
Sorry. The QE will be a nice little carrier for a few stovl planes and copters. But by no means would it be a fleet carrier in anyone's book.
Just seems a shame for the country that invented the angled flight deck and steam catapults should settle for a nice little boat.
Being a weekend, I don't have the figures to hand, but I'm sure that during the Falklands war, Hermes and Invincible were able to generate a higher sortie rate in poor weather than would have been possible with conventional carriers.
As for a 'nice little carrier' you forget that the QE class was designed to have an angled deck and catapults, if the politicians were willing to pay for them (IIRC the original plan back in the late 90s was to consider them as a mid-life update). the fact they have a STOVL set up is a political one.