[Position lights to "flash" issue]

I think all of the position lights are supposed to flash when set to "flash". The upper and lower auxiliary position lights on the outer wings do not flash. I think they should along with the primary position lights on the engine intakes and the white tail lights. Also, the under fuselage lights (the two white lights under the cockpit) should flash in unison with the rest. Correct me if I'm wrong. I only know the F-4 Phantom II had similar lighting and I observed all those lights would flash in unison. The F-5's tail strobe or rotating beacon would, of course, flash independently, as you have it doing. Modern aircraft have strobes or flashing LEDs. The original F-5E had a rotating beacon. I believe two small directional lights (mounted together in opposite directions inside the vertical tail) would rotate about 150 degrees left and right. I'd like an option for the rotating beacon effect, if you could.

[Landing lights have no side lighting effect]

I believe the landing lights would provide some minimal, but useful, illumination of the ground to the left and right of the aircraft when taxiing at night. Say, 80 degrees to the left and right for about 50 meters? ...in addition to the strong beams forward.

[External lights illuminate inside of tailpipes]

The white tail position light and red beacon light illuminate the inside of the engine tailpipes. Can that be fixed?

[Exhaust/contrail not affected by winds]

Is this an F-5 module problem or all of DCS? Anyway, an aircraft can be flying in a 30-knot crosswind and at a crab angle with reference to the ground (but still flying straight through the moving air mass) but the exhaust trail streams back in line with the aircraft's ground track. It should trail straight back from the aircraft, because it is in the moving air mass as well. In other words, the whole contrail or exhaust trail is floating in the moving crosswind. Any clouds at that altitude should also be moving with the moving air mass.

[Ground Crew Comms Menu text]

The Ground Crew Communications Menu Text is in Black font color and impossible to see in some situations, like night time or against a black background. Can you just make it all white (with shadow) or light-colored text?

[Parachute not rearming]

Thanks for report! I'll check and add this possibility

Yes, I was going to report this. The drag chute should get repacked with "Refuel/Re-arm" action. Currently, it seems to only get repacked if "aircraft repair" is selected from the menu.

 

Could you also add an option to choose "Fast Re-arm/Refuel" or "Realistic Re-arm/Refuel" speed? For those who want realism, being able to re-load and refuel in a minute is not real. In reality, I'd imagine it would take at least 30 minutes for a real ground crew to do this, depending on load out selected. Staring at a plane with no visible crew or activity around it for 30 minutes...will likely generate "bug" reports. :) But if you could show the ground crew personnel and equipment around the aircraft--even if shown in a 'static' position at each station--that 30 minutes would seem to go a lot quicker. For example, show one crewmember with the fuel hose, refueling the aircraft--maybe 7 minutes. At the same time, maybe 3 crew members are at the wingtip loading up a new AIM-9--4 minutes. While another crew member is at the rear of the aircraft loading in a new drag chute--4 minutes. Then the three ordnance persons move to the other wing tip and load that Sidewinder--another 4 minutes. They would just be static figures in a fixed pose and would 'jump' from station to station...but it would be something. From there they move to each of the 5 pylons and spend about 5 minutes at each--weapons have to be lifted to and mounted on pylons, cartridges have to be loaded, arming wires connected, safety pins installed. 5 minutes would be quick, I think. Would have to assume a multiple ejector rack would already have all its bombs attached, or that could be a long time. I know many people would choose "Fast", but there are realists like me who want to wait the full time. Doesn't seem like it would take much programming to have the option. Safety pins: normally, I think the aircraft is loaded on the ramp and safety pinned. Then they taxi to the arming area near the runway--away from most personnel and structures--where the safety pins are removed and the aircraft is then armed and ready, under control of its cockpit weapons control panel.

[ground crew not performing tasks]

I noticed an issue where the ground crew wouldn't do anything if the canopy was closed...which it is closed after repair, for some reason. If one of your stabilators was missing, I'd say your repair time was going to be days...if not needing to return the aircraft to a major repair depot. ;) Actually, for the F-5, if a stabilator was missing, I doubt the aircraft could be controlled, in reality. I think it would nose in, or pitch up into a flat spin or something.

BTW, I recall a video of a Blue Angels A-4F losing one side of its horizontal stabilizer in a mid-air collision. It nosed over into an inverted flat spin. Although that may have been partly due to CG issue after the pilot ejected. The plane hit the ground in an inverted, level flat spin.

[Flaps]

Oh, another thing: turn on the pitch and yaw damper switches. That helps smooth things out. Also, adjust your joystick response in the sim settings. I believe most real fighter joysticks are much stiffer and more resistant to movement than your typical computer gaming joysticks. But some real jet pilots might be able to weigh in on that.

[Flaps]

Leading edge Flaps i think are only for takeoffs and landing in pure flying there are problems in dynamic air flowing betwwen leading edge flaps and normal flaps and ailerons air flow are cutoff if we are on aggressive flying.

With the F-5E-3, you have the option of selecting flaps to AUTO, in which (central air data computer, I guess) will position the flaps optimally for your AOA and airspeed; or manually set them to UP, FIXED (an intermediate position), or FULL. And if the landing gear is down, I think the flaps are automatically set to FULL when AUTO is selected. I think manual mode, UP position is the default setting. If you choose AUTO, then you get what the plane thinks they should be. If you get into PIO (pilot induced oscillations - porpoising), the AUTO flaps may go a little nuts trying to set flaps for whatever you are trying to do, because your PIO has the AOA bouncing up and down. As mentioned by randomTOTEN, make sure your fuel is balanced. There's a switch to have the fuel system balance it for you, but you have to start it early in the flight. BTW, left and right fuel tanks are really front and rear internal fuselage tanks. So an imbalance affects CG and longitudinal stability. The F-5 wings are too thin, I guess, for internal wing tanks. So, setting flaps to manual - UP, I think you can take off and land with flaps UP, if you wish...might need a long runway, though. I like to set them manually, myself. But don't forget to raise them to UP (or AUTO) after takeoff. :) Also, don't forget to raise the gear after takeoff...and close the speed brakes before takeoff! I have taken off a few times with the speed brakes out. Checklists are a real good thing. Hope that helps. (or read the manual and study the flaps switches on the throttle and next to the throttle)

[Default position of fuel boost pump and generators switches in a cold start]

In a cold start, you will normally find fuel boost pump and generators switches in off position, and according to normal procedures they have to be placed on for starting up engines.

 

In my opinion, these switches should be on by default at the beginning of the mission.

 

To support my suggestion, if we read ENGINE SHUTDOWN procedure in T.O. 1F-5E-1, Section II, we can find in step 3, that fuel boost  pump and generator switched are leaved on.

 

Therefore, It is normal to expect finding them on in the next start.

 

I know that these changes would affect to DCS F-5E manual and the training mission, but it would be nice this minor issue to be corrected.

I would prefer something other that just "cold" start. Maybe cold start would mean the aircraft is just released from maintenance and those switches are off (as it currently is the case). Maybe there should be a "warm" start configuration, where the aircraft has simply been "turned around" from a previous mission and some of those switches are still on as expected. That way it would give more options, more flexibility to us all.

[Zuni Rockets?]

Any idea if we could get Zuni Pods?

Does the F-5E weapons manual say anything about Zuni's? I thought that Zuni rockets were only used by the US Navy. Zuni's are 5" rockets. I think they use the same rocket motor as some of the Sidewinder missiles? The pods carried 4 Zuni's. Now, if Belsimtek would make an A-4C or A-4E Skyhawk (hint, hint), we could put Zuni pods on them. :) I'm all for that. Nice simple A-4E, like the F-5E. The A-7B, A-6A and F-4B were much more complex (they could carry Zuni's)...but much more systems to simulate.