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Complete Air to Air Refuelling Tutorial - DCS Fuel School - F/A-18C


104th_Maverick

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Is the F-18 supposed to automatically trim to maintain stable flight at 1g? I'm trying to practice AAR but I realized part of my formation flying issue as well as my PIO when attempting refuel is that the jet wont maintain level flight. I've tried with 2 aim9s and a centerline tank, as well as with aim-9s, 3 tanks, bombs, and 120s, just to add weight etc, and what happens is that I can maintain airspeed but my nose picks up about 2 degrees and the right wing goes down and slowly increases my bank angle. FCS simply won't allow me to maintain level flight without constant input, which seems incorrect in a modern FCS plane. Or is this normal?

 

I thought maybe my cheaper T16000 was having a dead zone issue, so I bumped the dead zone up to 50 on the x and y just to see, but I'm still seeing pitch and bank without input. And I'm getting the same pitch and bank drift whether I'm light or heavy.

 

 

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Is the F-18 supposed to automatically trim to maintain stable flight at 1g? I'm trying to practice AAR but I realized part of my formation flying issue as well as my PIO when attempting refuel is that the jet wont maintain level flight. I've tried with 2 aim9s and a centerline tank, as well as with aim-9s, 3 tanks, bombs, and 120s, just to add weight etc, and what happens is that I can maintain airspeed but my nose picks up about 2 degrees and the right wing goes down and slowly increases my bank angle. FCS simply won't allow me to maintain level flight without constant input, which seems incorrect in a modern FCS plane. Or is this normal?

 

I thought maybe my cheaper T16000 was having a dead zone issue, so I bumped the dead zone up to 50 on the x and y just to see, but I'm still seeing pitch and bank without input. And I'm getting the same pitch and bank drift whether I'm light or heavy.

 

Wake turbulence? Tankers throw a lot of that invisible juju. Their kungfu is strong.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Don

i7 6700 @4ghz, 32GB HyperX Fury ddr4-2133 ram, GTX980, Oculus Rift CV1, 2x1TB SSD drives (one solely for DCS OpenBeta standalone) Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Thrustmaster Cougar MFDs

 

Airframes: A10C, A10CII, F/A-18C, F-14B, F-16C, UH=1H, FC3. Modules: Combined Arms, Supercarrier. Terrains: Persian Gulf, Nevada NTTR, Syria

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Is the F-18 supposed to automatically trim to maintain stable flight at 1g? I'm trying to practice AAR but I realized part of my formation flying issue as well as my PIO when attempting refuel is that the jet wont maintain level flight. I've tried with 2 aim9s and a centerline tank, as well as with aim-9s, 3 tanks, bombs, and 120s, just to add weight etc, and what happens is that I can maintain airspeed but my nose picks up about 2 degrees and the right wing goes down and slowly increases my bank angle. FCS simply won't allow me to maintain level flight without constant input, which seems incorrect in a modern FCS plane. Or is this normal?

 

I thought maybe my cheaper T16000 was having a dead zone issue, so I bumped the dead zone up to 50 on the x and y just to see, but I'm still seeing pitch and bank without input. And I'm getting the same pitch and bank drift whether I'm light or heavy.

 

Assuming you don't have a control setup issue: trim is to remove the need to apply constant force (much stronger than your desktop stick) to the controls; isn't there so the pilot can let go of the controls and have the plane maintain straight and level. You always have to fly the plane.

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Thanks Mav. Very nice TUT!

 

Still practicing AAR, with decent result lately, full tanks, day and night, too.

 

My personal experience

 

As many of you already point out, practice... practice...

 

At the beginning I started having some noticeable result when start looking at the right visual reference points, not the basket, as well explained and demonstrated on the TUT.

Head track helps. I don't have VR.

I prefer to turn down HUD brightness (during daytime, night switch is perfect) I think is less distracting.

I have a couple of setup I use with the same laptop, so muscle memory can't help when switching between, anyway no big dead zone (3 to 10) and some curves, more on roll axis (the higher on the cheapest, but still honest T16000 set) and easier when a throttle system is available instead the little slider.

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So have you actually tried to trim it when you've experienced wing drop and pitch up moments?

 

T16000 is good device, no dead zones needed.

 

I've had this set up for several years, I'm aware it is a good device for the price point. Yes I tried manually trimming it but it wasn't changing. I tried the refuel scenario with different load outs and it seems like it was mainly happening with a very heavy loadout with bombs and tanks etc.

 

I don't know if it was game related or me related, but it would not manually trim out, and the FCS wasn't compensating. But only when I was very heavy. Perhaps there was an imbalance somehow. Or I dunno... AAR irritation caused that post. I thought I deleted it since I posted out of frustration but I guess it survived ;)

 

 

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Awesome vid Mav... Now do one for the 'Cat! :pilotfly::pilotfly:

Intel i7 9700k, 64GB DDR4 (Corsair), Gigabyte Z390 Master, RTX 2080 Ti AMP 11gb, 500GB Sabrent Rocket (System), 1TB XPG Gammix S11 Pro M.2 (DCS), Windows 11 64-bit Pro, Samsung 49" 4K CRG9 Monitor (5120x1440), Samsung Odyssey Plus, TrackIR 5, Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas, Various streamdecks, button boxes, Logitech Pro Rudder Pedals, Corsair K95 Platinum, Iron Claw mouse.

DCS OB, F-14B Tomcat, F-18C Hornet, F-16C Viper, A-10C Warthog, F-5 Tiger II, AV-8B Harrier, P-51D Mustang, FC3, Super Carrier
 

Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas, (3) Cougar MFD's, Logitech Pro Rudder Pedals, (2) Stream Decks, (1) Stream Deck XL, (1) Stream Deck Mini, Misc Button Boxes

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;4103565']

 

 

;)

 

 

:pilotfly::joystick:

Intel i7 9700k, 64GB DDR4 (Corsair), Gigabyte Z390 Master, RTX 2080 Ti AMP 11gb, 500GB Sabrent Rocket (System), 1TB XPG Gammix S11 Pro M.2 (DCS), Windows 11 64-bit Pro, Samsung 49" 4K CRG9 Monitor (5120x1440), Samsung Odyssey Plus, TrackIR 5, Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas, Various streamdecks, button boxes, Logitech Pro Rudder Pedals, Corsair K95 Platinum, Iron Claw mouse.

DCS OB, F-14B Tomcat, F-18C Hornet, F-16C Viper, A-10C Warthog, F-5 Tiger II, AV-8B Harrier, P-51D Mustang, FC3, Super Carrier
 

Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas, (3) Cougar MFD's, Logitech Pro Rudder Pedals, (2) Stream Decks, (1) Stream Deck XL, (1) Stream Deck Mini, Misc Button Boxes

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