AOA ?

[SKYWARRIOR]

Hi am am a Newbie but with the help here and with others marching on pretty well but I have yet another ? 

I DO UNDERSTAND  the principals of AOA  ( I fly model jets and have done so for years ) but in my naivety when I saw an instruction in controls for "AOA up" and "AOA down" I allocated a nice little roller button on top of my W/Hog F18 replica joystick. This enabled me the change the AOA on approach with ease and it worked for months up until the last patch, when it stopped working despite changing buttons / controls. The knob in the centre under the UFC is notated as brighter / dimmer of AOA symbology in "Chucks  pages " but this moves with the above button commands although buttons changed the AOA. 

I have rectified this by using the original buttons as Elev/Trm and it works fine but there is a debate in my head and others have a view as well that these buttons dont change AOA  as shown in the Controls page.

Now since they dont work for me currently I cannot determine what is right so :

1 Do these buttons change the AOA and were they designed to do so ?

2 If not are they just for varying the brightness ?

3 If 2 is the answer why did they effect to AOA ?

Thanks 

David

[Gierasimov]

Hi David, 

AOA is not controlled via the knob in the cockpit (buttons assigned). It is to change the brightness of the AOA indexer but not actual angle of attack as this is the outcome of aircraft pitch. 

so from your question it is 2 and no this does not affect AOA (3). 

Thanks, 

Luke

[Gierasimov]

Also, I am genuinely curious, where  is that: "instruction in controls for "AOA up" and "AOA down"

[SKYWARRIOR]

Hey Thank you for the reply . The strange thing is it did move the elev trim it seems as this is one way to change AOA relative to throttle position. Must have been some interaction now disappeared by the latest update . 

So at least I can forget this and get on with flying in the new format 

Thanks 

 

David

 

 

7 minutes ago, Gierasimov said:

Also, I am genuinely curious, where  is that: "instruction in controls for "AOA up" and "AOA down"

Its listed  AOA  up  AOA down  and it says UFC panel or something ( am not at the computer right now .. All but axis commands 

David

Edited October 7, 2024 by SKYWARRIOR
Duplicate reply

[SKYWARRIOR]

9 minutes ago, Gierasimov said:

Also, I am genuinely curious, where  is that: "instruction in controls for "AOA up" and "AOA down"

Its listed  AOA  up  AOA down  and it says UFC panel or something ( am not at the computer right now .. All but axis commands 

David

[Gierasimov]

OK, not a problem. For sure the category is not UFC, most likely it is HUD Control Panel and it is AOA Indexer Control Knob. 

What I make out of your description is that you either confused it with the trimmer switched or in fact by using the little wheel on your Warthog Hornet grip to control indexer brightness you were pulling  / pushing stick a bit. It is hard to understand the cause of the issue for you now that it is gone. 

Anyways, by practicing and learning you will for sure achieve your goals. Happy flying.

[Yurgon]

3 hours ago, SKYWARRIOR said:

The knob in the centre under the UFC is notated as brighter / dimmer of AOA symbology in "Chucks  pages " but this moves with the above button commands although buttons changed the AOA

Just to confirm, is this the control you're referring to?

I do have an old DCS 2.9.5 installation available and I can observe no effect on the aircraft's angle of attack whatsoever when manipulating this knob. It also doesn't matter whether I rotate it with the mouse of via a keyboard control.

3 hours ago, SKYWARRIOR said:

I DO UNDERSTAND  the principals of AOA

We could go into a arbitrary amounts of detail here, but seriously, do yourself a favor and read "Stick and Rudder". By page 35 or so you'll have understood AoA, and by the end of the book you'll be a better pilot, regardless of virtual, model or real flying.

[SKYWARRIOR]

1 hour ago, Yurgon said:

Just to confirm, is this the control you're referring to?

I do have an old DCS 2.9.5 installation available and I can observe no effect on the aircraft's angle of attack whatsoever when manipulating this knob. It also doesn't matter whether I rotate it with the mouse of via a keyboard control.

We could go into a arbitrary amounts of detail here, but seriously, do yourself a favor and read "Stick and Rudder". By page 35 or so you'll have understood AoA, and by the end of the book you'll be a better pilot, regardless of virtual, model or real flying.

 

Hi and thank you for confirming it. Then I have no idea how the control was obtained as it has worked for months now since I started but lets move on from here as I know the true meaning of these controls and will read your recommendation  "Stick and Rudder" as it may improve my model flying as well. 

Thank you and thats solved it.

David

I am not sure who puts SOLVED  in the post here but maybe you can advise as well as where and how can I attach my rigs spec at the bottom of my posts perhaps 

Edited October 7, 2024 by SKYWARRIOR
spelling

[Yurgon]

1 hour ago, SKYWARRIOR said:

Then I have no idea how the control was obtained as it has worked for months now since I started

Me neither; if this knob ever affected the AoA, this would have been a pretty severe bug in the module. I don't follow the Hornet changelogs too closely, but I'm not aware of such a bug having been reported or fixed.

On a sidenote, I read your initial post at least 3 times before responding and I could have sworn you wrote that you do NOT understand AoA. Certainly read that wrong.

Anyway, the only controls that should affect AoA in a normal aircraft are stick fore and aft, pitch trim, lift and drag devices (aka flaps and slats, speed brakes, spoilers, landing gear), and possibly backup systems like mechanically connected trim tabs. Some aircraft do have backup trim controls in the cockpit, but the AoA Indexer Brightness knob really, really shouldn't affect the flight of the aircraft in any way, shape, or form whatsoever.

Langewiesche's book is a highly recommend read. In an age before YouTube and discussion forums, he made sure to explain topics from different angles and made sure he got the point across before moving on. As far as I'm concerned, everyone with even a moderate interest in aviation should read it.

1 hour ago, SKYWARRIOR said:

maybe you can advise as well as where and how can I attach my rigs spec at the bottom of my posts perhaps

Check your profile settings; there you can add a bunch of data that'll be displayed either in your profile or as a signature below all your posts.

[ruddy122]

AOA is weird

Its all about pitch angle and thrust

The F/A-18 shows slow at top of E and fast at bottom of E, F-16 Opposite fast top of E slow bottom of E

All your doing is adjusting AOA light brightness

Lucky

[SKYWARRIOR]

So I have no idea why  on my machine it did this but I have now transferred the control to elev trim and it works well. 

 

Problem solved ( if indeed there was actually a problem!)

David