Virtavia A-4 Skyhawk available

The name AF-1/AF-1A refer to the squadron named VF-1 in the brazilian navy. And yes, they are in fact A-4KU (AF-1) and TA-4KU(AF-1A) from Kuwait air force. Currently all the planes are been modernized by Embraer to make them possible to use BVR armament, more effective radar and integration with brazilian defense network.

Here is a little interesting video:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c9301ydl20c" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
 
Flaviossa , nice find great video , interesting to see them using, invited to a US carrier , the little Skyhawk would have been very happy to return to a super carrier deck :salute:<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><input jscode="leoInternalChangeDone()" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
 
skyhawka4m said:
sure thing!


Here is my current one...not sure I'm gonna put it out there though as the stripe on the fuselage has some odd stretching to it and itsn't 100% correct. Still some work to go on it though. Actually...I would hope to be able to do about 5 paints of 151046 in various units including VMA-311 with no avionics hump, VMA-131 hi-viz and low-viz, and finally VC-1 in a two tone gray aggressor scheme.


View attachment 75259
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Looking forward to this one. When I was stationed at NAS WilGro in the mid seventies I watched an A-4 from this unit make an unintentional wheels up landing. Minimum damage to the nose and wing tanks. Plane was flying again in a few days. I was told by one of the marines that this was the second time for the pilot....lost his wings after the investigation.
 
Issues with the AN/AJB-3A

Okay, back to playing with the A-4 after a few days of having to work. I have found a few issues with the AJB-3A First it doesn't look like the Bank Angle Indices work. Also not sure if this is too much but the ADI ball also backed up the compass, with heading numbers on the ball. Is anyone else seeing this?
 
zsoltquack said:
It would be nice 3D light
Any idea?
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Looking for Shockwave 3D lights I guess? Change the aircraft.cfg [lights] as follows:

[Lights]
//Types: 1=beacon, 2=strobe, 3=navigation, 4=cockpit, 5=landing, 6=taxi, 7=Recog, 8=Wing, 9=Logo, 10=Cabin
//(feet) longitudinal, lateral, vertical distance from reference datum
//note: VC red lighting is supplied by textures, do not add a VC light here, it will make it too bright.
light.0 = 3, -5.30, -13.50, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navred
light.1 = 3, -5.30, 13.50, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navgre
light.2 = 3, -19.74, 0.00, 3.70, fx_shockwave_navwhi
light.3 = 7, -4.50, -13.10, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navwhi ;recog lights
light.4 = 7, -4.50, 13.10, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navwhi ;recog lights
light.5 =10, 11.55, 0.00, 1.20, fx_vclightwhi ;white flood only
light.6 = 9, 7.35, 2.63, 0.85, fx_navred_as ;refuelling light
light.7 = 6, 3.90, 4.74, -4.10, fx_shockwave_navwhi
light.8 = 6, 4.00, 4.74, -4.10, fx_shockwave_landing_light_small_old

Note: As the beacon lights are hardcoded into the MDL files (using the stock fx_beacon.fx), I did not "shockwave" them.

And add this line to the panel.cfg - [Vcockpit01] section:

gauge43=shockwave_lights!SW Lights_taxi_gear, 1,1,1,1

Sorry for the late response but I just got the Skyhawk from PC Aviator with the Tuesday discount this week.
 
next on my list is this aircraft.......have always loved these markings since I was a kid and building the Monogram A-4E kit. lots of stuff to still do......and resize.

a small update....done for the night....will try to complete this on over the weekend.

View attachment 75666
 
skyhawka4m said:
next on my list is this aircraft.......have always loved these markings since I was a kid and building the Monogram A-4E kit. lots of stuff to still do......and resize.
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I built a couple of that kit long ago but never in the included markings. Those look really nice.
:ernae:
 
zsoltquack said:
CfnEY.jpg
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Oh well. That's what I get for going to the desert for a long weekend. :icon_lol:
Guess I'll change my nose munber.
:ernae:
 
skyhawka4m said:
next on my list is this aircraft.......have always loved these markings since I was a kid and building the Monogram A-4E kit. lots of stuff to still do......and resize.
Click to expand...
I also built this very same model .. that paint looks Brilliant :cool:

The RNZAF 1987 Shortly be a formation off four :salute:
3-11.jpg

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Flight Dynamics

So...I bought this jet recently because I am a huge Skyhawk fanatic. I am also a Student Naval Aviator flying the T-45C Goshawk, so I have a little background for the comments to follow.

The simulated A-4 is almost impossible to fly in the carrier landing pattern. Here are the reasons why.

1. The AOA system is unusable. Real Navy airplanes are trimmed for an AOA (17 units in the Goshawk) and then held at that AOA while power is used for glide slope control. This 'Optimum AOA' corresponds to the 3-o-clock position on the AOA gauge (that's what that bold white mark indicates) and an amber doughnut on the indexer. It also corresponds to Vref (called 'on speed')...but the Navy flies AOA, not speed.

On the Virtavia A-4, the amber doughnut doesn't correspond to the 3-o-clock AOA, and both seem wrong. The amber doughnut shows too fast and the gauge shows too slow a speed.

The AOA indexer is also colored wrong. The top chevron should be green, and the bottom red. The devs need to learn how the system works so they can correct this. It's a complex system, but is essential to carrier operations.

Also, there is too much side slip in the approach config. It's IMPOSSIBLE to fly a 27 degree AOB approach turn and end up anywhere near the runway as currently simulated.

The most important instrument in the A-4 cockpit, the AJB-3 gyro (Abbajaba) is missing heading references and doesn't have working bank indices.

All together I'm pretty disappointed. The external model looks amazing, but unless the FDE and cockpit are fixed it looks like I wasted $43. I am willing to help fix the errors by explaining how the systems are supposed to work...if that would help.
 
More errors!!

The AOA indexers remain illuminated with weight on wheels (they should extinguish on touchdown)

The elevator trim lever in the cockpit is animated backwards

The lights turn on with all electrical power (batt and gen) removed?

The attitude gyro doesn't work properly at all. It's possible to get it to show a nose down attitude, when the jet is nose up in a turn.

Auto throttles work sometimes, and other times don't work at all

WHO BETA TESTED THIS THING?????!!!!!!!
 
Hopefully we can get someone to address these issues....but the FDE does need some tweaking for sure. I have been sent a new one for one of the models and its a little better but the side slip is still occuring on banks especially when airspeed are below 225 knots.


I like the plane alot....but think it can be much better and hopefully we will as I'm sure get some mods for it soon.
 
hschuit said:
Looking for Shockwave 3D lights I guess? Change the aircraft.cfg [lights] as follows:

[Lights]
//Types: 1=beacon, 2=strobe, 3=navigation, 4=cockpit, 5=landing, 6=taxi, 7=Recog, 8=Wing, 9=Logo, 10=Cabin
//(feet) longitudinal, lateral, vertical distance from reference datum
//note: VC red lighting is supplied by textures, do not add a VC light here, it will make it too bright.
light.0 = 3, -5.30, -13.50, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navred
light.1 = 3, -5.30, 13.50, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navgre
light.2 = 3, -19.74, 0.00, 3.70, fx_shockwave_navwhi
light.3 = 7, -4.50, -13.10, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navwhi ;recog lights
light.4 = 7, -4.50, 13.10, -1.00, fx_shockwave_navwhi ;recog lights
light.5 =10, 11.55, 0.00, 1.20, fx_vclightwhi ;white flood only
light.6 = 9, 7.35, 2.63, 0.85, fx_navred_as ;refuelling light
light.7 = 6, 3.90, 4.74, -4.10, fx_shockwave_navwhi
light.8 = 6, 4.00, 4.74, -4.10, fx_shockwave_landing_light_small_old

Note: As the beacon lights are hardcoded into the MDL files (using the stock fx_beacon.fx), I did not "shockwave" them.

And add this line to the panel.cfg - [Vcockpit01] section:

gauge43=shockwave_lights!SW Lights_taxi_gear, 1,1,1,1

Sorry for the late response but I just got the Skyhawk from PC Aviator with the Tuesday discount this week.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info.
:ernae:
 
Wingnut172N said:
(...) 1. The AOA system is unusable. Real Navy airplanes are trimmed for an AOA (17 units in the Goshawk) and then held at that AOA while power is used for glide slope control. This 'Optimum AOA' corresponds to the 3-o-clock position on the AOA gauge (that's what that bold white mark indicates) and an amber doughnut on the indexer. It also corresponds to Vref (called 'on speed')...but the Navy flies AOA, not speed.

On the Virtavia A-4, the amber doughnut doesn't correspond to the 3-o-clock AOA, and both seem wrong. The amber doughnut shows too fast and the gauge shows too slow a speed.

The AOA indexer is also colored wrong. The top chevron should be green, and the bottom red. The devs need to learn how the system works so they can correct this. It's a complex system, but is essential to carrier operations. (...)
Click to expand...

FYI a page from the NATOPS which perfectly illustrates Wingnut172N's note on the AoA indexer.
I also added a zipfile with a new Virtavia_Skyhawk.cab : Fixes the reversed colors on the AOA indexer, makes sure the AOA lights are off when wheels touch the ground and increased the bullseye AOA a bit (was 7.0-8.0, now 9.0-11.0). This is still ~8 degs lower than what the NATOPS says but if I setup the indexer with the RW values you would have an uncomfortably high nose pitch coming in to land and not be able to see the runway/deck. I believe it is a common issue in FSX, I have seen many planes with FSX indicated AOA lower than RW AOA. There are gauges that use a correction factor to visually align the AOA dial gauge with the indexer lights (in case of the Virtavia Skyhawk that requires updating the MDL embedded gauge code).

BTW: I also discovered that Virtavia_Skyhawk!AntiSkid causes key events flooding when airborne, so I blocked it in my panel.cfg:
//gauge37=Virtavia_Skyhawk!AntiSkid, 0,0,1,1 //blocked due to key events flooding
 
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