How to Fly the F-111

[brudgeon]

I am a simpilot using FSX (and Orbx scenery although that is by the way). Until now I have been flying GA and jetliners and Steve Hess’s F-111C and F-111F are the first military aircraft I have downloaded and installed.
The array of new features (such as variable wing geometry and terrain following radar) is exciting but without any flight notes (à la FSX Learning Centre) I am slowly struggling to work out how to fly it, particularly getting it to slow down for landing! The speed hold selector seems not to work! Do you know any webpage that could help? The panel is, however, impressive.
When I activate the Terrain Following Radar it flies the aircraft 3000ft above ground level. I’ve no idea if this is the same as in the real world as I would imagine the aircraft would be fairly readily visible to enemy radar that high. Is there a way of adjusting the ground clearance? A programming tweak perhaps?

Cheers, Brudgeon

[COBS]

I created a panel for the Alphasim/Virtavia F-111 , while the panel is different being a modern digital layout , it does have extensive documentation,
it includes a Flight Manual that runs to 56 pages and is heavily oriented towards getting the pilot and aircraft reading from the same page , some of the
detail will be of help to you, also included is a sheet detailing the control button assignments.
Its freeware and available here at Flightsim its file references are fxpiggb5.zip and fxpiggb7.zip
The following might also help:
1. Reduce throttle to slow down , the airbrake will definitely slow you down.
2. Wing sweep and flaps are controlled by 8 clicks of increase/decrease of incremental flaps.
3. Terrain following is set by adjusting the figure in the Altitude hold window to what you want to fly at , say 500' above ground , switch autopilot On,
and Altitude hold on , then TFR on. ( instructions are in my flight manual) . The aircraft will then try to maintain 500' , do this over gentle
countryside , experiment with both different heights and airspeeds.
The TFR does work, but it reads the height under the aircraft , it does not look ahead , therefore it will never see a cliff or steep mountain in front of it
and as a result will fly into it , the autopilot needs time to react , that why its better to use TFR over gently undulating terrain.

Cheers
Karol

[brudgeon]

Thanks Karol, I'll follow your tips before too long when time permits.

Brudgeon

[COBS]

You are welcome Brudgeon , if you download my F-111 Flight manual you will find tables of airspeeds , wing sweep and flap guides , take off
and landing instructions , it is full of data and flying tips specific to the aircraft .
Some of the data charts are from the actual F-111 Flight manual.
The included exercises are there to assist users getting proficient with that aircraft , its capabilities .

All the best
Karol

[brudgeon]

Thank you, Karol, for your reply. Where can I download your Manual?
You state that your advanced F-111 panels (fxpiggb5/7.zip) are designed for the Virtavia F-111 Aardvark aircraft. I have discovered that it is sold by FlightSim Store but it is for FS2004, not FSX which I use.
For my first foray into military aviation I downloaded the freeware FSX F-111C and F-111F from flightsim.com (fsx_f111.zip ~9.7MB) described as “an upgrade to Mike Steves’ General Dynamics F-11 Aardvark”.
So my second question is, “Are your fxpiggb panels compatible?”

Cheers, Brudgeon

[COBS]

Hi Brudgeon

I will try to explain the process in point form.

1. Purchase FS2004 F-111 aardvark , load that aircraft into FSX.
at this stage its panel will not work. Delete the panel folder
2. Download Steve Hess Alphasim panel , then get the exe to load into a a folder in your My Documents area.
From that folder copy and manually load the contents to FSX.
You will now have loaded the gauges and added the panel folder to the F-111.
That F-111 can now be flown.
3. DO NOT allow the exe to attempt to load directly , as the exe will search for Alphasim and will not find the
aircraft as its name has been changed to Virtavia. It MUST be loaded manually.

*** CREATING SECOND F-111 **
4. Download and unzip fxpiggb5.zip into a folder in My Documents , it will comprise several items , one of which
is the Flight Manual.
5. You will see a EMPTY folder titled ALPHA F-111 PIG HUD , copy it and paste it into FSX airplanes.
6. Now go to the first F-111 Aardvark that you previously installed in FSX ,
Open that folder and Copy the entire contents.
7. Go to the empty ALPHA F-111 PIG HUD aircraft folder and paste into it the previously copied contents.
In the ALPHA F-111 PIG HUD , you can now delete the panel folder.
8. Go to My Documents where you placed the fxpiggb5.zip contents.
You will see a folder titled F-111 PIG HUD PACKAGE , open it.
You will then see a folder Titled Drop in replacements , open it , and copy the entire contents.
9. Go to FSX , right click on the 'FSX folder' and paste into what you previously copied .
The second F-111 is now loaded and is flyable.

With this process you will have TWO F-111s , each having radically different instrument panels.

Please retain the F-111 Flight Manual and browse through it from time to time.
If you use the manual , you will with time and practice develop extreme surgical precision in the use and
flight of that aircraft . It will in time surprise you with how your military flying progresses.

The other download fxpiggb7.zip adds enhancements to the panel , further increasing the aircrafts capabilities.

Do not get concerned with with the complex appearance of the panel , it is as easy to fly as a Cessna and the
Flight manual will cover its more advanced features and procedures in detail.

Downloads are FSX compatible and available at Flightsim and Simviation websites.

Enjoy it.
Cheers
Karol

[brudgeon]

OK, I’ve certainly got lots to do. I believe it to be critically important to download the correct panel software so just to be sure could you please confirm the precise file name of the “Steve Hess Alphasim panel” you mention in point 2? I believe it to be –
alsmf111.zip Size: 8,723,574 Date: 04-11-2008. Is that correct?
Sorry to trouble you again.

Brudgeon

[COBS]

Hi Brudgeon

Yes, the file you mentioned is correct, it is alsmf111.zip.
As stated earlier DO NOT let the exe load direct to FSX , it MUST be manually loaded.

It was wise to double check , as Steve Hess does two panels for the F-111 , one for the Mike Stone aircraft and the other for the
Alphasim aircraft ( now Virtavia ) .

While it might entail a little effort to install the aircraft , rest assure it is worthwhile .
It has in my opinion the best flight model and flying characteristics of any military aircraft currently available for FSX.
It also is the fastest at both low and high level , SR-71 excluded , it will reach 2.52M without effort .
Browse through that Flight manual , it details speeds for all conditions of flight , and takeoff , landing and aircraft carrier work , etc.

Have fun with it
Cheers
Karol

[COBS]

This link may be of interest it shows a F-111 repaint that I did.

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showth...virtavia+F-111

I have done following repaints:
-Gunship Grey RAAF series ( my favorites ).
-Shadowsix Lakenheath Cammo , 4 squadrons.
-Combat Lancer , Cammo.

Cheers
Karol

[Burten]

Hi Brudgeon,
I thought I was the only one who was getting this problem.
Very informative and helping threat. Thanks for sharing these informative tips and sorting my issue.