Jump to content

Community A-4E-C


Recommended Posts

Could it be burning fuel from the left wing first?

System Specs: i7 8700k @ 5.0GHz (not delidded), ASRock Extreme4 Z370 MOBO, EVGA GTX 1080 SC 8GB, 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz DDR4 RAM, Samsung Evo 240GB SSD, Samsung Evo 500GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Noctura NH-D15S Heat Sink, Acer VE278H 27" 1080p Monitor, Ocukus Rift CV1.

 

Controllers: TrackIR 5, Thrustmaster HOTAS X, Saitek Throttle Quadrant (with DIY removable collective mod), Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals.

 

Just trying to keep my number of takeoffs and landings equal!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to add an image of the Mil-23727 as there is no reference to this instrument in the community guide beyond "altitude indicator"

 

 

 

 

MIL-C-23727A00039im.jpg

Asus Rog Strix Z390F, i9-9900K, 64GB Crucial DDR4/3300, RTX3080, NVMe M.2 980 Pro 1T x2, SSD Evo 860 1T x2, Seagate Barracuda 1T, Seagate Barracuda 6T, HP X32C, HP Reverb G1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hace 11 minutos, Jacks dijo:

Could it be burning fuel from the left wing first?

 

I have also thought about that detail and it could explain the effect. The A4 has internal fuel tanks at the end of its wings but I understand that the plane must have a fuel bomb to self-level the content of them. Imagine landing in a carrier rolling on yourself...

 

Today a colleague has also had the same experience as me.

 

I am going to fly with different fuel levels to check...

 

 

Asus Rog Strix Z390F, i9-9900K, 64GB Crucial DDR4/3300, RTX3080, NVMe M.2 980 Pro 1T x2, SSD Evo 860 1T x2, Seagate Barracuda 1T, Seagate Barracuda 6T, HP X32C, HP Reverb G1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jacks said:

Could it be burning fuel from the left wing first?

 

Not possible, fuel is fed to the engine only from the fuselage tank, the only variation in CG is from front-to-back, not from side to side. .. from the manual:

 

Aircraft normal fuel scheduling
maintains the fuselage tank at a 1400- to 1500-pound
level by transfer of drop tank fuel and then wing tank
fuel. Wing tank fuel consumption causes the center
of gravity to move forward until the wing tank is
empty. The center of gravity will move forward
approximately 6-percent MAC as wing tank fuel goes
from full to empty. The aircraft will be at the most
forward center of gravity for a given configuration
when only the fuselage tank is full. Fuselage tank
fuel consumption causes the center of gravity to move
aft. The center of gravity will move aft approximately
7-percent MAC as the fuselage tank fuel goes from
normal fuselage fuel level to empty.

 

For work: iMac mid-2010 of 27" - Core i7 870 - 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - ATI HD5670 - SSD 256 GB - HDD 2 TB - macOS High Sierra

For Gaming: 34" Monitor - Ryzen 3600X - 32 GB DDR4 2400 - nVidia GTX1070ti - SSD 1.25 TB - HDD 10 TB - Win10 Pro - TM HOTAS Cougar - Oculus Rift CV1

Mobile: iPad Pro 12.9" of 256 GB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:

 

Not possible, fuel is fed to the engine only from the fuselage tank, the only variation in CG is from front-to-back, not from side to side. .. from the manual:

 

Aircraft normal fuel scheduling
maintains the fuselage tank at a 1400- to 1500-pound
level by transfer of drop tank fuel and then wing tank
fuel. Wing tank fuel consumption causes the center
of gravity to move forward until the wing tank is
empty. The center of gravity will move forward
approximately 6-percent MAC as wing tank fuel goes
from full to empty. The aircraft will be at the most
forward center of gravity for a given configuration
when only the fuselage tank is full. Fuselage tank
fuel consumption causes the center of gravity to move
aft. The center of gravity will move aft approximately
7-percent MAC as the fuselage tank fuel goes from
normal fuselage fuel level to empty.

I wonder if in the efm the control moments vary with CofG and reduces stability as it moves aft.

System Specs: i7 8700k @ 5.0GHz (not delidded), ASRock Extreme4 Z370 MOBO, EVGA GTX 1080 SC 8GB, 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz DDR4 RAM, Samsung Evo 240GB SSD, Samsung Evo 500GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Noctura NH-D15S Heat Sink, Acer VE278H 27" 1080p Monitor, Ocukus Rift CV1.

 

Controllers: TrackIR 5, Thrustmaster HOTAS X, Saitek Throttle Quadrant (with DIY removable collective mod), Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals.

 

Just trying to keep my number of takeoffs and landings equal!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Might of missed it, Got the Beta version loaded, superb work chaps.  Now my Ai wingmen, launching from Carriers seems a no go, Standard carrier hook up, catapult fires and then stop at the end Front wheel hanging over that’s it.  Super carrier taxi Ok, Stop short, Crew puts the holdback bar like 10 feet in front and that’s it, won’t move to hook up to the catapult.   Again I know it’s a beta incarnation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems that the problem is going to be related to the AFCS. Discarded fuel tanks

 

Terms; Stable flight, (some adjust with vertical trim), only AFCS "engage" (altitud and heading selection OFF), air speed; all range.

 

1. You start a quick turn, you can feel like the system wants to "return" the plane to the starting position.... ummm not sure if it´s OK (remember; altitud and heading selection OFF)  

2. You keep forcing the turn and ... bingo! the rolling begins. The tail rudder moves itself (AFCS system ¿?). I release the stick but it seems that the AFCS is going crazy putting the plane into a wild spin.

3. You regain control (stick) but the plane keeps trying to turn on itself uncontrollably. 

 

I have some really funny tacview files. 🙂 

 

In reality, I doubt that the AFCS with an intentional change of direction or altitude, blocked due to this effect. 

 

CONTROL STICK STEERING (CSS) MODE

The CSS mode provides for longitudinal and lateral control of
the aircraft through the AFCS by pilot movement of the stick as
in normal flight. This mode is engaged regardless of other
modes selected. Preselect heading and altitude hold modes are
disengaged by use of CSS and they must be re-engaged to be
used again. The AFCS reverts from CSS mode to either attitude
hold or heading hold mode when pilot force on the control stick
is reduced below 2 pounds. The aircraft is controllable in all
attitude in CSS throughout the AFCS flight envelope, which is
4±½ positive-g, 1½±½ negative-g, and one-half aileron
deflection left or right. If these limits are exceeded, the AFCS
disengages.

 

 


Edited by Joe1978

Asus Rog Strix Z390F, i9-9900K, 64GB Crucial DDR4/3300, RTX3080, NVMe M.2 980 Pro 1T x2, SSD Evo 860 1T x2, Seagate Barracuda 1T, Seagate Barracuda 6T, HP X32C, HP Reverb G1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Joe1978 said:

 

With piston engine airplanes I understand that effect (although EMO in DCS is quite pronounced). As for the F16, I have flown it little but I have never had such an exaggerated tendency to rotate on itself as with the A4e

 

Just bring the dual CBU-97 racks and be enlightened princess_celestia.png

It's especially apparent with MERs or TERs that aren't completely loaded just like the ones I mentioned, or A-10 with Mavericks, A-4 with rocket pods on 2 and 4 and similar. My wild and uneducated guess is that even if those are mirrored, their weight and drag isn't. In some cases it also happens with single stores though, like the Shrikes on the A-4 or the BK M-90s on the Viggen. But the effect is comparably slight then. It's not a mod(ule) problem, but somethig general in DCS with pylons and stores.

dcsdashie-hb-ed.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Devil 505 said:

I thought the same thing, but I still had to tune into the carrier frequency to get in contact with the Tower.  Also make sure you are in T/R+G mode.  Here is a video I did today flying the newly installed EFM model with my PIMAX 8K.  LOVE it.  Absolute blast in VR.  They still need work on comms with the super carrier such as calling the ball, but it still works a lot better than it did before.  Another thing I noticed was when taxing up to the CAT, when the deck crew gives the signal to accelerate forward, you have to rock the throttle a little to get her hooked in.  There is also an issue where the pilot reds/blacks out when hooking up to the CAT.  The only other issue I have noticed and it may be my flying, is when I touch down on the deck and catch the wire, the nose will shoot into the air at times. Please watch the video below on the first trap and let me know if I am to fast or coming down to hard.  Not sure if this is pilot error or a bug.  Keep up the amazing work.  Really loving this aircraft.  I will post a night flight here soon using ILS on the carrier.  I expect it to be just as scary as the F-14 with all the red lights. 

 

 

 

Stop holding the brakes 😛

 

All the comms for the carrier should work. For easy comms to switch frequency you must first call someone this is how it works in all modules. I recommend disabling easy comms and then using the radio as expected with the radio PTT.

On 2/12/2021 at 11:07 AM, Eldur said:

(Controls completely redone from scratch here)

 

I noticed the toe brake axes are literally dead in the first half and ED's axis manager doesn't allow me to compensate for that as I'd need the 4th slider there to fix it myself. It's usually a range definition thing (goes from -1 to +1, but only should be from 0 to +1).

 

Also the joystick mapping for toggling the hook doesn't work, but the keyboard one does. The definition within the luas is different, so I just took over the one from the keyboard file for now.

 

The FM feels great already. But the Scoots seemed to be a bit slow and underpowered to me. Wasn't getting anywhere close to the 585kts on the deck I've seen for the E model. Limit was somewhere between 450 and 500, but I might have done something wrong, just did a single flight so far. At least I didn't have any brakes, spoilers or flaps sticking out for sure rdlaugh.png

 

One thing that bugged me multiple times though was the VR interaction with the damn flight stick. When trying to manipulate some switches in the center console (weapons stuff), I accidently grabbed the stick a few times with the controller which immediately pulled the thing to the far right and pushing it forward at the same time. The grab point seems to be at the upper right corner somewhere at the front of the thing instead of being centered somewhere where the actual grip is.

At this point I'd also wish for ED giving us an option to disable stick/throttle interaction with the controllers.

Ignore what the preview says, the brakes are indeed mapped to the full range. Check the beta-2 for a bunch of fixes including the fix to the hook bindings. You can disable the stick by clicking at it's base.

 

As far as drag goes I can get it up to about 550 kts completely clean at 50% fuel at sea level. What is your source for 585?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Joe1978 said:

 

With piston engine airplanes I understand that effect (although EMO in DCS is quite pronounced). As for the F16, I have flown it little but I have never had such an exaggerated tendency to rotate on itself as with the A4e

I or non of the 15 something testers have experienced this. Can you record a track and submit a bug report. I suspect this is likely just your controls.

https://github.com/heclak/community-a4e-c/issues

 

The acceleration and speed are accurate as well as the instantaneous and sustained turn rate. This actually has physics unlike the SFM so stores will cause drag and add weight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Joe1978 said:

It seems that the problem is going to be related to the AFCS. Discarded fuel tanks

 

Terms; Stable flight, (some adjust with vertical trim), only AFCS "engage" (altitud and heading selection OFF), air speed; all range.

 

1. You start a quick turn, you can feel like the system wants to "return" the plane to the starting position.... ummm not sure if it´s OK (remember; altitud and heading selection OFF)  

2. You keep forcing the turn and ... bingo! the rolling begins. The tail rudder moves itself (AFCS system ¿?). I release the stick but it seems that the AFCS is going crazy putting the plane into a wild spin.

3. You regain control (stick) but the plane keeps trying to turn on itself uncontrollably. 

 

I have some really funny tacview files. 🙂 

 

In reality, I doubt that the AFCS with an intentional change of direction or altitude, blocked due to this effect. 

 

CONTROL STICK STEERING (CSS) MODE

The CSS mode provides for longitudinal and lateral control of
the aircraft through the AFCS by pilot movement of the stick as
in normal flight. This mode is engaged regardless of other
modes selected. Preselect heading and altitude hold modes are
disengaged by use of CSS and they must be re-engaged to be
used again. The AFCS reverts from CSS mode to either attitude
hold or heading hold mode when pilot force on the control stick
is reduced below 2 pounds. The aircraft is controllable in all
attitude in CSS throughout the AFCS flight envelope, which is
4±½ positive-g, 1½±½ negative-g, and one-half aileron
deflection left or right. If these limits are exceeded, the AFCS
disengages.

 

 

 

AFCS Engage means you have the autopilot enabled.

 

This will be default to AFCS Attitude mode, where it will hold the pitch and roll for when it was turned on. If you move the stick from centre (2lbs in the manual) more than 3% (15% by default for FFB sticks) it will go into CSS mode. In CSS mode the AFCS will trim for g. Once the stick is returned to centre it will drop back into attitude mode.

 

If you force the AFCS to disengage while it is trying to roll it will disengage with that trim setting, this is a discontinuity because this is a flight sim, in reality the stick would be in your hand so this would not be an issue but in game this presents as suddenly rolling. I've mitigated some of this by making the AFCS reset the aileron trim if you disengage it by doing more than 50%, but it does not reset for +4 or -1.5 g disconnects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, JNelson said:

Ignore what the preview says, the brakes are indeed mapped to the full range. Check the beta-2 for a bunch of fixes including the fix to the hook bindings. You can disable the stick by clicking at it's base.

 

As far as drag goes I can get it up to about 550 kts completely clean at 50% fuel at sea level. What is your source for 585?

 

Well, in my case the brakes only start reacting when I input more than 50% of the axes.

But I absolutely didn't know that beta-2 dropped and when that happened. I'll see if that changes the bahaviour.

I tried disabling the stick, but VR controllers still grab it even if it's invisible.

 

Regarding the speed, I must have done something wrong or just had a bad machine the first time when only reaching 450ish. I remember the RPM were capped at around 92-93% that flight, for whatever reason. Didn't actually see that as an issue since the F-5E for example also doesn't go up to 100% in MIL. I was also able to reach the 550 you mentioned in following flights which is a lot better and pretty close to the 585 I had in mind.
One source: https://www.flugrevue.de/klassiker/leichter-kampfjet-douglas-a-4-skyhawk/ (1085km/h is around 585kts)

The same "585kn" is given at wikipedia, sources given there are McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I pp. 477–498 and Global Security : A4D (A-4) Skyhawk, even stating 586kts with a 4000lb bomb load. I don't have the book source though and the other one doesn't specify the A-4 variant the data is from. I've seen 1108km/h with a quick google though for the M which has the same stronger 408 engine with 50kN thrust. The speed with a bomb load could be related to that actually.

dcsdashie-hb-ed.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Eldur said:

 

Well, in my case the brakes only start reacting when I input more than 50% of the axes.

But I absolutely didn't know that beta-2 dropped and when that happened. I'll see if that changes the bahaviour.

I tried disabling the stick, but VR controllers still grab it even if it's invisible.

 

Regarding the speed, I must have done something wrong or just had a bad machine the first time when only reaching 450ish. I remember the RPM were capped at around 92-93% that flight, for whatever reason. Didn't actually see that as an issue since the F-5E for example also doesn't go up to 100% in MIL. I was also able to reach the 550 you mentioned in following flights which is a lot better and pretty close to the 585 I had in mind.
One source: https://www.flugrevue.de/klassiker/leichter-kampfjet-douglas-a-4-skyhawk/ (1085km/h is around 585kts)

The same "585kn" is given at wikipedia, sources given there are McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I pp. 477–498 and Global Security : A4D (A-4) Skyhawk, even stating 586kts with a 4000lb bomb load. I don't have the book source though and the other one doesn't specify the A-4 variant the data is from. I've seen 1108km/h with a quick google though for the M which has the same stronger 408 engine with 50kN thrust. The speed with a bomb load could be related to that actually.

Yea the 408 has almost 7 kN of thrust more than the one modeled. The engine modeled is a J52-P8 with 43 kN of thrust.

 

The brakes are just really bad, so perhaps you are just not noticing that they are engaging before 50%. You can see if they are working by looking at axis tune. As soon as I touch my pedal it jumps to 0 and then increases slowly to 100%. When I let go it jumps to -100%.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Devil 505 said:

I thought the same thing, but I still had to tune into the carrier frequency to get in contact with the Tower.  Also make sure you are in T/R+G mode.  Here is a video I did today flying the newly installed EFM model with my PIMAX 8K.  LOVE it.  Absolute blast in VR.  They still need work on comms with the super carrier such as calling the ball, but it still works a lot better than it did before.  Another thing I noticed was when taxing up to the CAT, when the deck crew gives the signal to accelerate forward, you have to rock the throttle a little to get her hooked in.  There is also an issue where the pilot reds/blacks out when hooking up to the CAT.  The only other issue I have noticed and it may be my flying, is when I touch down on the deck and catch the wire, the nose will shoot into the air at times. Please watch the video below on the first trap and let me know if I am to fast or coming down to hard.  Not sure if this is pilot error or a bug.  Keep up the amazing work.  Really loving this aircraft.  I will post a night flight here soon using ILS on the carrier.  I expect it to be just as scary as the F-14 with all the red lights. 

 

 

Thanks so much., Devil 505. You are absolutely right - once I tuned the radio to the carrier frequency, I could talk to the carrier as usual. I still don't know how to make the LSO happy though. I have to come in slow (about 120) to maintain proper AoA. But every time I trap, I get "yelled at" for coming in too slow. Best grade I've gotten so far from the LSO is "--". I think the LSO is configured for the F-18 and expects you to fly like an F-18... I'll keep trying though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Doc3908 said:

Thanks so much., Devil 505. You are absolutely right - once I tuned the radio to the carrier frequency, I could talk to the carrier as usual. I still don't know how to make the LSO happy though. I have to come in slow (about 120) to maintain proper AoA. But every time I trap, I get "yelled at" for coming in too slow. Best grade I've gotten so far from the LSO is "--". I think the LSO is configured for the F-18 and expects you to fly like an F-18... I'll keep trying though...

 

I've heard the F-14 has the same problem for this reason and also that the IFLOLS overlay is not  correct for everything but a F/A-18.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, JNelson said:

The brakes are just really bad, so perhaps you are just not noticing that they are engaging before 50%. You can see if they are working by looking at axis tune. As soon as I touch my pedal it jumps to 0 and then increases slowly to 100%. When I let go it jumps to -100%.

 

The toe brake pedals in the cockpit literally don't move at all with the first 50% of input. If I recess their maximum range via the saturations sliders (think it was the Y one) down to 50, they don't work at all. Axis tune just shows your controller input versus the calculated input according to the curve set, not what a module makes out of that. I'd love to check RCtrl+Enter though, but the A-4E-C doesn't seem to have that feature (yet).

dcsdashie-hb-ed.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Eldur said:

 

The toe brake pedals in the cockpit literally don't move at all with the first 50% of input. If I recess their maximum range via the saturations sliders (think it was the Y one) down to 50, they don't work at all. Axis tune just shows your controller input versus the calculated input according to the curve set, not what a module makes out of that. I'd love to check RCtrl+Enter though, but the A-4E-C doesn't seem to have that feature (yet).

Does the behaviour mimic mine in axis tune? Because I checked last night and although it looks strange it is smoothly increasing from zero to 100%.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, all fine in axis tune. BTW I do use UJR as a workaround currently with the brake axes mapped to my stick's slider and the respective toe brakes combined. So my pedals do 50% each and the slider on my stick base does the other 50% for both at the same time. With that, having the slider forward (which is the 0 position), pushing the pedals does nothing (but the axis tune thing goes exactly to the center). If I then pull the slider back and don't push the pedals, it's exactly the same. Only with the slider pulled back, pushing the pedals makes the plane start braking, which also shows directy in the footwell as the virtual pedals start moving just then.

 

So in other words: The axes mapped range from -100% over 0 to +100%, but the brakes only apply in the range from 0 to 100%. The -100 to 0 range acts just like a deadzone without having one set.

dcsdashie-hb-ed.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Eldur said:

Yes, all fine in axis tune. BTW I do use UJR as a workaround currently with the brake axes mapped to my stick's slider and the respective toe brakes combined. So my pedals do 50% each and the slider on my stick base does the other 50% for both at the same time. With that, having the slider forward (which is the 0 position), pushing the pedals does nothing (but the axis tune thing goes exactly to the center). If I then pull the slider back and don't push the pedals, it's exactly the same. Only with the slider pulled back, pushing the pedals makes the plane start braking, which also shows directy in the footwell as the virtual pedals start moving just then.

 

So in other words: The axes mapped range from -100% over 0 to +100%, but the brakes only apply in the range from 0 to 100%. The -100 to 0 range acts just like a deadzone without having one set.

This must be something to do with your setup, as in the EFM code all that is ever received is 0-100% signal. Unless I fully come off my pedals then it jumps to -100%

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JNelson said:

IFLOLS comes up for me without using radio for both regular and super carrier.

 

It's displayed but the ball in the overlay is not showing the correct glide path, just like the LSO is giving wrong instructions. The ball on the physical IFLOLs on the carrier is showing correct glide path though.

 

As said, it's a known issue for F-14 as the SC expects a Hornet. So A-4E is most likely affected as well. It's nothing the aircraft can fix, it needs to be fixed in the SC module.

 

BTW the module is a true masterpiece. 


Edited by Copprhead
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Copprhead said:

 

It's displayed but the ball in the overlay is not showing the correct glide path, just like the LSO is giving wrong instructions. The ball on the physical IFLOLs on the carrier is showing correct glide path though.

 

As said, it's a known issue for F-14 as the SC expects a Hornet. So A-4E is most likely affected as well. It's nothing the aircraft can fix, it needs to be fixed in the SC module.

 

BTW the module is a true masterpiece. 

 

Are you talking about where it overflows if you are too high or low? Because I have noticed that in the hornet too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I installed the new A4, its been awhile since I've played with this mod so forgive me if I'm missing the obvious.  I went to instant action and a selected a cold start in the Caucuses (also Syria), and in both cases my comms menu only offered the F5 - ATC options.  No ground power (the canopy was open).  Am I missing something obvious?

 

Only other note was the overall volume seemed very low, but wasn't in other modules.  Took a first flight though and its sporty and interesting to fly!  Big congrats to the team on this achievement!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, wereferret said:

I installed the new A4, its been awhile since I've played with this mod so forgive me if I'm missing the obvious.  I went to instant action and a selected a cold start in the Caucuses (also Syria), and in both cases my comms menu only offered the F5 - ATC options.  No ground power (the canopy was open).  Am I missing something obvious?

 

The A-4 has no batteries, so the Radio can't operate if the engine is not running. Also, there are now two versions of the A-4 .. version 1.4 has no simulated radio at all, it can only work with Easy Comms ON. Version 2.0 has a UHF radio that works perfectly well, but you need electric power and the radio has to be tuned.

  • Like 1

 

For work: iMac mid-2010 of 27" - Core i7 870 - 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - ATI HD5670 - SSD 256 GB - HDD 2 TB - macOS High Sierra

For Gaming: 34" Monitor - Ryzen 3600X - 32 GB DDR4 2400 - nVidia GTX1070ti - SSD 1.25 TB - HDD 10 TB - Win10 Pro - TM HOTAS Cougar - Oculus Rift CV1

Mobile: iPad Pro 12.9" of 256 GB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...