IronMike Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 (edited) LET'S TURN AND BURN Hi Everyone! Currently, the Heatblur team is undertaking a large effort to refine and finalise the flight modelling of the F-14 Tomcat. In the previous update, the changes delivered were exclusively for the F-14A; the TF-30 powered version of the aircraft. The overall goal of this tuning pass was to even more closely match published performance data and ensure that the F-14A performs as it did in reality. The Heatblur F-14A is now even more accurate in how it maintains energy states across the whole flight envelope, meaning more accurate performance while manoeuvring. Further refinements include an overhaul of some of the intrinsic behaviour of the aircraft, such as wing rock. Wing rock in the Tomcat is now more pronounced and accurate to reality, and associated buffeting has also been improved to be more in tune with the real aircraft. The flight modelling refinements for the F-14A are now practically complete and the team is focusing on the F-14B, the F110 engine powered variant of the Tomcat. We thus figured we’d write-up a full and detailed breakdown of the latest DCS: F-14 flight modelling changes, our assumptions, methodologies and some of the theory behind the why and how. F-14 Flight Model Tuning - Part I - click to read. We hope you enjoy! full link: https://heatblur.se/fmupdate/ We love to share and learn together as a community and enthusiasts, and considering these changes impact the way you fly and fight the F-14; why not have you be part of this last step of our development journey. We’ve spent a considerable amount of time recently perfecting and tuning the last parts of the flight model for our F-14. As mentioned above, we’ve focused entirely on the F-14A first; the TF-30 powered version of the aircraft. To give you a better overview of the how and why, let’s do a quick deep dive and give you some background (pls follow the link above). F-14 Flight Model Future With this process nearing completion, the F-14A flight model is nearly in a fully finished state. The journey has been long, initially focusing on handling qualities with our very dedicated pilot SME, Victory205. We wanted to get those out of the way first to make sure handling was correct, with extra time spent focusing on handling qualities around the boat to ensure a very authentic carrier trapping experience. In the near future we will update the following FM items: AOA buffet update to be more realistic (new checkbox option) - will be included in DCS Patch April 13th 2023 Finish performance tuning for F-14B - will be included in DCS Patch April 13th 2023 Improve ground handling Misc minor handling qualities and performance updates as needed Of course the biggest of the items above is to finish a similar pass to the above for the F-14B; also fine-tuning the performance to perfectly match the available data and plots. We’ll chime in with another flight modelling update focusing on the F-14B results once we’re ready! If you have questions or just want to leave your feedback or else discuss the new performance and FM changes, feel free to discuss here. As always, we're looking forward to your input! Thanks for reading, and for your support – we hope you enjoy this deep dive, especially as a precursor to similar articles for the DCS: F-4E, DCS: A-6E and Eurofighter aircraft. Sincerely, Team Heatblur EDIT April 13th, 2023: - Adding Performance and FM Changes to F-14B, inlcuding level flight acceleration, turn performance and top speed and access power across the flight envelope. Feel free to also join the official Heatblur Simulations Discord and discuss with us there: https://discord.gg/heatblur-simulations Edited April 12, 2023 by IronMike 14 7 Heatblur Simulations Please feel free to contact me anytime, either via PM here, on the forums, or via email through the contact form on our homepage. http://www.heatblur.com/ https://www.facebook.com/heatblur/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germane Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 A really very good report 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven (Elysian Angel) Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Very impressive, thank you! 3 Spoiler Ryzen 9 5900X | 64GB G.Skill TridentZ 3600 | Gigabyte RX6900XT | ASUS ROG Strix X570-E GAMING | Samsung 990Pro 2TB + 960Pro 1TB NMVe | HP Reverb G2 Pro Flight Trainer Puma | VIRPIL MT-50CM2+3 base / CM2 x2 grip with 200 mm S-curve extension + CM3 throttle + CP2/3 + FSSB R3L + VPC Rotor TCS Plus base with SharKa-50 grip mounted on Monstertech MFC-1 | TPR rudder pedals OpenXR | PD 1.0 | 100% render resolution | DCS "HIGH" preset Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skarp Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Does this mean the stores drag in the engine wells are fixed in the F14A? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMike Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Skarp said: Does this mean the stores drag in the engine wells are fixed in the F14A? The stores drag has been fixed indeed, it needed to happen before the FM could be tuned. Stores drag was tuned by type and station and it generally correlates to the drag index data in NATOPS. Edited March 31, 2023 by IronMike 4 1 Heatblur Simulations Please feel free to contact me anytime, either via PM here, on the forums, or via email through the contact form on our homepage. http://www.heatblur.com/ https://www.facebook.com/heatblur/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joker62 Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 5 hours ago, IronMike said: We thus figured we’d write-up a full and detailed breakdown of the latest DCS: F-14 flight modelling changes, our assumptions, methodologies and some of the theory behind the why and how. This report is really impressive and I think it should be digested slowly, at least for me. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to trying these FM refinements with the F-14B as well. 5 hours ago, IronMike said: We wanted to get those out of the way first to make sure handling was correct, with extra time spent focusing on handling qualities around the boat to ensure a very authentic carrier trapping experience. This's particularly interesting to me. I bought F-14 at the end of January and I haven't stopped flying it since. But I noticed that the bolter percentage is much higher than with FA-18C. Still, I'm thrilled with this aircraft. Excellent work. I will look forward to these future updates as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSplayer Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Oooo fancy new website. -Tinkerer, Certified F-14 and AIM-54 Nut | Discord: @dsplayer Setup: i7-8700k, GTX 1080 Ti, 32GB 3066Mhz, Lots of Storage, Saitek/Logitech X56 HOTAS, TrackIR + TrackClipPro Modules: F-14, F/A-18, JF-17, F-16C, Mirage 2000C, FC3, F-5E, Mi-24P, AJS-37, AV-8B, A-10C II, AH-64D, MiG-21bis, F-86F, MiG-19P, P-51D, Mirage F1, L-39, C-101, SA342M, Ka-50 III, Supercarrier, F-15E Maps: Caucasus, Marianas, South Atlantic, Persian Gulf, Syria, Nevada Mods I've Made: F-14 Factory Clean Cockpit Mod | Modern F-14 Weapons Mod | Iranian F-14 Weapons Pack | F-14B Nozzle Percentage Mod + Label Fix | AIM-23 Hawk Mod for F-14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draconus Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 8 hours ago, IronMike said: AOA buffet update to be more realistic (new checkbox option) I can only assume what can it be but... thank you Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060 Rift S T16000M TWCS TFRP FC3 F-14A/B F-15E CA SC NTTR PG Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat creason Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 20 minutes ago, draconus said: I can only assume what can it be but... thank you It's going to be more like a step function than the linear increase we have now. Systems Engineer & FM Modeler Heatblur Simulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat creason Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 6 hours ago, Skarp said: Does this mean the stores drag in the engine wells are fixed in the F14A? The stores drag was adjusted a while ago using drag index data from the F-14 NATOPS. We obviously couldn't adjust the actual drag of the missiles or else it would affect the missile performance, but we found a way to adjust individual stores drag while they're attached based on the station where they're mounted. The recessed Sparrows have the least drag while attached to the aircraft. 4 Systems Engineer & FM Modeler Heatblur Simulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 Am I wrong or is the F-14A-95-GR version not mentioned at all in the latest NL? Bye Phant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skarp Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 2 hours ago, fat creason said: The stores drag was adjusted a while ago using drag index data from the F-14 NATOPS. We obviously couldn't adjust the actual drag of the missiles or else it would affect the missile performance, but we found a way to adjust individual stores drag while they're attached based on the station where they're mounted. The recessed Sparrows have the least drag while attached to the aircraft. Awesome ! Can’t wait for the B update too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisedByWolves Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 What about glove vanes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat creason Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 1 hour ago, RaisedByWolves said: What about glove vanes? They’ll be visual only if anything, no FM changes planned. Systems Engineer & FM Modeler Heatblur Simulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panny Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 The reduction in stores drag has been great. The F-14A can really get to speed with phoenixes now. From deck to 45k feet m1.4 in four and a half minutes, with 2/2/2 or 6 minutes with 4/2/2 and bags Before you'd struggle to break the sound barrier 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat creason Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 4 hours ago, Panny said: The reduction in stores drag has been great. The F-14A can really get to speed with phoenixes now. From deck to 45k feet m1.4 in four and a half minutes, with 2/2/2 or 6 minutes with 4/2/2 and bags Before you'd struggle to break the sound barrier This is because of the flight model tuning, the stores drag has been unchanged for a fairly long time. Systems Engineer & FM Modeler Heatblur Simulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain_dalan Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 20 hours ago, fat creason said: It's going to be more like a step function than the linear increase we have now. And the checkbox means its optional? Like DCS burble is? Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draconus Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 19 minutes ago, captain_dalan said: Like DCS burble is? Tomcat has its own burble and wake turbulence always on afaik. Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060 Rift S T16000M TWCS TFRP FC3 F-14A/B F-15E CA SC NTTR PG Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain_dalan Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) On 4/1/2023 at 9:23 PM, draconus said: Tomcat has its own burble and wake turbulence always on afaik. Yep, but i was referring to the checkbox As in, is it optional or not (DCS burble is) ? Edited April 3, 2023 by captain_dalan Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lieuie Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 3 hours ago, captain_dalan said: Yep, but i was referring to the checkbox As in, is it optional or not (DCS burble is) ? As I understand it, yes. Although I don't get why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draconus Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 6 hours ago, captain_dalan said: DCS burble is It isn't (for Tomcat) - I was refering to that. Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060 Rift S T16000M TWCS TFRP FC3 F-14A/B F-15E CA SC NTTR PG Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCTherik Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 7 hours ago, draconus said: It isn't (for Tomcat) - I was refering to that. Tomcat burble is always on?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draconus Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 35 minutes ago, JCTherik said: Tomcat burble is always on?!? Tomcat has its own burble and wake turbulence always on - HB advises to turn off DCS wake turbulence option when flying Tomcat. Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060 Rift S T16000M TWCS TFRP FC3 F-14A/B F-15E CA SC NTTR PG Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartan111sqn Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 2 hours ago, draconus said: Tomcat has its own burble and wake turbulence always on - HB advises to turn off DCS wake turbulence option when flying Tomcat. For a better simulation you recommend to turn it off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draconus Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 11 minutes ago, Spartan111sqn said: For a better simulation you recommend to turn it off? That's what they say, right @IronMike? Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060 Rift S T16000M TWCS TFRP FC3 F-14A/B F-15E CA SC NTTR PG Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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