Razor18

For the OP: IMHO, first of all your lateral distance is too small. From ANY height, with this distance simply no one can turn back in without having excessive sink rate due to forced overbank in order to finish your turn inside of 0.9 NM (I guess this is your distance showm when beginning the turn to base?). You just don’t have enough turning room on a field RWY with this number. With increasing bank, the sink rate and the needed extra power to counter is increases almost exponentially over 30 degees of bank. In the CASE I recovery pattern you start your turn at 600 feet in a distance of around 1.1-1.2 NM from the ship abeam of the rounddown. In that scenario, 30 degrees works only because you have to and WILL overshoot the BRC in order to get on the FB centerline, which means even on the ship you make a larger diameter turn, than your lateral distance from BRC at the 180. So we are already at 1.1 plus the overshoot distance from centerline. AND the carrier is moving away while you are turning. But field runways do not move away from you, giving you some extra leeway in length of the final by moving away. If you want to fly the field pattern at 1500 feet, you should really try flying the downwind at rather 2.0 NM distance. Just to calculate distance vs height, 3.5° straight final generally means to be at 3000 feet at 10 NM distance on final, which means only 1000 feet height when you are around 3 NM out. In your video here you are at 1500, in a distance of 3.5 NM as the crow flies, so no wonder you ending up being on a glidepath of rather 5° final, just do the math. We fly a 1000 feet pattern, and we fly around 1.5 NM lateral on downwind, this way you do not have to bank so drastically, that you start sink extensively, which you then try to power back up, which then accelerates you to 160-180, which increases your turn radius, and can never slow back down to wings level on speed AoA before touchdown. Sorry for the long academics, long story short, try 1500 feet pattern height with 2.0 NM lateral distance, or try 1000 feet pattern height with 1.5 NM lateral downwind distance (right bottom number on your HSI. If you always want to see it in the pattern, pull up HSI rather to the right DDI, as advisory message blank exactly that number on the left DDI). If your aricraft is rather still heavy, you can even add some 0.2-0.4 NM to lateral distance, as your aircraft will have larger turning radius due to more mass and higher speed for the same AoA. If you end up being too wide/shallow in the turn, you can decrease the lateral distance however it pleases you. Just don't put yourself between a rock and a hard place.

I think you should adjust power BEFORE starting the bank, not simultaneously, a.k.a. "Lead the turn with power". Same goes the other way leveling out, before you start rolling wings level you need to pull back some power. You can't avoid ballooning or sinking, if you do power adjustment already rolling in or out.

Oh, I see. Original Question was wether other jets produce sparks too.

And what does it answer?

On other types (F-14, -15, -16), the muzzle is not in the front of your face, and there are also some slots for better air flow around the muzzle?... Can be wrong though...

It is in fact an official brevity command Christmas tree to turn on all exterior lighting.

Sorry if sounds stupid, but do you designate with TDC depress? If you start with WPDSG (a it sounds to me), don't expect the Maverick to know you are looking to and tracking a diffferent spot on the ground in the meantime with your TGP. That's what TDC depress is for. Sorry if obvious to you too.

I think assigning a trim to a slider is not a very good idea. Even if the throw of the slider is huge, you loose precision in adjusting trim by the smallest increment possible, wich will deny you good trimming during AAR for instance, or during a gun run, or any situation when under increased pressure. Even worse if the trim is not manipulated by your "stick hand", but by your hand on the throttle (which, as I can remember it is with the Saitek). It's not an accident either, that on EVERY RL modern aircraft, the trim is on the stick or yoke. (I know some warbirds did not have it on stick, but those trims were I guess not electric, or any way actuated ones). Much easier to sync your trimming with the releasing on stick pressure by the same hand. Or if you just released a heavier weapon, and the loadout becomes temporary assymetric, and if nose trim is on a slider, how do you want to trim out the roll until the next release, which might never come and you need to go home assymetric, which has different roll effect in different speed ranges, all the way until landing ? My 2 cents at least...

Thanks again !

I didn't imagine this was gonna be such a suspicious question. Just asking because the third hat on the Constellation is an analog slew type, and not a 4-way button. Thanks for the feedback anyways.

Hi There, didn't want to start another topic for the same Subject: On the Warthog stick, there is 3+1 4-way switches (Trimm(POV), TMS, DMS, and CMS with depress). Nowanyone using VIRPIL Constellation ALPHA-R, how do you guys implement TMS and DMS 4-way buttons for A-10 and F-16? Or is it maybe better on any VKB grip? Thanks for feedback !

Didn't know about logging function ! Coool, thanks !

Thanks, MInsky, does it also log/record whatever command comes from the joy? If it only monitors real time, there will be no trace of trimm creep, if I try to look it up later.

Looked up some tracks. If I call up Control screen, it looks like after a random time the little line on the X axis begins to wander slowly from centre towards right. (Guess it must be the trim tab?) So I try to counter it, first a little deflection is enough, then it goes out of control. What I do not understand, from outside view, I hold the control surfaces with the stick totally symmetric reg. right - left, they are level with the wing even during the most violent uncontrollable spin the aircraft goes into. So it doesn't look like the would be induced "aerodynamically". I do not see the trim button moving on the stick on screen, but for good measures, now I deleted keyboard trim inputs. Will unplug replug stick USB too, who knows, what helps. Thanks for the tip anyway... Is there any app that can log/record my controller outputs to see if the creeping trim input are coming from the stick?

I had now uncommanded roll 3 times in 2 days. Yesterday after an hour of flying, plane started to roll right, first just gentle, then gradually to the point when no full left stick could counter it. Today after a takeoff and climbout, about 3 minutes after takeoff, and then when trying it again , already during startup. Both stabs and the aileron deflected full right, unfortunately FCS screen unreadable but it was like left aileron down 40, right aileron up 8, and the stab numbers were also totally assimetric to the right (Guess LEFT 2 down, right 18 up or something)... Just as the outside picture shows it. Tried to Reset and FCS BIT TEST 2 more time, nothing. No axis assignment mix up, checked. If it were, would have occure right after liftoff anyway on all 3 occasions I guess. Any clue?

Thanks for the kind feedback, but it is a bit late for me living and working in UTC + 2 ! Thaks a lot again tough !

Did you make sure no double assignment of any axis with anything else including any keypress? I have found the weirdest assignments possible, mostly after updates. Check each axis line, and check also each keypress, that also suppose to control your axis from the keyboard (just for example there is a left and right axis command for brakes, but you can tap them with some of the keypresses too).

Tried to stop the roll/pitch change with the trim maybe? Just speculating...

Can you describe, how do you make a hammerhead, and where does it go wrong for you and how? Sorry for being late for the party...

Hi UberMongo, thank you for the feedback, but which hours are you guys flying on the days mentioned? (didn't find it on your homepage either...) Regards

Oh.... Then maybe it was the approach, where I swear I flew it by the book, but some auto-calls were a bit off reg. position, meaning when the (Alamo) call came, I was still far away. Could this be it?

Sure. But sometimes I vacate on Bravo, then Tower says vacate on Alpha... But I am lazy to taxy down all the way...?

Hi There, where can one find any info about your usual flight/training/mission schedule to see if I can match it? Didn't find it on your home page either. Sorry if missed though... Thanks

Maybe any connection to this? (click)

Hi BD, in short, practically no two altitude value source are matching. Departure tells you to "after 6k expect Angel 12 in 10 minutes", but the STPT altitudes on the HUD direct you to different altitudes, then Blackjack tells you I guess again 12k but Biff says expect the drones to be at 15k (16?), and the kneeboard FPL altitudes are also not consistent. Can't remember all discrepancies after two weeks, but please crosscheck the voiceover altitudes vs. actual Flight Plan altitudes vs. drone altitudes and so on going forward on mission. THX