Nozzle

Apologies if this is a repeat comment but it seems to me the pilot size in the A-4 module is too small for the aircraft. Here is the DCS pilot compared with an actual group of pilots for comparison:

When I was deployed on the Forrestal in the mid to late Eighties, the airwing consisted of two F-14 squadrons of ~10 aircraft each, two A-7 squadrons, one A-6 squadron, one E-2C squadron, one EA-6B squadron, one S-3 squadron and one H-3 squadron. Because the ship was the last CV to burn the older mix fuel, the rest of the battle group tended to be similarly aged surface ships that also burned that fuel to simplify replenishment underweigh. Although the ship was modified to support the F-18s prior to her last deployment in 1991, I don't know if the ship ever actually deployed with Hornets. So I believe most of the airwing composition would've been similar if not the same for the last decade of her operational life. Same for the battle group logistics.

You didn't mention if your experience was online or in single-player but the DCS AWG-9 must contend with something the real one never did; internet lag. I suspect the modeling of the radar track-file build logic is deprived of the required return hit-rate to maintain consistent tracks. ED seems to have fixed this issue with their TWS radars (F-15, F-16 and F-18) but I don't know if the third-party vendors are provided the same insight. This is my working theory at any rate.

There are many training target ranges managed by the real NTTR facility controllers, at least there used to be, but so far I haven't found any of them in the DCS NTTR map. The locations are there but not the targets. So as GJS mentions above, you'll have to download the bits and pieces and build them for yourself.

I have used the actual F-18 throttle in aircraft and the WinWing version and can say they are close enough in geometry as to be indistinguishable. Certainly close enough for casual flight sim use. But I have made a point to mount my WinWing throttle in the same position relative to my left thigh in the same location as in the jet. The majority of switches are also very close in position if not in the exact position however they are mounted perfectly horizontal where the aircraft consoles are slightly angled toward the pilot. In other words the switches on the WinWing unit are accessible to the pilot almost exactly as they are the in real jet. So at the consumer level, the WinWing unit is probably as close as you're likely to find at anything close to that price range. Note your two pictures are not quite comparable as the WinWing is at military power and the actual jet grips are at throttle shutoff position.

Lots of great information on this site: https://flyandwire.com/

My WinWing Taurus was delivered with several quality defects as well such as exposed wiring within the throttle track and a dead switch. The radar antenna elevation wheel also binds against the throttle housing. As none of these items were worth the shipping the unit back to China, I rerouted the wiring as best I could and had to make do with the rest. Had none of these issues with the Thrustmaster and Virpil products I have also used. I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions beyond joining you in being disappointed in WinWing QA.

The vacuum-based attitude systems on these aircraft were never able to maintain a stable reference for the entire flight even when working perfectly. Really the best a pilot could hope for was a somewhat stable horizon reference during a cloud layer penetration when absolutely necessary to land. The expectation was the pilot would have been flying straight and level for enough time before penetration for the vacuum to provide a somewhat reliable reference during the time the pilot had no visual horizon. Important to remember these fighter aircraft were only marginally IFR capable by today's standards.

My last trap was in 1997 but I don't remember there being a specific 'number' that determined a passing qual that you could compare your performance to in DCS. But here's the long answer: 1. The squadron LSOs for the squadron evaluating the qual will determine what they think of a particular pilot's performance in terms of consistent landing quality. Of course they have very specific grading criteria but the bottom-line will is a qual will always depend on their collective comfort in a pilot's performance rather than a particular 'number'. The number of hook-up and hook-down looks at the deck are specific depending on whether you're talking about an initial qual in the jet or a requal after being away from the boat for a period of time. 2. Initial quals and re-quals are done during the day and in good weather. The night qual is done at the fleet squadron depending on a pilot's day performance and the ships operations schedule. The squadron and wing LSOs will decide when the pilot is ready for a night qual. 3. A carrier qual is only good for a period of time following your last trap. LSOs will review the initial qual performance of a new pilot assigned to the squadron but it won't be made public. During a deployment however every trap performed at the boat is maintained on record on the Ready Room bulkhead for the entire at-sea period. For the next at-sea period the pilots public record starts clean however LSOs maintain a pilot landing history record used for identifying any unhealthy trends. Of course things can and do change with time so I can't say how it's done differently today or if my memory is as accurate as I'd like to think it is.

I have not tried this new chair by MonsterTech but I have purchased many of their products which I use literally every day. I have been using my MTX Sim Rig as my home office for the last 14 months and counting... https://www.monster.tech/en/product/flight-chair-mfc-1/

While I agree the footwells may be a bit too well lit in some aircraft now, overall I think the DCS cockpits finally show a realistic degree of ambient sunlight found in tactical cockpits essentially flooded by natural light from all directions. Remember almost everything surrounding an aircraft is reflecting light into the cockpit, not just the sun. Clouds, aircraft surfaces and blue sky are all providing bright light into almost every corner of the cockpit. Even flying under an overcast, I never needed to turn-up cockpits lights to operate a jet during the day yet in DCS you saw folks doing this in bright sunshine as a matter of routine. I suspect that won't be necessary anymore which I think is a very good thing both from a practical and realistic standpoints.