New FSXBA Hornet

[whiteside]

A couple of observations now that the shock has worn off a little.
Jet is top shelf.
I fly a lot from the back seat.
Are you guys able to make the HSI, HUD and ILS work in the back seat on the DDI's?
Do you guys see the TACAN on the HSI? I dont see how to display it.
I get a pitch up and down near the MACH at a freq of about 1.5 per sec. Rudders jumping around as well.
Thanks for the hard work.
BTW, I think the vibration(airflow seperation) I was getting from the 15.2 version was my accufeel v2.

[Azframer]

Did I miss something on the D model, I mentioned it before that only the Blue Angel D models are showing up on the select aircraft screen. Or is it my machine that is causing it, same as the afterburner, it does not show at the rear and shows up  up front and looks like tracers for the gun.

Thanks
Rick

[PhantomTweak]

...same as the afterburner, it does not show at the rear and shows up  up front and looks like tracers for the gun.

You gotta admit though, Rick, that that's a really cool look I'll take a look and see what I can see. Placing effects I can do.

I probably messed up the PID controller for the rudders, but I changed the line rudder_effectiveness   =    0.75 in the [flight_tuning] section of the aircraft.cfg to what you see here. To make the rudders hold the nose perfectly will take a tiny more adjustment, maybe up to 0.77 or there-abouts. BUT, now I can make a knife-edge flight, a "multi-point" roll (4 point, 8 point, etc etc) without the nose falling through. Makes doing a slow roll, or barrel roll, much smoother also.

Did I mess up the settings for the rudder's PID controller? Probably, but it turns the same, nicely coordinated, no sideslip. I'll look at the .air file, though. I recall a setting in there to make the rudder work...more? Something along those lines. I need to re-read THE Pdf (The .air file bible).

I may also experiment with the PID settings, to try to achieve the same result, but I don't do real well on those. YET. It's a learning process, is all. Time time time...

Question, though, on a whole different subject: I noticed that the parasite_drag_scalar   = is the same for all the aircraft.cfg files. I thought Peter found that each configuration, Training, A-G, etc, had a different number for that line, due to the goodies on the wings, sponsons, and so on, much like all the station loads and the MOI's. Is that changed, or have we just not gotten to that point yet? Or are all the different numbers not needed due to another reason? I am just wondering.

This plane (as it is!) really rocks! It is stable, agile, and hostile. Next, I start chasing AI planes around the sky, to work intercepts and BCM. Should be fun.
Pat☺

[jimi08]

Few things here...

Knife edge:  To be honest, gonna have to look into this one a little more.  I personally have yet to see an F/A-18 do a sustained knife edge with the use of rudders to hold altitude.  I know the Blues don't do it and all of the knife edges that I've seen by Hornets have all been based on ballistic trajectory, which creates a shallow arc as the maneuver is executed (Blue Angels included).  The knife edge pass and slow roll are both maneuvers demonstrated by the Thunderbirds and their F-16.  However, I will continue to do some digging on this and correct if needed.

Parasite Drag:  Great point.  No I have not adjusted drag for stores just weight.  I will take a look at what Peter has and make adjustments as necessary.  I'm interested to know what method he used to calculate the drag values.

Back Seat:  Although I did include the 2-seater in the latest release, don't expect much work to be done on it due to the lack of access to the 3D model.  What you see is what you get.  The vast majority of my time (99.9%) is spent working on the single seater.  As far as I know, the displays in the rear seat are simply repeaters of the front seat.

Performance at Mach:  I'll take a look at this one when I get some time.

2-Seater Effects:  Same here, I'll take a look and fix when I get some time.

Just as a heads up, I will be executing my Change of Duty Station orders here in a few weeks.  Will be leaving Virginia and heading out to Hawaii for the next few years.  With that said, progress on the jet will be slowed for a bit due to the packing, moving and shipping of household goods.  I'll try my best to correct the aforementioned problems and push out a "cleanup release" prior to leaving.

[PhantomTweak]

...all of the knife edges that I've seen by Hornets have all been based on ballistic trajectory, which creates a shallow arc as the maneuver is executed (Blue Angels included).

Well, that explains what I was doing wrong. Thank you, Jimi! I've said it before, and will again, my real-world Hornet experience is less then nil, so I probably make assumptions I shouldn't. Like a level, knife-edge or point roll. I completely believe you, of course, and will immediately return the rudder value to what it was. Having said that, it does seem like the rudders are a little "weak" in their authority. Even just trying to yaw slightly in level flight takes a full deflection. This may be perfectly normal for the F/A-18, but you'd think with two immense control surfaces...Perhaps the way the FCS is designed, or even the airframe overall, limits their authority other than during turns. I just don't know. I'll try some crosswind approaches (within stated tolerances, naturally), and see how things go.

Parasite Drag:  Great point.  No I have not adjusted drag for stores just weight.  I will take a look at what Peter has and make adjustments as necessary.  I'm interested to know what method he used to calculate the drag values.

I believe he utilized the CS values, at least as a starting point. I know for sure the final (So far) NH version he put out has some notes on that in the aircraft.cfg. Glad I could shed some light on this little bit of this wonderful bird, though!

Just as a heads up, I will be executing my Change of Duty Station orders here in a few weeks.  Will be leaving Virginia and heading out to Hawaii for the next few years.  With that said, progress on the jet will be slowed for a bit due to the packing, moving and shipping of household goods.  I'll try my best to correct the aforementioned problems and push out a "cleanup release" prior to leaving.

Take your time! Real life, where-ever that may be now, is vastly more important than a Sim, in my mind. I hope you have a great time in Hawaii. My family went there every year for vacation when I was growing up. It pays to have an airline pilot for your father If you're any kind of surfer, try North Shore Kauai. It ROCKS!! No matter what you enjoy, have a good time there, though. Just beware, the cost of living is outrageous. Ohh, but the food is incredible, and once you're accepted, the people are wonderful. Just don't try to invade a beach "claimed" by locals. It can lead to some bad situations. Ask, before you swim, so to speak I almost got an unaccompanied tour there as my last assignment, but I didn't want to leave my family for 2 years, so I got sent to Beaufort SC instead. WHY does the Corps pick horrible places for their bases???
Have a wonderful time, no matter what. It really is paradise. Total antithesis to what you've been used to in VA, especially as far as weather goes! I was lucky enough to spend a summer in Virginia Beach, going to school on a system I'd been working on for 5 years so I could get an official change of MOS. Had a great time. Challenged the course first week there, spent the rest doing whatever I felt like Just had to maintain their training bench for them.

Pat☺

[Dman]

I sorted out the sound issue with the D models.. Thanks to the wealth of info here.. But can anyone help me with the visual effects.. I have none.. I have the C training model installed.. Which is really the only one I fly.. I am missing the burner effects and the LEX vapor.. They worked in 15.2..I'm not sure if there is a config setting that is missing...

Thanks!!!

[PhantomTweak]

Hi DMan!
Did you put the effects in the Training model's zip file into the Effects folder? Remember, there is both an \Effects\Texture and plain old \Effects folder to unzip and place. IE: place the zip file's \effects\texture folder's contents into your \FSX\Effects\Texture folder and the zip file's \Effects folder's contents into the \FSX\Effects folder.
I think they changed some of them, so if you just ASSumed (like I seem to do ) they are all the same as they always have been, you may be making a false presumption.
Just trying to think of what may be the problem.
I am wondering if the Effects in a particular model (Clean, A-A, whatever) may have the same problem the Sound folder did. I'll look and see what I can see...
Pat☺

[Dman]

Thanks Pat..
I will re install the effects into the effects folder.. I do sometimes omit that step because I figured the updates didn't include the eye candy.. Thanks again

[PhantomTweak]

Well, it dawns on me, that since the different versions of the C model All use the same panel (\training\Panel.fleet) but each has it's own aircraft.cfg, could it possibly be a slight problem in the Panel.cfg calling for an effect that is not included in the aircraft.cfg? Maybe in the [smoke] section. That seems to be where all the effects reside, but are controlled/called by the Panel.cfg.
I have no idea what all this is leading to just thinking out loud, so to speak, and trying to figure out your problem.
Are the effects you want only in the D model? Maybe the panel.cfg they point to doesn't have the proper effects .XML file calls? IE: do the effect "gauges" in the panel.cfg have the same entries for effects as in the C model's Panel.cfg? I haven't DL'd the D model, but I was pretty sure this was all just limited to the C models?
Or do I just have way too much blood in my coffee system, and need to be quiet, now...
Sorry. Rambling. I'm going to get more coffee...
Pat☺

EDIT: Very late edit. I re-re-re-read your previous posts, Dman, now that it's late and I've had plenty of coffee. I will stick to my previous thought about the the effect, to wit: make sure you install the newest ones. I realized you were talking about the C model, not the D models.
Having said that, and I am not sure of the significance, I did notice the two-seater have two lines added to the [Effects] section of their aircraft.cfg files that aren't in the C models, BUT seem to be duplicated in the [Smoke] section. in the [Effects] section are
vaportrail_l=fx_vaportrail_l  
vaportrail_r=fx_vaportrail_r,
and in the [Smoke] section are
smoke.9=-19.00, 0.00, 1.50, fx_F18_FSXBA_MedG_LEXVapor_L
smoke.10=-19.00, 0.00, 1.50, fx_F18_FSXBA_MedG_LEXVapor_R
Do they interfere? Do they both need to be present for the LEX effect? I have no clue. I'll do more research as soon as I can! Bear in mind, that is in the two-seaters, not the single-seaters.

EDIT II: Ok, I looked. Please disregard everything I have said except for the part about installing the newer effects. Effects aren't my strong suite, although I'm learning fast now. I apologize for wasting your time. I need to check a few things, but can't get to that until tomorrow. More then!
Pat☺

[Dman]

Thanks Pat...
No worries.. I'm away from home for a few more days.. I enjoy reading brainstorming ideas.. Keep them coming..

[Corvette99]

I've noticed I keep getting "Unauthorized aircraft modification error, disconnecting" , and then loose multiplayer connection. Happens on the C & D in multiplayer. Works fine in free flight though .

[jimi08]

Whew!  Sorry guys for the late response.  It's been very busy as of late.  I'll take a look at some of the issues mentioned recently. 

A few things:
-I didn't change any of the effects.  Might be a conflict between the effects listed in the aircraft cfg and the effects gauges.  I'll take a look when I get a chance.

-As for the unauthorized aircraft issues, is this while using TACPAC?  With certain TACPAC settings, this jet will be booted due to it not being registered with VRS.  Only other reason I can think of for this jet to get booted is due to a high packet count for servers that monitor such things.  But....I've tested these jets for packet flooding, and the count is pretty low...about 150 - 160 or so per 30 seconds.  That pretty much on par with the Acceleration Hornet.

Thanks for the feedback.  Keep'em coming!

[Corvette99]

Must be my TacPack settings . Didn't even think of that ! Thanks Jimi !!!

[PhantomTweak]

Hi Jimi!
Always good to hear from ya I know you're very busy, with the PCS coming up, so any time you give even the forums alone is appreciated.
I looked some, but effects, as i mentioned, aren't my strong suite. I'll keep trying to figure the situation out, for all the good I've done so far. I do know for a fact that the NH v2.3.0 effects work fine, so I'm working off that as an example. Maybe not a great idea, but all I can think to do.
Have a great time moving to Hawaii! I know it's not easy...
Pat☺

[jimi08]

Pat,

Thanks for the good words.  Much appreciated.  Maybe you can help me out.  Can you take a glance at the smoke section in the cfg of the training bird and compare it with the smoke sections of the other variants (with the exception of the Blue Angels)?  They should all match.  If not, copy and paste the smoke section from the Training variant and apply to the others.  That should fix it.

Please let me know if that works.  Thanks.