First Impressions

[Sport]

Just flew the F-5 last night for the first time, and I have to say I'm very impressed. I haven't read the manual yet and my only exposure was Wags' preview video a few months ago. Everything seemed a bit intuitive with the startup and I just wanted to get her up in the air for some quick dogfights and some landing practice.

 

A few things I noted:

 

Engine spool up from idle to full-thrust takes quite a lot longer than I am used to. Obviously there's no FADEC involvement with these engines, but I figured their diminutive size wouldn't have so much lag - I need to experiment with technique a little better and see whether a slam-acceleration with the throttle or a slow-gradual input works better.

 

VERY responsive in the roll axis. Makes formation flying very tricky when I'm only moving my stick a few degrees at a time, but in dogfights I can see how its ability to change direction quickly is going to be how you stay alive.

 

It does not like tail-slides. And flat spins are not easy to recover from. Of note is that 2,500 AGL is a perfectly acceptable ejection altitude from a spin... ask me how I know

 

I have not yet found the limit of AoA in a turnfight. In some of the high-performance aircraft I've flown IRL, a quick excursion past the critical AoA in a turn results in a wing-drop or a snap-roll (again, ask me how I know!) I need to play around with the F-5 a little more, but you can feel it start to get mushy and buffet a bit, but I'm curious what happens when you push it a tad too far.

 

She floats on landing (is this accurate?) For something with such a small wing area, it sure likes to eat up runway in the flare. I've been coming in with a targeted Vref of around 170kts (and final at Vref+10), but end up floating it 1000-1500' past my aimpoint. The landings have been smooth and very well controlled, but I expected it to settle pretty quickly after bringing the throttle back to idle over the threshold.

 

None of these are complaints, bug reports, or anything else - just some observations based on my real-world experience (I fly for a living) and my first flights in the sim. This is the "feel-good" module DCS really needed and the MiG-21 v F-5E dogfights have been absolutely fantastic.

 

Great job Bilsimtek, have yourselves a drink on us!

[ricktoberfest]

Sounds to me like you're landing very fast. Should be 145-155 knots depending on load

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sport]

Sounds to me like you're landing very fast. Should be 145-155 knots depending on load

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I need to get in and keep working on it. When I was doing bounces I had the small centerline tank and winders on the tips. Much slower just felt like I was dragging it in

 

The problem is that the ground effect causes a strong pitch up while it shouldn't cause any pitch moment or even the opposite moment.

AFAIR from ex T-38 pilots, a slight nose down pitch moment happens during the flare, mainly due to the proximity of the stabilator to the ground.

 

Yeah, I noticed I have to reduce the AoA in the flare to get it to touch down, which is normal for my real-life technique, but that's just because the wheels on the plane I normally fly are 46 feet behind where I sit!

[GriffonBR]

VERY responsive in the roll axis. Makes formation flying very tricky when I'm only moving my stick a few degrees at a time, but in dogfights I can see how its ability to change direction quickly is going to be how you stay alive.

 

And this is SO correct. I was talking with a friend that flys the F-5 Tiger II (modernized version and not the naval one like in the sim) and he told me that the Tiger is very sensible with the ailerons, so sensible that the first time that he made a barrel roll he hit his head on the canopy (he was flying the Super Tucano before :lol:)

 

Also, he said that the takeoff looks very realistic too. I showed him a video from the Youtube and he was impressed with the fidelity.

 

Once again, Belsimtek did a superb job with this module. :thumbup:

[Zimmerdylan]

I'm no pilot, but I own most of the DCS modules. I pre purchased a lot of them. I have seen some very good initial releases and some no so good initial releases. And although I know after several years with ED that all modules eventually make it to staller performance status and standards. The F-5 (IMO) is the best initial release AC thus far. I cannot speak to a few of the planes (L-39, M2000, and the Mig21) but upon it's preview release, the F-5 has been just wonderful. Being just a regular guy who cannot put hours into simming, I do not particularly know what all of the perks in this plane are as opposed to others. All that I do know is that I love flying this plane and in my book, it's a lot more fun than say...the F15 where you don't have full cockpit functionality but you have the performance. I don't fly the F15 very often for that reason, but I do love the F-5 and will fly it often.

I just gotta learn all that business with the flap and wing positions. I suppose I'll have to read the manual.

Thanks so much Belsimtek!!! And once again, I am sooooo sorry to have ever hassled you over the past years for silly issues. I have long since learned my lesson. You have come through every time for all of us.

So Thanks!!!!!!!!

[Hummingbird]

There's a known problem with the lift atm, i.e. the aircraft is capable of pulling 0.6 to 1 G over what it should at certain speeds. In addition to this idle thrust is too high. Belsimtek are aware of the problems however and working on them.

 

This might explain the floating on landing