F-18 Hornet in FSX Steam ?

Steam newbie here. :pilot: Does anyone know if there is a drogue chute available for the F-18 Hornet in Steam ?

It wants to roll out forever, and if you brake too rapidly it'll ground loop. >>>

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

Jim

No, there's not.

There are two tricks to that situation.

First, and best, is to do what's called aerobraking. Keep the nose gear off the ground until it settles down despite full aft stick deflection. That uses your wings and fuselage as a drag-source. Works quite well, with a properly modeled plane, like the FSDT FSX Blue Angels F/A-18C v18.3. Then, keep the full aft stick deflection. Those stabilators are big as barn doors, and provide a lot of drag. Again, in a properly made aircraft.

Also, before you land at a shore station, activate the anti-skid. If the plane's switch doesn't work, and it SHOULD, like the Hornet I mentioned before does, you can assign a key-sroke or joystick button to it. It doesn't have a default key-combo, but it IS available. Helps with the braking.

Don't ever flare either. If you're on-speed, at the right AOA and aircraft gross weight, your sink rate will be around 700 FPM. Keep that sink rate right down till you actually hit the runway. No flaring. Good Navy landing. You PLANT that bird :D

If you land a Hornet correctly, you won't need to use the brakes until you're down around 60-70 kts. Then just apply them judisiously. A little pulse here or there. No ground looping...

Or, just go land on a carrier. They have cables to stop you without using your brakes at all! :D

Have fun! get the FSDT hornet. Best there is for FSX...

Pat☺

Sounds good , but I cannot find a key-stroke or joystick button in the joystick button menu to do that. That would be ideal. I did find the Anti Skid switch, lower left, but it's dormant, and will not move. It almost looks like it is permanently turned on ? ? ?

Jim

Is that the default FSX Hornet? Looks like it. If it is, yes the switch is just eye-candy. It does nothing.

To set a joystick button, go to Settings>Controls>Button and Keys tab (up at the top)>Ensure that the Events Catagory Menu is set to All Events. Scan down until you see Brakes Anti-Skid (on/off).

Click on that selection, and down at the bottom, select the New Assignment button.

When the next page appears, press the joystick button you want to be Anti-skid. The button's number should show up in the little box. Something like Button 12 or whatever it may be. Click OK and you will be back to the entire list of button assignments again, with the assigned button now showing in the Joystick column.

There will be a slider in the Repeat column for the Anti-Skid button you just assigned. Make sure it's full left.

Click OK to back out, and now, when you want the anti-skid to turn on, click the assigned joystick button. The switch in the cockpit probably will not move. Like I say, it's just eye candy in the default Hornet.

Bear in mind, this is a toggle. Press-on/Press-off. Only press it ONCE, unless you're flying out to the carrier. Then simply...don't press it! No-no to anti-skid on the carrier deck. Definately use it on shore-stations, though. Turning it on should be part of the landing checklist if coming off the carrier back to a shore station, or landing for the first time.

It's off when you first load in, by the way.

Unless you get the FSDT Hornet I mentioned. The v18.3 is the latest version released. It's switch actually works correctly, and really turns the anti-skid on and off.

It was designed and coded by the same folk who made the default FSX Hornet originally, BTW. It's pretty much the same model, but the FDE and instruments have been vastly upgraded.

Have fun!

Pat☺

Thanks Pat, following your instructions, I got it done. The only problem is, I don't have any Anti Skid Indicator to tell me that Anti Skid is active . I don't know if it on or off ?

Jim

I know. THAT is a problem. I'll see if I can make an indicator lamp. I think I made a functional switch, once. Now I'll have to look for it. Not an easy task, on my HD.

Maybe I'll set up a switch WITH an indicator lamp of some kind. A pop-up window type thing. Hhhmmm...

This might take a little while, though, for two reasons. First, I'm helping a dev with a new helicopter. My part seems almost done, so I should have more time for this. Second, and the main reason, is that I'm a complete XML coding tyro. This doesn't seem all that complex a gauge to create though. Give me some time, please.

You'll just have to remember whether you've pressed the button or not, and whether you've had a crash or plane reload since then, until I can get this done. Best I can offer, I'm afraid.

Pat☺

" You'll just have to remember whether you've pressed the button or not, and whether you've had a crash or plane reload since then, until I can get this done. Best I can offer, I'm afraid. "

Pat, you have helped tremendously. I'll stay tuned. Thank you.

Jim

I'm glad I could help out!

In my opinion, for what it's worth, the best solution to your situation is to download and install the FSDT Blue Angels F/A-18C v18.3 . The switch in that plane actually functions, and a glance will show you if it's on or off.

It's one heck of a bird. Flies very closely to the way the "real" plane does. Some of the tester crew are actual Hornet drivers, either past or present, and even they are impressed by it.

The man who has coded the most of the FDE, and instrumentation, named Orion, is a man who works on the Navy's simulators doing coding, and they obviously want theirs to be as close to real as they can get. He knows what he's doing!

Heck, he's the one who created the new version of AICarriers.NET. A huge improvement in the way the program works. A great addon to the sim for doing Carrier Ops, especially if you couple it with vLSO. Although I must say, those AI LSO's are mean, and grumpy. I think the ones in my sim hate me personally. Or maybe they just hate everyone, I dunno... :p

The rest of us who test, or make changes to, the FDE do our best to help out, but between Orion, the coder, and Jimi, the FSX Blue Angels XO and leader of the project since they created the FSX default bird, they just keep making it better and better. It has been a real honor to be included in this project!

Sorry. I just love the FSDT plane(s). Every version gets more and more realistic. Maybe not easy, like some planes out there, but realistic.

Anywho, Have FUN

Pat☺

 

In my opinion, for what it's worth, the best solution to your situation is to download and install the FSDT Blue Angels F/A-18C v18.3 . The switch in that plane actually functions, and a glance will show you if it's on or off.

I will vouch for the operational switch. It does have "on" printed above the switch to indicate that the switch is on It also sends a 10KV electrical shock to your fanny just for good measure.

@Pat....How's your depth perception on those carrier landings? Mine's ferschtukata, and I have all 3 of my eyes! That Giants cap is good at hiding things!;)

" In my opinion, for what it's worth, the best solution to your situation is to download and install the FSDT Blue Angels F/A-18C v18.3 . The switch in that plane actually functions, and a glance will show you if it's on or off. "

Thanks Gyz, I'm really OK with jets, having such as the beautiful flying Virtavia F-4 and F-22 add-on's. These roll out nice and straight and pull up short without skidding. It would just be nice thou to see the provided F-18 straightened out.

Never having experienced the Anti-Skid function, what is the difference that I can expect to see ? And why don't they just keep a feature like this engaged permanently ? Just curious ? :rolleyes:

Jim

" In my opinion, for what it's worth, the best solution to your situation is to download and install the FSDT Blue Angels F/A-18C v18.3 . The switch in that plane actually functions, and a glance will show you if it's on or off. "

 

Thanks Gyz, I'm really OK with jets, having such as the beautiful flying Virtavia F-4 and F-22 add-on's. These roll out nice and straight and pull up short without skidding. It would just be nice thou to see the provided F-18 straightened out.

 

Never having experienced the Anti-Skid function, what is the difference that I can expect to see ? And why don't they just keep a feature like this engaged permanently ? Just curious ? :rolleyes:

 

Jim

No reason not to just keep the switch flipped up to the on position. If you are driving a fairly recent car model then your anti-skid/anti-lock brakes are always in active mode.

Never having experienced the Anti-Skid function, what is the difference that I can expect to see ? And why don't they just keep a feature like this engaged permanently ? Just curious ?

They invented anti-skid a LONG time ago. Like '40's long ago. They did it so that aircraft landing on a less-than-optimal-traction runway could still slow and stop. Like a rain-soaked, wet runway. You can apply the brakes as hard as you want, without the tires breaking traction, and skidding. The car companies that FINALLY started putting the system into cars no long ago act like they invented the whole concept, but now you know better.

The difference with and without it is stopping distance. The wheels are held JUST at the point where they're about to break traction. They DON'T break traction, though. This is the maximum braking any rubber tire/wheel is capable of.

Why don't they just leave it enabled? In cars, it normally is. Not mine, too old, but most relatively recent model cars. Having said that, the reasons they want it DISabled onboard a carrier, or in whatever aircraft may have it, is 1) if it malfunctions and the tire locks, it will probably fail. Aircraft wheels that fail tend to do so explosively. In the crowded carrier deck environment, this will cause injuries at the best, death and a lot of very expensive damage at the worst. Aircraft carrier decks also, even though they have a non-skid coating, get slick. Sea-water, POL's, you name it, degrade the non-skid coating's non-skidyness. You don't want the tires continuing to roll under those conditions, as anti-skid will do.

2) You don't want a plane to roll any farther than absolutely needed. Again, as big as carriers SEEM, they are incredibly crowded. When the pilot hit's the toe-brakes, or parking brake, you want it to STOP, not roll on it's merry way. Sudden stops may damage the tires, may even fail them, but they'd rather that than a entire aircraft out of control rolling around the deck. It's a trade-off. Damaged tires vs. damaged aircraft.

Lastly, if the throttle sticks for some weird reason on touchdown, when you go to full throttle as soon as you touch down in case you get a bolter, better to stand on the brakes to try and hold the plane. It may skid the tires, it will probably fail the tires, but the gear struts will hopefully get the plane stopped for a brief moment so the pilot can cut off the fuel, and hopefully save the plane. Or at least slow it's run off the deck until the pilot and RIO can eject safely. It happens. Anti-skid, by definition, will prevent all that, and just let the plane roll off the end of the angle-deck.

On shore stations, or regular airports, you want the antiskid to give you the best possible stopping ability, even on less than perfect runways. Which it does very well.

By the same token, aircraft tires and wheels are relatively small, and can heat up very rapidly. To the point of actually catching fire. Baaaaad situation. That's why you don't want to use the brakes any more than essential. As I've shown, there are other sources of drag available to slow the aircraft until the brakes won't catch fire. Hopefully.

We had a Hornet's brakes fail during a WTI event just after night-fall when I was in Yuma. No brakes at all. He had left his anti-skid off when he flew in from the boat, and yes, his brakes and wheels caught fire. And Yuma has an 11,000' runway. He relied too much on his brakes, and didn't bother to aero-brake.

All most saw was this Hornet hit the sand at the end of the runwway that the main base access ran across. When he hit the sand, his gear struts all sheared off and stayed at the beginning of the sand, while the nice, smooth airplane slid across the sand and finally into the fence. Missed some cars by a few inches. I came along, getting off work, just after it happened. Big cloud of dust, with a Hornet's nose sticking through the fence into the first lane in the road. What a tangle. Thankfully, they got the MP's out to untangle the traffic jam quickly.

@Pat....How's your depth perception on those carrier landings? Mine's ferschtukata, and I have all 3 of my eyes! That Giants cap is good at hiding things!

Lousy. Heck, the helmet blocks the third one, and since only 1 of the other 2 works... :p ;) :rolleyes:

No reason not to just keep the switch flipped up to the on position. If you are driving a fairly recent car model then your anti-skid/anti-lock brakes are always in active mode.

Except if you're doing carrier ops. NATOPs calls for the switch to be OFF before you hit the boat.

Hope this helps. I know, I get overly wordy sometimes. Sorry about that...

Pat☺

All good information. Thank you my friends.

Jim