Virtavia A-4 Skyhawk available

'fsafranek' Glad you cleared that up about techsupport. Thanks. Any comment I might make about RAZBAM for FS2004 Skyhawks would be irrelevant these days. If anyone can use those aircraft in FSX then I would like to know; but only for historical reasons. However if I can make a comparison between RAZBAM A-4s and VIRTAVIA A-4s then it would be the RAZBAM is irrelevant. FRAT BROS A-4K KAHU is good value and equivalent to VIRTAVIA but it is not suitable for carrier landings or even FCLP. I would recommend (with the fixes) that the VIRTAVIA A-4 is suitable for carrier landings/FCLP. Please try using the FCLP Missions Freeware made available by FSXNavyPilot. The IFLOLS can be seen from at least 1.5NM and it is a good introduction to whatever carrier you may wish to land upon. However please use the NATOPS landing method with Optimum AoA around the circuit. Here is the land based NATOPS circuit. Please do not fly KIAS around the circuit.
 
rfreeman11 said:
How does this hold up against something like the VRS F-18E? I for one believe that once you pass the $20 mark on payware aircraft little things like a correctly implemented AJB-3A/ AOA indexer aren't to much to ask for. The RAZBAM AJB-3A works and I only paid 5 dollars for that! I can accept a margin of error in most products, but the primary instrument not being modeled correctly is kind of outside that range.

* I am aware that the RAZBAM stuff was more than $5 when released.
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Agree 100%. As long as the main instrument is as blatantly wrong as this one is (The standby is wrong as well....and that is a normal gyro) then this addon is crap in my book. A working attitude gyro is assumed. Try flying IFR...you'll crash. Get your act together, Virtavia...I'm embarrassed for you. Mainly due to poor attitude of the lead dev. This jet had a lot of potential too...sad.

Can I get my money back or is that out of the question?
 
'Wingnut172N' claims incorrectly: "...(The standby is wrong as well....and that is a normal gyro)..." The "standby" 'wet' compass actually works better than a real wet compass would (no hesitation and swinging effects) - and correctly - while the TACAN compass indications are correct for heading information. Yes it will be good to have ABBAJABBA working of course.
 
IF reference was being made to the 'Standby Attitude Indicator' not working correctly then I see no evidence of that. The SAI is only a simple Attitude Indicator with no compass reference. The ABBAJABBA in FSX A-4 VIRTAVIA is only missing the compass readouts. Attached is an A-4E/F/G NATOPS graphic and a screen grab of VIRTAVIA A-4 front instrument panel (which appears very realistic I might add). The third pic is reality with the ABBAJABBA tumbled while a small insert shows it properly.
 
Spaz,

Sir, try this and let me know what your results are; if you have no issue with it, then my installation must be messed up in some way.

Put the airplane in a climb (~60 degrees) and roll inverted. My ABBAJABBA and my Standby Gyro (I was talking about the standby gyro, not the standby compass) at this point show a nose low attitude even though the jet is nose up.

Does yours not do this?

V/R
Wingnut
 
'Wingnut172N' IMHO the best way to illustrate your point is to do a loop via the ABBAJABBA (plus monitor the SAI). The ABBAJABBA should not topple. It should - but does not - follow the loop direction around the globe (white sky over the pole until next horizon). Upon reaching the vertical the ABBAJABBA topples (as the SAI should). If this 'glitch' is known beforehand then doing instrument loops or unusual attitude recoveries can be catered for. However it is most unusual to be doing aerobatics in cloud. YES recovering from Unusual Attitudes if the position of the aircraft is not monitored before/during the recovery is going to be a problem. I would suggest that instrument flying be restricted to reasonable flight conditions. YES the ABBAJABBA should not topple and it should have heading information. Not a show stopper for me though.

It is practised on instruments (usually in the back of a TA-4 with a safety pilot in front seat) to have the ABBAJABBA non-functional (toppled - which it does not do in normal operation) and to then rely on the other instruments to effect a recovery. So it is possible to recover from a UA with the SAI but it is difficult and if the problem in FSX with the ABBAJABBA toppling is not known beforehand then there is a problem for sure for the unwary sprog instrument pilot doing cloud aerobatics.
 
Wingnut172N said:
Spaz,

Sir, try this and let me know what your results are; if you have no issue with it, then my installation must be messed up in some way.

Put the airplane in a climb (~60 degrees) and roll inverted. My ABBAJABBA and my Standby Gyro (I was talking about the standby gyro, not the standby compass) at this point show a nose low attitude even though the jet is nose up.

Does yours not do this?

V/R
Wingnut
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From your list earlier I did verifed this issue and report it to Virtavia.
If you're climbing, you're climbing. Doesn't matter which way you are facing.
:ernae:
 
Spaz, thanks for the limited review. You can fly the FS9 Raz models using the FSX F. Bros airfile, should be a thread on here. I did this last year while waiting for both developers models to come out.
 
SpazSinbad said:
However if I can make a comparison between RAZBAM A-4s and VIRTAVIA A-4s then it would be the RAZBAM is irrelevant. FRAT BROS A-4K KAHU is good value and equivalent to VIRTAVIA
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I no Nigel and maybe he may step up onto pad in the Ball park , FRAT BROS A-4K KAHU (I never brought it - fellow city person from Wobblyville - a slap on the wrist for me needed OUCH! ), I viewed screens of his product and many required a little extra work in regard to poly's , I should give him a nudge and get him to stop by ... chew the fat over the FRAT and maybe a looksie at his A4 .

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'Victory103' thanks for the tip but I will have enough now with the VIRTAVIA A-4 in FSX. I could say a lot about RAZBAM A-4s but it is a different time and FlightSim (FSX) now. When time later I will look at your tips - thanks for that.

'Ian Warren' I know 'nije' Nigel via (e-mail) testing the KAHU for him (test circuit video online in earlier post). Yes there are drawbacks but my main interest in FSX generally is to have good carrier landing aircraft. The KAHU does not qualify due the limited front view - especially on the left side. Otherwise as I hope I have stressed earlier and Nigel knows all my misgivings :) the KAHU has great flying qualities, as I have mentioned.

What is good about this VIRTAVIA A-4 is that it will make a good carrier deck lander along with the others mentioned (SLUDGE basic Hornet, Cattaneo T-45C both freeware with his soon to be freeware F-35C).
 
For some reason my standby gyro indicates the same incorrect attitudes as the ABBAJABBA? I'll try a reinstall tonight to see if that fixes it, since it appears everyone else's is working properly. Where could I get my hands on this new FDE that fixes all the sideslip issues?
 
No need to re-install. The ABBAJABBA mimics the SAI. The ABBAJABBA should not because it is an "All Attitude Indicator" whereas the SAI is not. The SAI topples as it should but the ABBAJABBA should not - thus mimicking the SAI. Then the 'black ground' is where the 'white sky' should be until the nose comes up near horizon again. I find this phenomena difficult to describe in words so I guess I can try to make a movie. What I have suggested above to overcome this issue still applies.
 
Ah, I see. I never considered that the standby would tumble (I've never referenced the standby gyro in the jet in anything except standard flight regimes).
 
Thought it may be appropriate to mention that after re-installing FSX Accel in a new location (different disk) and then installing VIRTAVIA A-4F with my new Cyborg EVO stick (previous installation had used initially my venerable old wonky Sidewinder then the EVO) there were no issues with the strange 'yaw to the right initially when rolling with aileron only turning left'. No files changed. Then the new AoA Indexer installed with still no problems. Also an issue with the mainwheels being inches off the tarmac was fixed in this new installation. Perhaps the Sidewinder stick used earlier affected some settings? Meanwhile I should say that my control settings were:

Keyboard Sensitivity NIL on all axes
Realistic simulation full
Rudder sensitivity full to the left NIL
while NULL zone was full to the right

YMMV. It is essential to do aileron only turns then pull Gs to get around the corner as required. I think the front view with the side panels lower margin falling away can increase the illusion/effect of any tendency to 'yaw right whilst turning left'. It is an odd thing sometimes, even without this yaw effect, and I would guess is to do with the sim itself.
 
OPTIONS > SETTINGS > CONTROLS then look in the lower half of the dialog screen KEYBOARD SENSITIVITY. I may have missed some other settings so I'll look again. The settings seen above were not on my original setup with the Sidewinder but were default - as were all the settings at the time when problem encountered.

OOPs I see a graphic has already been posted. I'll leave the experts to say more about settings. Here is a graphic for AIRCRAFT > REALISM > SETTINGS
 
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