Donut

A HUD is not needed to land an aircraft. I was just wondering why the F-14 was so far behind it's contemoraries and has a HUD landing mode that actually makes it more difficult to land.

I get this "thumping" sound as well when starting on the ground. It almost seems like the aircraft is slammed down right before the screen loads and is the cause of the sound. It is annoying and a bit loud as you describe.

Sure, I understand that. However, I don"t understand why it is so far behind in technology compared to it's fellow 4th gen fighters. First flights... F-14 1970 F-15 1972 F-16 1974 F/A-18 1978 There seems to have been an incredible breakthrough in HUD technology after 1970 and for whatever reason, it wasn't until the 1990's that it got a modern HUD.

It amazes me that the Grumman engineers would even have included such an inaccurate HUD mode.

In my opinion, it would be the Hornet. I continue to struggle with flying and handling the Tomcat and find it to be one of, if not the most difficult, flightsim aircraft that I have ever flown since I began flightsims in the 80's. If you have ever flown Rise of Flight, I would compare it to trying to learn to fly the Sopwith Camel. The F-14 will require a ton of stick time to become proficient.

I have trouble many times as well, depending on the lighting conditions. 1440p with 27" monitor, max graphics settings There have been other posts about this since release and I think it was determined to be realistic.

Great example Airhunter...shows that the HB Tomcat should be a little more "bouncy" on the ground. Off topic, but the video also shows that the vapor effects could be improved/added to as well.

Thanks for the tip! I see you have the X56..are you using the heaviest spring for that?

I know exactly what you mean by that "notchy" feeling. The more I fly the Tomcat, the more I am realizing a high quality stick is needed. Thanks the_soupdragon!

Ideally, I would like to have 0 curves as well in the Tomcat. Right now though, with 0 or positive curves, the smallest stick inputs will send the AoA to 20+, over g or snap a wing when performing aggressive manuevers.

+1 on the curves. I have found the Tomcat to be very sensitive and require curves in pitch, roll, rudders, and even throttle to make inputs feel more stable, controllable, and "real"...at least to me. In comparison, the Hornet does not require curves for me. My experimentation with curves continues and I hope to find a balance between stability and realism. Negative curves have been best for me. It increases sensitivity around center but dampens it with larger inputs. This has helped me remain in control with more aggressive maneuvers. However, it makes the smaller inputs needed for landing and refueling a little too sensitive. I wish there was a set value of curves that is considered realistic and works for everyone, but that does not seem to be the case. Just experiment with different curves until you find something that works for you.

I have Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals and experience the same sensitivity. Even with +25 curves, very little input is required to coordinate and center the ball and like, it ends up allover the place. I am finding that curves are required in all controls axis for the Tomcat but it is difficult to find the right numbers.

The Heatblur Tomcat manual has 60,000 lbs of thrust for the F110-GE-400 engines but I cannot find any reference to that anywhere else. The only thrust numbers I have been able to find for the Tomcat and the F110-GE-400 engines is 56,400. That is a significant difference.

This is what I am trying to figure out as well. Are 0 curves the most realistic and however the Tomcat handles with these curves is real to life and we just need to adapt.

So how is everyone coming along with their curves? Find anything that works yet? I am having the hardest time. Curves that work for ACM end up not working for refueling, formation flying, and landing. I can't find a happy medium. The positive curves end up being too sensitive at the end of the spectrum for aggressive maneuvering and the negative curves are too sensitive around center for refueling and landing. For me, 0 curves don't feel right either. With the Hornet, 0 curves work perfectly fine so I don't know what it is. What are you guys at Heatblur finding best works for the Tomcat in regards to stick curves?

Changelog states, "small adjustments to thrust and drag models" What exactly are you noticing? Less speed, turn rate?

Like pitch, roll, and throttle inputs on the Tomcat, I find the rudders very sensitive as well. Even with rudder curves set at +25, very little input is required.

I have been away from the Hornet for a bit and have been flying the Tomcat. Back in the Hornet today, I noticed the lack of sound effects compared to the Tomcat. Now, I know the Tomcat sounds are a bit overdone to compensate for lack of feel and increase immersion but there are some Hornet sounds I would think would still be heard. Specifically, I noticed no sound from the landing gear be raised or lowered. I could be wrong but I thought that there used to be a sound heard. As for the other in cockpit sounds, I know the helmet and wind, etc. will drown out many of the sounds but I just wanted to check to see if what we are hearing in the Hornet is realistic.

Can someone from ED comment on the Hornet mirrors? Are they just a placeholder? Will they be improved? What is their intended/real life purpose?

Does this mean no new/improved Hornet pilot and helmet to correctly represent a US Navy pilot or just no salute?

Not just you...I have never been able to get a playback to work with the Tomcat either. I believe it is a known issue.

Great flying and thank you for putting that video together! I watched the Tacview and maybe I am missing something, but it seems to me that if flown by a human pilot, the Hornet could have achieved a guns kill on you several times by trading it's excess energy with a high AoA pull and pointed it's nose wherever it wanted to. Does the Hornet FM flown by a human pilot retain energy like the AI did in this video?

I had the Precision function in TrackIR mapped to an F key...forget which one. I disabled it since I never use it. Maybe this will help someone else troubleshoot in the future. Thanks again.

Well, I spoke too soon...already snapped my wings twice now in two flights after going from -15 to 0 curves.... Does anyone else feel like they are walking on egg shells when maneuvering the Tomcat? Another thing that may be throwing me off is the spring on my stick. I have an X55 which comes with several interchangeable springs of varying tension. I have been using the lightest one which may be causing me to easily over pull. I see that a lot of those who have +15 curves also have Warthog sticks. I wonder what the spring tension on those feels like. I made a different thread trying to figure that out...https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=238497

I am curious to hear what stick curves Heatblur and the real Tomcat pilots on here are using...