NoGravitas

I would love to see raw data from flight test. Can you point me to where you got these numbers?

Do you have any more information on that? Is it just the A model? What altitude does it diverge? Where does it lay in the list of priorities?

According to The Pentagon Paradox (pg 249), written by James P. Stevenson, an F/A-18A and an F-14A had a drag race in 1980 to determine the Hornet's compliance with design requirements for acceleration (the requirement for the hornet was to accelerate from 0.8 Mach to 1.6 Mach at 35,000 feet in 110 seconds). Both aircraft were close to full fuel and carried two Sparrows, two Sidewinders, gun, and full ammunition. The results were: F-14A, 35,000 feet Mach 0.8-1.2: 56 seconds Mach 0.8-1.6: 114 Seconds When performed in DCS with calm conditions and +15°C, 29.92 InHg (ISA standard), 90% fuel and the same ordnance with the two sparrows located in the tunnel (picture attached) we get: DCS F-14A, 35,000 ±200 feet Mach 0.8-1.2: 121 seconds (+116%) Mach 0.8-1.6: 224 Seconds (+96%) The timer was started once the throttle levers reached maximum thrust position. Here are the results of the other aircraft mentioned in that section of the book: F/A-18A 35,000 feet Mach 0.8-1.2: 52 seconds Mach 0.8-1.6: 134 Seconds DCS F/A-18C 35,000 ±250 feet Mach 0.8-1.2: 74 seconds (+42%) Mach 0.8-1.6: 167 Seconds (+25%) These models are different, and the F/A-18A was still undergoing development so differences are expected. F-16A 35,000 feet Mach 0.9-1.6: 70 seconds DCS F-16C bl.50 35,000 ±100 feet Mach 0.9-1.6: 82 seconds (+17%) Again, these models are different so comparison accuracy is lower. The F-14A difference is significantly higher than the other modules and makes me suspicious of the A model Tomcat. It's completely possible there were more variables during the real test that were not described, but the major items like payload and fuel state were addressed. I'm sure that Heatblur has much more expansive data sets than I what I have so I guess I'm looking for reassurement that this data set is wrong, and that the DCS module is accurate to the real data set. I greatly appreciate Heatblur's development of the Tomcat and it is by far my favorite in DCS. Because of that I am trying to contribute to making it the most realistic as well. Thanks, NoGravitas P.S. Out of curiosity I tried the same test at 26,000 feet with and got: DCS F-14A, 26,000 ±200 feet Mach 0.8-1.2: 72 seconds Mach 0.8-1.6: 132 Seconds There is no comparison data for this altitude but there is a notable reduction in acceleration times. I've heard of a drag "bug" above 30kft but my understanding is that it would affect all modules, not just the tomcat.