r4y30n

Correct, the F-5E radar is only slightly more sophisticated than the MiG-21bis. And per that NASA report, the tracking mode is conical scan like old SAM systems.

So is the manual incorrect with its -10° to +40° range?

Is that not handled automatically by CALC? The F-14 has similar restrictions but the engines will automatically maintain mil power when throttles are cut and speed is too high.

Gauges in units tend to be calibrated so that zero load is 0 on the gauge and 30 is stall, that's why the relationship is different on every plane.

From Boeing, "Many AOA indicators used in the past have been of the "normalized" type, where AOA is shown in arbitrary units and scaled so that zero load factor is shown as an AOA of zero and stall is shown as an AOA of one. Normalized AOA on a commercial jetliner would require that Mach number be introduced into the calculation of AOA because stall AOA and buffet margins are a function of Mach number." Except in our case it's 0-30 rather than 0-1. http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_12/attack_story.html

Transonic drag rearing its ugly head...

Getting better at dogfighting I know it’s recommended to prevent roll reversal at high AoA, I hadn’t heard it’s a more efficient way to turn...

Even with gun ammo? The gun is a live A2A weapon...

All US military aircraft used units instead of degrees up until the FBW planes started coming out and, as far as I know, there is no standard definition of a unit.

To paraphrase a famous speech: We choose to fly and fight in the F-14 not because it’s easy but because it’s hard!

Weren't they generally kept until they broke and disabled instead of repaired after that?

How's your trim? If you're bottomed out on energy and haven't trimmed since the merge it's probably gonna be pretty nose high.

That's always been the plan. I think the next batch of Jester improvements are tied up with TWS-A but not 100% sure. Agreed.

I think the issue was getting the correct amount of trim compensation with (at the time) a frequently changing flight model. The simple solution was to remove the pitch moment of the speed brake while the FM got finalized and that removed the need for a trim change. Thus, you got the expected flight behavior (no pitch when brake is deployed) even though the visuals wouldn't match. Anyway, I'm sure it's on the to-do list.

At high AoA you'll get roll reversal if you try to roll with just the stick. You can either add more rudder and less stick or you can lower AoA. In one interview Okie mentioned doing zero-g reversals, which I suppose is a variation of flying the cross. I don't have enough practice to tell if I'm actually hitting zero but it does seem to improve roll rate when you unload first.

The A is not dead.

Sounds reasonable. I don't fly much at night but don't other modules have glow from the floods and/or HUD at night?

A lot of the difficulty seems to be Jester being a work in progress rather than any issues with the radar itself. In my experience he consistently drops lock when entering visual range (probably part of the hand-off to the pilot but no reason lock should be lost).

The VFX is a really nice grip. If you can look past it being plastic I recommend it. No idea what it's like on a Warthog base other than losing the axes but Virpil's base is really solid, super adjustable (pitch and roll can be adjusted separately) and very precise (16-bit contactless sensors, if I remember right).

Oh, I know. It's just fascinating to see all the clockwork behind the old tape gauges.

Yeah, BDHI was functioning normally including TACAN.

I’ve definitely had plane parts rain on my canopy after not heeding the break symbol. Got away with it that time but it could’ve easily taken out both engines.

That's what I figured, thanks. Wonder what broke if the actual backup instruments work...

Yup, I think that's the simplest way to do it. Of course, Jester will only take over if there's no one in visual range.

I assume Grumman saved some weight over these?