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Lockheed F-35 Simulator Simulator built by YouFly By Raymond Andersen Intro My name is Raymond Andersen and some of you might know me better as Rays Aviation. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Danish company YouFly and taking a flight in their brand new Lockheed F-35B Lightning II prototype simulator. This article covers the experience that I had flying this simulator together with a description of the setup and also a flight in one of their known and famous Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon simulators. When I first saw that YouFly was building an F-35 simulator, I was of course very curious. This is a brand new aircraft and reading the short history of the real F-35, I did get a bit afraid if the aircraft would actually ever become accepted as a success due to all the technological challenges and issues. The Danish Air Force (RDAF) are to replace their aging Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons and there have been several companies who has been interested in building the successor for the F-16, this such as Boeing with their F/A-18E and F version of the Super Hornet, SAAB with the JAS-39 Gripen, Eurofighter Gmbh with their EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon and of course the Lockheed F-35A Lightning II - the winner was the F-35A Lightning II that should be the next generation fighter/bomber aircraft for the RDAF. Since the RDAF is purchasing this aircraft, the idea of flying the F-35 in a simulator just got a whole lot more interesting and certainly very exciting, so when I discovered that YouFly had completed the first prototype I immediately contacted YouFly. www.YouFly.nu / www.F35simulator.com / www.F16simulator.com Background Information and History of YouFly It all started back in 1996 where YouFly built their first simulator, which was a Lockheed Martin F-16 simulator using the Falcon4 software. This however was only for entertainment purpose since the technology at that time was not suitable for a full scale simulator production. Then in 2004 the company delivered their first F-16 simulator for an entertainment center in Denmark and from here it really started to become a business. In 2008 YouFly secured the rights for using a new professional high fidelity software platform which made the company and the simulators even more interesting and certainly much more unique also featuring a new visual system and upgraded capability. Already the year after (in 2009) the first delivery of three network F-16 simulators was commenced which lead to the installation of two complete simulators for the Happy-Landings in Frankfurt in 2011. These simulators were now using Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D software platform together with a full 180 degree curved screen. In 2015 YouFly had delivered more than 20 simulators all over the world and the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II was now already on the table as well as the notorious A10 Warthog. Pre-Flight, Setup & Upgrades When I arrived at YouFly I was met by the owner Frank Riedel who welcomed me into his simulation hangar. Here he had placed 2x linked F-16 simulators as well as the F-35 prototype simulator together with the work-in-progress A10 Warthog simulator - this is certainly toys on a large scale for aviation enthusiasts like me, and I could already feel the adrenaline pumping around in my body of pure excitement. We talked about the various simulators for a while, both the F16's which I had actually flown some years ago and of course also the new F35. While talking about the simulators Frank showed me around and we also got behind the simulators to take a look at the hardware, the instructor station and the projector setup including the special made curved screen. We got a nice talk about the simulators and especially about the F35 where Frank gave me a detailed walk-though of the simulator. The F35 simulator is a prototype simulator meaning that this is the very first F35 simulator that YouFly have built. During this process, Frank got several ideas for improving the simulator and these improvements will be fully implemented or set as options in the sales version. The prototype simulator features a 180 degree curved screen with a minimum diameter just covering the simulator cockpit. This works out nicely and provides the simulator with a fair and realistic visual experience, however this is not 100% accurate and in accordance with how the real experience should be - therefore YouFly has already noted that the sales version will feature a 180 degree curved screen with a larger diameter that is in accordance with the projected images providing the simulator with an accurate image experience. The base construction is built out of wood and the small panels around the cockpit are built from laser cut, backlight and engraved acrylic plates. The reason for selecting wood and acrylic plates for the prototype was simply because these materials are cheap and easy to work with going through the entire process of getting everything to fit correctly. Now the entire layout and the various spec measurements are perfectly aligned and all the templates are created and ready for being used in the sales version. The sales version will feature a fiberglass base instead together with either acrylic or aluminum panels that of course still will be laser cut, backlit and engraved to make everything as realistic as possible. The center panel is one huge fully integrated touchscreen with a 16:9 format - this is however not 100% accurate since the real F35 uses the 16:10 format. The 16:9 format works perfectly none-the-less, and I would not have seen the difference if Frank had not told me. The screen is a built-in screen and is supported by an aluminum and acrylic construction around the screen including an integrated glare wing. The pedestal is integrated with the center panel and features a few additional modules made from acrylic laser cut plates as well as a small TFT screen for the backup attitude indicator. The modules on the pedestal as well as the other modules around the cockpit are all built by YouFly and are all connected using Leo Bodnar PCB's with a USB interface to connect to the computers that are running the simulator. The controls (throttle and stick) are original Lockheed Martin F35 simulator controls which LM uses in their own simulators. The throttle also supports auto-throttle where the throttle moves when flying on auto-throttle; however this can be set as an option. Not sure if the throttle in real life moves when flying on autopilot but YouFly have added this features with their own throttle-motor application. The throttle is pushed in a straight line and the movement from idle to max power is actually quite long providing a superb feeling for the pilot. The stick flexes like an Airbus stick and feels awesome - the flex gives a superb feeling of the aircraft and is nowhere similar to flying the F16 where the stick is almost 100% fixed and controlled by pressure sensors. The rudder pedals were YouFly's own creation and they felt really nice and comfortable with a firm, accurate and realistic motion. The cockpit of the F35 is so very different from the F16 or even older jets, mostly due to the amount of buttons and switches that just normally are found in a cockpit. The F35 has almost no switches and the side panels are almost completely empty as per the real F35. I did notice that the armrest in the right side of the cockpit was not added in this prototype simulator, and Frank told me that this of course would be included in the sales version as well as a new gear handle that were to be about 1.5 inch shorter than the prototype gear handle. The seat that is equipped in the prototype simulator is actually a real F16 seat that had been a part of a tandem F16 from the RDAF that crash landed back in the 1980's. This was an awesome experience to see and also to use this original seat, but the seat for the sales version of the F35, will of course be a correct replica of the F35 seat instead. How to get into the simulator - well since this simulator did not feature a canopy or steps, YouFly had created a movable seat, meaning that the seat was mounted on tracks and the instructor could then easily pull back the seat for easy access and then push the seat into a lock, ready for flight. I talked to Frank about this solution, which absolutely works perfectly, but Frank has a new idea for the sales version. The sales version will feature a fully integrated canopy that will open up like the real F35 canopy. I saw the drawings for this solution and I was super excited to see the process of creating the sales version was already kicked off. One thing that I of course was missing, but also had expected would not be included, was the famous F35 helmet. This was not included in the simulator; however Frank had an idea for how to get that working as an option for the sales version. By using a helmet together with Google-glasses that could get the HUD projected just in front of the pilot's eyes. The technology has not yet been released and therefore this is not an option that is available just yet. The software used for the F35 is Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D v2.5 featuring Dino Cattaneo's famous F35 aircraft - this also means that the simulator does not replicate the F35 version that will be purchased for the RDAF (the A-model), but instead the B-model which in Frank's words are "the fun-version" because it is the real STOL version used by the US Navy. To get the HUD working properly, the TacPack is also included which again also enables additional functions as well as the weapons system to be fully operational. The visuals are created using a 180 degree curved acrylic plate painted with a special paint and on the back side a special made rubber-like film is applied. The images are projected from three HD projectors placed behind the screen which thereby removes the projectors from sight. This works absolutely beautifully however, with a small minus though - when flying at night the center of the projector beams create three small illuminated areas on the screen that most of all resembles aircraft landing lights - this can only be seen when flying at night meaning that flights during daytime is without this issue. This solution is probably not the very best and most optimal solution but that said, the result and the experience is absolutely awesome. Alternatively the projectors should be placed behind the cockpit, but that would then just cause some other issues when applying the full canopy and in my opinion give the simulator a rather low-end / not professional look. The projectors are connected to a Matrox TripleHead2Go and YouFly uses blending software to align the edges of the three projected images. The result is better than expected and when flying you don't really notice that the image is actually created from putting three images together. For this F35 simulator there is also created an instructor station, which is another touchscreen that can be placed wherever you would like. The software is developed by YouFly and integrated so that the pilot or instructor quickly can setup the flight as required. The instructor station is very user friendly and features only the most essential functions. An in-depth walk-though of this software I cannot do, due to limitation within the copyrights of the software. The sound system is as far as I could see a 2.1 speaker system featuring a sub - this could be expanded to maybe also include a bass-shaker under the seat, which I would think could be an over-the-top experience. Currently the simulator is built on a fixed base meaning that you don't feel any movements. If this might be upgraded to a moving platform or if there might be an option for a moving platform in the sales version I don't know. A moving platform could e.g. be supported by either electrical actuators or hydraulics that could be integrated to either the software scripts or for the movements of the controls, but that would probably be rather costly. Flying The F-35 Simulator After the detailed walk-through of the simulator I jumped into the seat and Frank push me into the cockpit and the seat locked - now I found myself completely blocking out the rest of the hangar and it was truly like I was sitting in an F35 cockpit for real. I placed my hands on the controls and just sat there for a minute or two just enjoying the feeling, the environment, the sound and the awesome cockpit. Frank set my first task which was to perform a take-off - I set the F35 for STOL take-off, lined up with the centerline at EKAH and pushed the throttle to max power. Blasting down the runway I felt the F35 to be very easy to control, the rudder pedals was firm and very sensitive and since this was an STOL take-off the take-off roll was very short and lift-off came after just a few seconds. Now I was finally airborne and able to really fell the controls and how sensitive both the elevator and the ailerons actually are. Wow - this was a superb experience flying this aircraft in this environment with such a huge and 180 degree curved screen. I flew the F35 for a while testing climb ratio, stall, aerobatics and in general just how maneuverable this aircraft actually is. The software featuring the airfile is the Prepar3D v2.5 with the F35 created by Dino Cattaneo, so many of you have probably flown this aircraft on a standard computer setup, but flying the F35 in this environment was completely different and completely stunning - this is really the way to do simming! I will not go deeper into the flight characteristics since this is not a test and review of the software and the flightsim platform, but flying with the real controls, a fully operational cockpit touchscreen panel and the visuals was absolutely amazing. After flying a while and getting to know the aircraft and the controls, Frank set my next task which was to perform a normal approach and landing. Before I could do that I had to perform a rapid descent using the spoilers - this was also a great experience and I saw that the spoilers had a massive effect and the aircraft descended quickly and without any problems. I lined up on a long final approaching EKAH Tirstrup Airport, Denmark which was also where I took off. Flying the final approach was a very cool experience and also very easy because the F35 is extremely steady and flies with a lower IAS than e.g. the F16. I touch down nicely with a pitch of about 13 degrees, lowered the nose so that the nose wheel also touched down, but HEY... I couldn't find the wheel brakes... Oops - they were of course where the wheel brakes normally are, located on top of the rudder pedals - I managed to get the F35 to a full stop landing without any further stress. Awesome! I taxied for a new take-off and Frank set the next task which was to perform a vertical take-off - this can only be performed if the gross weight is below 40,000 pounds (if I remember it correctly) and this it was. Taking off vertically is very strange when flying a jet, but when the nozzles was at a 90 degree angle I just had to apply sufficient power and the aircraft slowly took-off. Performing this vertical take-off and controlling the power is by the way, not done normally since the usage of the throttle as you know it, has been disabled in VTOL mode. Instead you control the climb and descent with the control stick using the elevator function meaning that to take-off, I just pulled the stick slowly as if I wanted to pitch up, and the aircraft lifted off nicely and climbed accordingly to my impact on the elevator. The aircraft is very stable and I had no problems keeping the wings level - at an altitude of about 500' I changed the flight mode, slightly lifted the nose and slowly converted into a normal flight mode. Again extremely easy which is also the comments that can be heard from many F35 pilot that are so very amazed of how easy the F35 is to fly and handle. After performing the vertical take-off my next task was to perform a vertical landing as well - this was still to be performed at EKAH as practice before going to the aircraft carrier. I flew the approach like a normal landing but when reaching the runway I converted into hover mode. As previously mentioned the throttle lever is now disabled and I instead controlled the descent with the stick. The ailerons and rudder still work normally, however the ailerons are not as effective as when flying normally, probably because the ailerons function is not actually the ailerons but instead thrusts beneath each wing. The airspeed is controlled by a special trim-button on the throttle handle which changes the thrust and also does minor changes to the angle of the nozzles. I used one of the display screens on the center panel to get a top/down view, and that just made it super easy to perform a perfect landing and I was now ready for the next test. The next test was a landing on an aircraft carrier at night and in windy conditions. Frank set up the scenario where I was on a long approach to the carrier which I couldn't see at first. The windy conditions, the night time scenario and the clouds gave me challenge to do the proper approach and furthermore, the approach was over water which was also black, so I had absolutely minimum visuals. When I got closer to the carrier I could finally see it and that made everything a whole lot easier. I lined up to the left of the carrier and slowly caught up with it. I converted into hover mode and set the IAS by trim to the same speed as the carrier was sailing which was 10 knots. When this was enabled all I had to focus on was to fly the F35 slowly over the deck of the carrier, line up with the center line and slowly descend to a smooth landing on the carrier. To make everything even more easy, I had a camera view on my display, showing me the centerline on the carrier - it was a camera mounted on the belly of the F35 pointing directly downwards. The approach and landing I performed with excellence in my own opinion - it was a truly awesome and realistic experience and I just loved every second of it. After touchdown I sat a few minutes just enjoying the view and the cockpit while the adrenaline was still pumping around in my body. Frank unlocked my seat and pulled me out. When I got up I could still feel my legs shaking from the adrenaline while I debriefed with Frank. Completely amazing! Specs And Setup Overview 1x Special painted 180 degree curved acrylic screen with performance film applied 3x HD HDMI quality projectors (rear projection) 1x HDMI Dashboard (Touch Screen 16:9 format) 1x VGA 800x600 color TFT 1x PC with touch screen (YouFly Instructor Station) 1x PC with P3D v2.5, TacPack and YouFly's custom made interface software 4x USB interfaces covering all modules connected through Leo Bodnar PCBs 1x Rudder pedal - YouFly's own built performance rudder pedals 1x Lockheed Martin original F-35 simulator throttle 1x Lockheed Martin original F-35 simulator control stick 1x Real F-16 seat - will be a YouFly replica F-35 seat in the sales version 1x YouFly replica cockpit base environment Image of the sales version featuring the canopy and large-diameter curved screen: The Lockheed Martin F-16 Simulator YouFly also has two F16 simulators placed in the same hangar as the F35 simulator, so after my flight in the F35 simulator I turned my eyes on my beloved F16 simulator which I had tested some years ago, and Frank quickly pulled out the seat and invited me in for another flight. Going back into the F16 seat and the complete F16 cockpit was just like being home again. The F16's are built with accurate and realistic replica HOTAS controls, a replica own built seat, a complete set of modules that are fully operational including backlights as well as a fully integrated center panel and console. The center panel features a real and 100% working HUD meaning that the HUD is not projected to the visuals screen, but projected to the actual HUD lens as per real life. The base of the F16 is built using wood, the seat is also built using wood, the panels and modules are laser cut, backlit and engraved acrylic plates and the modules are created from multiple plates to get the realistic look and to fit in the backlights. The center panel and pedestal is a metal/wood construction and the controls are high quality controls similar to the Warthog HOTAS from ThrustMaster but where the stick features pressurized control input with a very limited motion as per real life and the throttle is an exact F-16 replica throttle. The gauges and the images on the screens are created as software and is visualized using multiple monitors behind the panels, meaning that the old fashioned steam gauges are digital and not analogue as e.g. SimKits or Flight Illusions gauges are. The software platform used is the Falcon BMS 4.33 software which powers the entire simulator from visuals to aircraft and airfile together with weapons systems etc. The visuals are created as the F35 with a 180 degree curved acrylic plate which is painted in a special paint and applied with a specially made rubber-like film on the back for better performance. The image is projected by three HD projectors connected through a Matrox TrippleHead2Go and put together with blending software. The projectors for the F16 simulators were originally placed behind the cockpit but in this upgraded version the projectors are also placed behind the screen similar to the F35 setup. I will not go into too many details about the F16 simulator since this article is about the F35 simulator, but I can certainly recommend taking a flight in the F16 simulators as well. I have also linked a few video feeds to this article from both my flight in the F35 simulator as well as the F16 simulator. Conclusion My experience at YouFly flying the F35 and the F16 simulators was a truly amazing experience that I most certainly will recommend for my fellow simmers and aviation enthusiast. Currently YouFly's own simulators are only available in Denmark, but who knows for the future - I know that Frank talks a lot about going commercial in the US as well. Flying the YouFly simulators truly changes the way of flight simulation that I am used to. The experience and realism just improves greatly when sitting in a realistic and true to real life cockpit environment actually created for just one purpose - to be as realistic as possible for the one specific aircraft. I was already impressed when I first tried out the F16 simulator about four years ago, but the new visual setup and the exceptionally well created replica F35 cockpit environment, was a completely new and extraordinary experience - I can only see two things top this experience; one would be flying the ultimate sales version with the larger screen diameter, the integrated canopy and various upgrades and the second being a flight in the real F-35 Lightning II, which probably will never happen. I would like to thank YouFly and Frank Riedel for inviting me in for a test flight, and also for taking charge in lifting the flight simulation scene to a completely new level. Keep up the excellent work! Video Links To Rays Aviation YouTube Channel F-35 Conventional Landing: F-35 VTOL Landing on Aircraft Carrier: F-16 Touch 'n' Go: F-16 Attack on Fuel Towers: Rays Aviation