Should be able to get back to work on the jet in about a month. Can't wait.
You think YOU can't wait?!?
I can relate, though. Been "over there", and getting home was the best feeling! I am glad you'll be home soon. Take some time to BE home, and only then worry about a hobby. It matters. Did for me anyway.
Concerning the disabled/removed pirouette gauge I have not noticed any differences in flight dynamics so far, so you should be able to pull these maneuvers even without the gauge. Please report in case you notice otherwise.
I am still trying to make "good" comparisons. I want a valid comparison, not just "I think that...". I want to be able to point and say "This and that aren't as good, thus-and-so is better." whatever. I am no test pilot by any stretch, but the closer I can duplicate scenarios between the two versions, the more valid it should be. I think.
So I test:)
So far, I've started at 25,000'MSL, 250KIAS, same fuel load, no weight aboard except the pilot and wing-tip missiles, both adjusted in the Fuel & Payload select screen. Why those parameters? Gotta start someplace! What I do is start out in a left bank, about a 2.5G pull. I steepen the bank angle, thus AOA, and the G load while bringing the throttle up to compensate, until I am at full throttle. As far as I can without "blacking out". I hold it at 4.0G almost 90° bank, full throttle, until it departs. And they both always do, once AOA hits about 35-ish, which I expected. Usually after about 2.5-3 complete circles, and of course, the tighter I pull, the lower the airspeed drops, even in full AB, although the G load remains about constant.
So far, it appears to me that the FSXBA bleeds energy faster below the 200 kIAS point, and thus, departs sooner. I even managed, once, to enter an actual "spin". I used the Spin Recovery switch and got it out. Wound up down at about 7,000'. Scared the heck outta me, honestly, especially when running though my head was the NATOPS warning to eject by 10,000' under these circumstances. Not easy to eject from my easy chair, but for a second, I actually thought about reaching for the handle. Still not a member of the Martin-Baker club
Sorry, got sidetracked.
One question: All I've read about the F/A-18 says that it should be a "feet-on-the-floor" aircraft to fly, meaning it shouldn't need hardly any, if any at all, rudder input during normal flight. I've noticed that to simulate such a condition I need to use the ctrl+shft+U key combo (auto-rudder). I don't normally
ever use auto-rudder, and never have, but in this case...
Is this correct on my part, or should I leave it off? IE: Are the turning characteristics inherent to the aircraft's geometry adequate to require little or no rudder input, or can the sim engine not figure out a way to do that? I've noticed that "normal" turns require only a very small rudder input to stay balanced, but Pirouetee-ing requires a lot, either version. Just curious.
Nothing to do with Pirouette, I think, but I am pretty sure I noticed that the NH version (opposed to FSXBA, for brevity. I'm lazy, sue me
) tended to drift left when in landing configuration, on-speed/on AOA. Full flaps, hook down about 147kias. No clue for certain that it wasn't my fault though. Perhaps I rolled a teensy bit left and didn't notice, I am not going to swear I didn't.
So far as I can tell.
Anyway, that's my opinion, and only an opinion, so far. I hope it's of some use to y'all.
Pat☺