Spurts

I'm out of town for the next week, but that's exciting news.

Slew, TOO, ENT, repeat x times. Select Munitions, TGTS, Select, Pickle for x+1 seconds, up to 10 targets destroyed. AFAIK the only Hornet advantage is 4 drops on a single pickle if you do all your stepping right.

And this was your error. By the book a Deck Launched Intercept for that loadout is a ~0.9M climb to 30,000ft. Level off and accelerate to 1.4M. Climb at 1.4M to altitude. The Ps through the transonic region is too low to effectively accelerate there so you have to either accelerate lower in level flight or climb higher and dive through that speed region.

The 1977 says it's a placard limit.

Muscle Memory. That is where I spend all my dogfighting time. I went from losing all my fights by doing that, to back off the AoA to never above 15 units (and winning some), to learning when I can go higher (helping me win more), to living higher and only going low if I need energy (and winning most through being stubborn)

1196 clean is correct per NAVAIR 00-110AF14-2. 1038 with tanks. 1314 clean is correct for the F-14A per the -1 of the same document printed in 1974.

So long hilariously short landing rolls, I'll miss you. IIRC the NATOPS does list a vastly shorter landing roll for the F-14 compared to the F/A-18, but being able to have a Hornet land and stay on the runway where it stopped, then have an F-14A hit the same touch down point, come to a full stop, then take off over the F/A-18 is a bit much..

I know, I just couldn't resist the play on words. And that flying sequence when they took them through the canyon to liberty was so good.

Morg is in the Morgue, sorry. And Tiger better come with a big ol stache and sing Downtown. How much to have Willem Defoe voice Tiger?

12 big pylons that stick way out there vs 4 flush pylons that have the lowest profile possible.

sorry

So that looks like the 10 Lot 20 jets initially were VFA and then must have transferred to VFMA as Super Hornets came online. My image search spot check may have sorted on most recent photos, which would make sense. So if that holds for all 60 we are still looking at 660 (minus FMS) -400 powered A/C models in service for almost 40 years vs 60 -402 powered models that were only in USN service for a decade

IIRC things like Mk84 have a roughly sonic terminal. Same diameter as a phoenix, way less drag due to tapered rear and tiny fins, and way more "thrust" due to a 2,000lb weight instead of 700-800 (whatever a phoenix without fuel is)

https://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=58149&p=460975 I can't account for all 175 F/A-18Cs with the uprated motors, but I can account for 113 of them going to Kuwait, Finland, and Switzerland. The in-Game Lot 20 accounts for a total of 10 airframes that went to the USMC. Looking at the first -402 powered hornet 164693 shows a USMC bird. https://www.airhistory.net/photo/280806/164693 I suppose one could spot check all 51 remaining tail numbers, but it's not much of a leap to say they were all FMS or USMC. Okay I spot checked at least one tail number from every block and saw a USMC jet. Let me know if you find otherwise. Looking at the Block lists in the NATOPS I see 364 F/A-18As and 301 -400 powered F/A-18Cs compared to at most 62 US F/A-18Cs with -402 motors, seemingly all of which ended up under the USMC.

Anything under 40k is just too low. I personally use 50 as my launch parameter

Good thing the Cat had such strong pitch authority then.

and That /\ is what I do for my cruise flying

There is substantial difference in drag. The drag of the C CFT (DI 4) is on the order of a single underwing drop tank (DI 5.5-6.0 depending on CFT presence). The drag of the E CFT (DI 21.3) is on the order of all three external tanks (DI 23.1-24.2 depending on CFT presence). The C CFT weighs 2,487lb for the pair and carries 9,514lb of fuel. The E CFT weighs 4,386lb for the pair and carries 9,352lb of fuel. The pylons are not "attached to" the CFT, they are integral with it and have structural supports and data buses.

Oh for sure! Just got done flying the Tomcat for the first time since MT dropped. That wing rock is wild but easy enough to manage. I was testing reversals while in the energy bucket (my term for min speed, max AoA, low altitude) and once I did a reversal via cross control stall the wing rock was strong and relentless. I had to lower AoA to kill it then resume my hard pull.

no no @fat creason I'm not saying anything about the Tomcat. More that people hear stories of Navy Hornets getting trashed without realizing Navy Hornets had much less thrust than ours in DCS.

also remember that the Hornet we have was only for the Marines and Foreign customers. AFAIK the Navy never got any (or at least not many) of the -402 powered Hornets so EVERY story of AF training with Navy and the Navy Hornet being slow and underpowered is NOT the model of Hornet we have in DCS.

For the fuel I tend to do most my non-opt cruise flying at 85% RPM until I am in active combat. Works well for me.

Pretty sure nothing should be able to relock. A Fox-3 might go pitbull, a Fox-2 or 3 might have a HOJ function, but a lost radar lock completely means a trashed missile, you cannot re-lock in real life.