New F/A-18C model.

[Shein]

I'll never understand why folks are still clamoring for a helicopter that never got out of prototype, never fired a single round, never left Florida under it's own power as far as I know, cancelled over 8 years ago by now. 7 billion for nothing. Except my program hehehe.

 

I'm friends with the lead test engineer, the reason I'm all over it is because of what it could do...

From one of the test pilots:

"The #3 bird was almost ready for flight, and there were 8 others in various forms of completion. The pieces were crushed to be sure nobody could resurrect the program.

 

It was a kick to fly, a full 2 decades ahead of anything else out there. In spite of the PR that went out, few of the really advanced concepts found their way into anything else. This is mostly because the really advanced things rely on a fully integrated aircraft with a real central computer system and FBW, and such aircraft as the LUH and ARH have so little technology in them.

 

A brief run thru the technologies:

 

fly by wire that used velocity control, so no outside reference was needed for precise control in NOE environments.

 

Wide field of view, visually coupled helmet display with full aircraft health weapons and nav info so no heads down was ever needed.

 

Flight controls keyed to the weapons solution (integrated fire and flight controls) so that the aircraft pointed with uncanny accuracy and quickness

 

Fully integrated health caution and advisory info, so almost no gages had to be looked at. All emergencies were automatic cleanup by computer

 

Automatic target recognition and classification in half the time of a human crew

 

Fully automated use of the map as the mission analog, with all mission info presented on the detailed, colored terrain map. No grids were ever handled by the crew, all info was spotted on the map for the crew, or taken off the map when the crew pointed at the spot. Radios were tuned by the map as you crossed tactical boundaries. Spot reports were packaged by the system as the crew circled the map info, and cut and pasted it onto the spot report. Other crews were briefed by lead using a free hand white line that lead drew on their maps as he briefed them, "You set yourself HERE, this is your section of the kill zone." The manipulation of the pictoral mission elements was like Windows, but instead of an office desk, the cockpit behaved like a sand-table in a tactics school.

 

Radar, IR signatures that were so low, it was 1/300th the signature of an Apache, and could fly right up to the latest radar controlled gun and kill it with its 20mm gatling gun. No jammers were needed!

 

Full cabin overpressure so that flight in any chemical or nuclear (or Nuculur if you are Geo Bush!) environment could be accomplished with the crew in shirtsleeves

 

Ability to turn 180 degrees at any speed from 0 to 130 knots in less than 5 seconds, where the timing starts with target detect and ends with weapons launch.

 

Hover at altitudes up to 7500 feet DA in winds up to 45 knots without compromised yaw control.

 

Able to "snap turn" at 120 knots 90 degrees in less than 2 seconds to weapons launch

 

The program was on schedule, and the Army was pleased enough to have awarded the program maximum extra payments for excellence just a month or two before it was cancelled. Even the Army PM was not involved or informed of the cancellation decision. The Billions of completion funding was a ripe plum, picked and sent to Iraq, like 2 of my sons."

[HungaroJET]

Well that was an interesting story ...and an incomprehensible decision (program cancellation)

 

I think if devs able to bring into DCS the Raptor or the EuroFighter with available/presumable informations then Comanche or Longbow also should have a place in the DCS ("non-DCS-brand") field.

 

Of course i would buy a Comanche modul :thumbup: (doesnt matter if its DCS barnded or not).

That hummingbird is unique, stealthy and hot sexy. :love:

Or with other words: Agile, Mobile and Hostile (by Tommy Lee Jones alias Brad Little about the Apache) :laugh: ...and (while) he doesnt know the ability of Comache ;)

Edited October 4, 2012 by HungaroJET

[Chain]

Almost everyone seems to love the F/A-18C and yes...it's also my favourite aircraft. There will be ALOT of happy customers if the F/A-18C will be the next module.

[Phantom88]

Almost everyone seems to love the F/A-18C and yes...it's also my favourite aircraft. There will be ALOT of happy customers if the F/A-18C will be the next module.

 

TRUE....THAT!!!!:thumbup:+1

[SmokeyTheLung]

There will be ALOT of happy customers if the F/A-18C will be the next module.

 

Agreed. Sadly ED isn't in the business of instant gratification for it's customers...

The last DCS aircraft that was announced was the a-10... That was over four years ago! It took them roughly three years from that point to release the final version. We're in for a long wait...

 

 

...can't help but show my inherent pessimism. Frankly, I get the sense that ED has a lot of projects in the pipeline but nothing on the table (when it comes to a consumer market hi-fi jet aircraft sim)

[SmokeyTheLung]

DCS- P-51...:doh::doh::doh: oops

 

The last modern DCS aircraft that was announced was the a-10

[SkateZilla]

P-51 was announced weeks before the "open beta"