HOTAS mapping for use with Thrustmaster's F 18C flight sitck

[ebenitez]

Hello everybody

I have recently bought a F18C flight stick from Thrustmaster and I realised, as it can be seen in the cockpit, the F15C flight sitck is very similar to the F 18C one. Does anybody know what are the real functions of the buttons in the F 15C flight stick? I would like to map these functions on the F 18C stick as long as it's possible.

 

Thank you very much

[dundun92]

Heres a diagram for the F-15A HOTAS, the only thing its missing is the castle switch, and I dont have any C model documentation for the new HOTAS, though I have one for the E.

Heres one for the E:

[ebenitez]

Hi Dundun92.

 

Thank you very much, that's just what I looked for. 

 

Best regards

 

[N22YF]

Here is the stick in the F-15C MSIP (what we have in DCS):

 

 

The castle switch can't be used exactly like this in DCS because the MFDs (VSD and MPCD) aren't modeled as fully interactive. However, I imagine this is how the pilot would adjust radar parameters such as display range and scan azimuth width, so I would map those controls there. (Radar on/off and PRF setting controls appear to be on the left console instead of HOTAS.)

 

My guess is the auto acquisition switch functions as:

• Forward: cycle between boresight (BORE) mode and long range search (LRS) mode
• Rear: cycle between vertical scan (VS) mode and track while scan (TWS) mode
• Down: return to search (target unlock)

I haven't found anything public about this, though, so that's just conjecture. If you want to set up the presses to alternate different commands, there's a thread about that here:

Alternatively, you could approximate this behavior by using a throttle button (for example) as a modifier, which would let you determine which mode is selected by a forward or rear press depending on whether that modifier button is held down (e.g., forward press without the modifier held = boresight mode; forward press with the modifier held = BVR mode).

Edited December 14, 2020 by N22YF
clarity

[dundun92]

Thumb forward once is SuperSearch, second is boresight, rear is Vertical Scan, down is reject/return to search

[N22YF]

2 hours ago, dundun92 said:

Thumb forward once is SuperSearch, second is boresight, rear is Vertical Scan, down is reject/return to search

 

Thanks for the correction! I did some more research and it's a bit more complex than I thought. My understanding now is, if you're starting in LRS, then the auto acquisition switch behaves as you wrote. However, if you're starting in STT, then the auto acquisition switch forward or rear enters different TWS modes (HDTWS and regular TWS). From LRS, TWS can be entered by pressing the castle switch up, or pressing the throttle boat switch aft. Since supersearch and HDTWS aren't modeled in DCS, I would suggest the following mapping of the auto acquisition switch (a.k.a. "weapon select switch" for the F/A-18C) as a stab at approximating the real thing:

• Forward: boresight mode
• Rear: vertical scan mode
• Down: BVR mode
• Left or right (or use a control on the throttle instead): Return To Search/NDTWS

and then map the Radar RWS/TWS Mode Select command to a control on the throttle and/or the castle push button.

 

(This actually may apply to just the APG-70 radar and not our APG-63(V)1, but if I had to guess, I'd suspect that TWS is controlled similarly for both.)

Edited December 14, 2020 by N22YF