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The A-12s and SR-71s also did the subsonic climb, pushover to supersonic then supersonic climb profile, too. https://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/6/6-12.php

I think you may have PLM and PAL confused. PLM will lock a target at or near the ADL cross and because of that the radar beam is fixed straight ahead, whereas PAL does the automatic search pattern. What issue are you having with VSL modes?

The pitch ladder is offset upwards from the actual horizon and has no relation to the FPM. The FPM is also not as advanced as more modern jets in terms of overall accuracy.

So the flight level settings don't do anything at present? (Not a current Hornet owner, just vaguely familiar with the Harpoon from sub sims)

Looks like sea skimming works fine in Wags' demo video...

ED/Belsimtek are already making an F-4E and, while I'd love to see carrier-based Phantoms, I'm not sure it'd be worth the bother of building a B or J when the end result is a very similar plane with less BFM capability.

The Harpoon should always be sea skimming on approach to target because this minimizes its visibility to the target's radar. Early models could approach at low alt and pop up near the target to dive bomb from around 6000 ft but my understanding is later models removed that option and are sea skimming all the way. Pretty sure the missile's wings and engine are too small to fly in the stratosphere. If you want a 90° attack why not use an LGB?

Yup, steering angle is 70°, that's proper drift car angle! And if I'm not mistaken all the other carrier birds have the same angle but the Hornet can switch between 70° and a reduced range to avoid over controlling on land.

There’s a reason the pedals have two rungs in the Spitfire. Most pilots during the war were taught to put their heels on top of the pedals for normal maneuvers to discourage using the rudder.

One thing to point out in the OP's test... You'll never pick up a target when trailing him in the F-5 because the radar, while simple, is a pulse doppler and under those conditions it's filtering out the bogey because he's not really moving relative to you. The MiG-21 doesn't have that problem since it's a pulse radar but it has to deal with ground clutter instead. If you want the best of both worlds try the F-14, it can switch between the two modes.

A2A is pretty serious about their planes, they're just hamstrung by a 16 year old platform. Hoping this changes with the new MS project...

Is it just IAS or is it CAS? The CADC has enough data and power to compute calibrated speed, doesn't it?

It's pretty incredible that it would take 2 min for Razbam to copy/paste that to the official forums here yet they can't be bothered. Do we need to call them out on Facebook directly?

Proof that coffee is not a substitute for sleep... Anyway, good info, thanks!

Slightly off topic but wasn’t it determined in an earlier thread that the AIM-7M cannot home on CW at all?

The inverting trick still works? I thought that was a bug.

Sounds like Razbam needs a community manager, handling things like updates and making sure they get posted to all the right places is their job description.

One way to work around that is to pull past vertical before you extend to keep him in view. You'll probably need some negative G on the extension but I haven't run into any engine issues so far with that technique.

Fair

True, but MW50 serves that purpose when in use.

The inlet itself actually works really well, even at high alpha, surprisingly. It's also much simpler and cheaper than the multiple moving ramps of an F-14 or -15. I think the major reason this design died out in fighter use was the need for a bigger radar than would fit in an intake.

The purpose of the nose cone is to use a shock wave to slow supersonic air to subsonic speeds before entering the engine. As it slows the pressure increases and this increases power. In automatic mode the cone moves forward and aft to keep that shock wave ahead of the inlet lip as the plane changes mach. If the shock goes into the inlet it will unstart causing a surge and possibly a flame out. Since I'm sure there's a safety margin built into the automatic system you could potentially get the shock closer by hand to increase efficiency but you'd have to constantly watch the nose position vs mach and you're risking an unstart the moment you get it wrong. At the end of the day a human being will never be able to perfectly coordinate inlet position vs mach (particularly if he's in combat) and for that reason the manual system is really there to get your MiG subsonic without a flame out in the event of a failure in the automatic system. If you do decide to try it out, though... Keep an eye on the cone position dial vs mach with the system in auto to get an idea of where it should be. I think the translation schedule is also in the manual but it's been a while since I flipped through it. One thing to note, the afterburner creates a huge change in overall engine pressure, in external view you'll see the cone visibly jump as it engages, so I'd recommend not engaging/disengaging burner while fiddling with the cone in manual. Also, I think the inlet schedule is supposed to limit power at max speed to prevent you from melting the engine so bear that in mind.

I know everyone calls it a 2-stage intercooler on the Merlin but really it's a water jacket between supercharger stages and a single intercooler after the 2nd stage. https://www.flickr.com/photos/97039613@N00/4925920905/in/photostream/

How would a RIO report a PD contact anyhow? Bogey 20 right, closing 600 kts, long range?