Dcs f/a-18c

[Victory103]

Wish I could help on the ALE side, we use the same thing, but should be close enough for sim usage.

 

[Phantom88]

Hello Victory,Have you looked into beta testing? Here's Matt's post on what's required......
https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=50779

 

[Phantom88]

****Mini Update****
Now that the team is back from holiday, work resumes on the Hornet. One of the big areas that you can see visible results is the EW page. Attached are a couple WIP images of the main display page and the manual (MAN) programing page.

I’ll do a full academic video on this later, but in a nutshell, the bypass mode allows single release of chaff and flare from the countermeasures dispense switch on the throttles and when in the ON mode, it can use semi-automatic (S/A), automatic (AUTO), and manual (MAN) modes. When set to MAN mode, the ARM PB brings up the programming edit page that allows you to create and save dispense programs. It's a very easy to use system.

You may also notice the O1 and O2 counts, these are for GEN-X expendables.

On the radar front, much of the work is on the locking of targets in STT and LTWS modes. This is also critical for the ACM modes.

Other focused work continues on the flight model / FCS, bombing HUD, INS, and audio.

A small thing, but we also adjusted the DDIs and MPCD to not be smudgy messes.

Thanks,
Matt “Wags” Wagner
Senior Producer, Eagles Dynamics SA

 

[Stickshaker]

Thanks for the regular updates of this plane that I am looking forward to so much, Phantom88!

 

[Phantom88]

You're very welcome Sir.

 

[Phantom88]

***mini update***.

"A little update today that shows some improvements to the cockpit lighting.

Mk-84 and AIM-9L also integrated in the Hornet this week."

 

[Phantom88]

***mini update***

“Hornet Navigation System Update

A very important aspect of creating a realistic navigation systems is accounting for magnetic variation. Over the past week, the team has been implementing this. We now have a Magnetic Azimuth Detector (MAD)and Magnetic Variation implemented as part of the Mission Computer (MC) 1 code. Note that the MAD is actually a separate system that provides data to the Air Data Computer (ADC), which in turns sends the data to the MC. For the two Mission Computers, we are essentially creating them virtually. This allows us more accuracy, particularly in regards to failures.


This will now allow proper magnetic heading differences (true heading vs magnetic heading and will be available on the HSI.


Realistic magnetic and true heading computations for DG/SLAVE/COMP INS are also in progress.


This is all in parallel to getting the INS Waypoint systems up and running, a crucial item of the Early Access release.


Thanks,
Matt “Wags” Wagner
Eagle Dynamics, Senior Producer

 

[Phantom88]

 

[StormILM]

Thanks for the update. I'm getting more and more stoked about receiving this model in early access!

 

[Phantom88]

You're Welcome Storm,Yeah this video really struck a cord in me.... That Hornet pit is Gorgeous,Coupling that with the high fidelity systems being implemented by the DCS/BelSimtek team have me wanting this one yesterday

 

[strykerpsg]

Wish I could help on the ALE side, we use the same thing, but should be close enough for sim usage.

As good as a expert advisor would make this more realistic, I would be content with speculative theories made by the developers of Jane's FA-18 back in the day. It's always great to see subject matter experts willing to advise, but I think for the vast majority who will never fly this bird or it's equipment in real life, just having a decent jammer and decoy set up would be just as great to counter newer AAA and SAM threats. Having seen so much of this hardware mature in real life has been great to see, including IR seeker lasers and improved jamming equipment.

Victory103, if you made it aboard testing, kudos. Just manage the system to be effective but not all powerful, against S300/400 and of course, the mighty Tunguska! Remember, it is a Russian team making this simulation....

 

[strykerpsg]

Another fantastic update Phantom, thanks. I too bought the pre-purchase and am a bit nervous about it's forthcoming release and how in depth it will be. I am hoping since I spent so much time on Jane's and some additional time in VRS, this will not be as daunting as it appears. I hope the US CVBG will be released with the early access or will we be flying off the Kuznetsov and fixed site runways?

 

[Phantom88]

Hello Matt,Bringing these updates is my pleasure,Thank You very much for the mention.

About the CVN....The last news I'm aware of is The Hornet will enter EA with a Nimitz Class CVN....but.....A high detailed CVN with special features(I think Carl Vinson CVN 70) will be available at a later date as a separate module.

 

[Victory103]

Victory103, if you made it aboard testing, kudos. Just manage the system to be effective but not all powerful, against S300/400 and of course, the mighty Tunguska! Remember, it is a Russian team making this simulation....

I'm in the middle of my retirement, so hardly any time to already add to the beta team on another platform for now. Hopefully things will settle down after I get the wife moved, good thing is I'll still have access to most of the systems in post-Army life. The ASE systems are all pretty user friendly, until you dig into the BIT features, mostly turn it on and hope it works for the everyday line pilot! It does make sense for one to know each system for the whole "staying alive" part.

 

[strykerpsg]

I'm in the middle of my retirement, so hardly any time to already add to the beta team on another platform for now. Hopefully things will settle down after I get the wife moved, good thing is I'll still have access to most of the systems in post-Army life. The ASE systems are all pretty user friendly, until you dig into the BIT features, mostly turn it on and hope it works for the everyday line pilot! It does make sense for one to know each system for the whole "staying alive" part.

Absolutely knowledge is power regarding your avionics inner workings. I too was amazed at how few of my peers really cared enough to dig into the deeper inner workings of some of the ground based electronics, assuming they will work each time you roll out the FOB. I just shook my head in disbelief each time and said a small prayer for them.

Kudos on your forthcoming retirement. I retired 1 April 2016. It was admittedly a bit daunting, since Infantry skills do not directly have a civilian counterpart. Feel free to PM me for any questions or advice.

 

[Phantom88]

***mini update***
"A few years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Lemoore NAS to get some time in one of their F/A-18C dome sims. It was a great experience and provided a great perspective to flying the Hornet. One item that caught me though was just how fragile the gear doors can be when over-sped. Today, we added this as a new damage element to our Hornet.

As mentioned in this week’s newsletter, progress on the Hornet is moving along quickly with much of the work focused on the air-to-air radar modes, defensive systems, INS waypoint navigation, and flight dynamics / Flight Control Computer. Our next Hornet academic video will instruct on Hornet TACAN and ADF navigation."


Thanks,
Matt “Wags” Wagner

Senior Producer

 

[StormILM]

Back in 1990, I was part of a 4 man civilian PLST team at our local field which was tasked with refueling the Blue Angels with their early F/A-18A's (and lone B model). I recall the maintenance team giving extra scrutiny to the Lead and Opposing Solo aircraft. They told me that #5 had higher wear on the landing gear bay doors due to the Dirty Roll maneuver on takeoff. They told me that the door hinges and actuator rods & fasteners weren't overly speed sensitive extended as they were significantly fragile to actuation movement at high speeds. Just out of curiosity, what is the absolute gear down/actuation speed limit coded in for this model?

 

[Phantom88]

Back in 1990, I was part of a 4 man civilian PLST team at our local field which was tasked with refueling the Blue Angels with their early F/A-18A's (and lone B model). I recall the maintenance team giving extra scrutiny to the Lead and Opposing Solo aircraft. They told me that #5 had higher wear on the landing gear bay doors due to the Dirty Roll maneuver on takeoff. They told me that the door hinges and actuator rods & fasteners weren't overly speed sensitive extended as they were significantly fragile to actuation movement at high speeds. Just out of curiosity, what is the absolute gear down/actuation speed limit coded in for this model?

Hello Storm,I would imagine DCS are doing an accurate Hornet based on Boeing and NATOPS data,Looking through The F/A-18 ABCD NATOPS Manual I found this...

"7.3.2 Approach. See figure 7-2. Enter the pattern as prescribed by local course rules. At the break,reduce thrust and extend the speedbrake (if required). As the airspeed decreases through 250 knots,lower the landing gear and place the FLAP switch to FULL and ensure that speedbrake is retracted.Retract speedbrake, if extended. Decelerate to on-speed, and compare airspeed and angle of attack.Complete the landing checklist. Roll into the base leg and establish a rate of descent, maintainingon-speed AOA. On-speed without external stores and 2,000 pounds of internal fuel is about 125 knots.Add about 2.5 knots for each 1,000 pounds increase in fuel and stores. Rate of descent can beestablished using the velocity vector on the HUD to set the glide-slope. Avoid overcontrolling thethrottles as thrust response is immediate. Compensate for crosswind by crabbing the aircraft into thewind on final approach. "

So Im thinking 250 knots or less?? This seems high to me though,Maybe someone with more knowledge of the aircraft can chime to n?

 

[StormILM]

Yeah, that's what I read as well. The Blue's maintenance techs mentioned they could exceed that speed with the gear out, just not actuate retraction/extension above those speeds. I took note that the Lead Solo would start off his TO run in full burner but retard the power to a lower burner zone. At GO (rotation), start the initial climb at the same power setting, center the control/pitch, start the full deflection 360 degree Dirty Roll and at wings level, pull the pitch/AoA up and go into max burner to arrest the sink rate. After that, the pilot would enter a 30 degree bank (correction, more like a 60 degree bank) clearing turn, go wings level and begin a steep climb (only then retracting the gear). The other maneuver the Blues perform gear down is the Diamond Dirty Loop which is impressive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj1oqHXFdtw

 

[Phantom88]

***mini update***

"Under the category of small details, we implemented differential engine modeling this week. Rather than each engine underlying modeling and IFEI indication for RPM, EGT, FF, and OIL PSI being the same, they are now modeled as separate, dynamic entities. While this may seem like a rather small thing, it has required quite a bit of work, but we feel it will provide a much more realistic modeling of the F-404 EPs. In the end, this was a must-do.

Thanks,
Matt “Wags” Wagner
Senior Produ"