Why does my F-18 fly like a stunt bi-plane?

[Soar]

I have a few F-18 models that I downloaded and they both fly like they're bi-planes. I can take off about 3 seconds after throttle up from a stop and these things have to be pulling 20 g's in turns. Something's definitely not right... What can I do to fix this?

[A/SGT.Mav316]

if they are acting like that it means the airfiles probably have been copied from a bi plane. You can try switching the airfile with that of another steady fighter plane. or just hold out for better f-18 downloads.

[Soar]

I like the way the F-4 flies, so basically I would copy that .air file and paste it into the F-18 directory right? Easy enough.

Are there any parameters I can change in the .air file to change the response of the aircraft to make it more/less sluggish?

[Hagar]

I very much doubt that even the most inexperienced designer would base their F-18 project on a biplane. LOL

There's a little more involved than simply swapping AIR files with a completely different aircraft. FS flight dynamics is a complex subject which I never fully understood after messing around with them for something like 4 years.  If you have FS2002 Pro you could try adjusting the Tuning variables in FSEdit.

[FSTipster]

Personally, I've never tried just swapping the .air file on it's own.

Many of the parameters contained in that file are also in the aircraft.cfg file, and FS2002 gives priority to the aircraft.cfg entries over the .air (I couldn't swear to it, but I suspect it overwrites the .air entries).

It's possible that the aircraft.cfg will read the new parameters from the .air file and apply them, but I seriously doubt it.

I'm happy to take advice from someone more familiar with this procedure, but I suspect from what I know that you'll need to take carry the aircraft.cfg file

[Hagar]

Hi Tipster. I remember you recently posted a crystal clear explanation of the relationship betwen AIR file & Aircraft.cfg in FS2002. These should be treated as a matched pair. It's no use swapping the AIR file without its corresponding Aircraft.cfg, or at least the relevant entries. The main problem with using the FD of a completely different aircraft (even of the same type) is that the [contact_points] entries would almost certainly be wrong. The complete entry could be pasted in from the original CFG but this is where it starts getting complicated.

FSEdit mainly edits or adds Aircraft.cfg entries although some say it also changes certain AIR file parameters.

Most designers spend a great deal of effort in making their aircraft fly as realistically as possible. They're not all experts in this area but I'm sure they do the best they can. I often wonder if many of these "problems" could be fixed by tweaking the joystick/yoke Sensitivity settings.

[Soar]

Most designers spend a great deal of effort in making their aircraft fly as realistically as possible. They're not all experts in this area but I'm sure they do the best they can. I often wonder if many of these "problems" could be fixed by tweaking the joystick/yoke Sensitivity settings.

That is my next plan. Hopefully by turning down the joystick sensitivity, I can manipulate the controls to my favor a little more.

[A/SGT.Mav316]

OOPs sorry for giving the wrong information on dealing with that issue SOAR

I am still used to Fs2000 database as opposed to FS2002's database. In Fs2000 you were able to swap the airfile of one aircraft of the same with another.

Example. There was a dornier aircraft that had issues with it's airbrakes and reverse thrusters not working properly. But there was another Dornier aircraft similiar to it and all I had to do is just switch the airfiles. The Dornier craft I liked worked like the one that had the corrected files.

everyone is right and I am wrong, you have to alter the CFG and Airfile of the actual aircraft that you wish to change it's flight dynamics. I wish I could help you with that issue. But it is very difficult.

Asks Fisharno (from here) for some assistance with that. He modified an f-16 airfile so that the airbrakes work properly. I don't know how he did it, but I think he is the one that might be able to help you! Start a new topic and title it "FISHARNO, I need your Help"

[fisharno]

No need. I've read the thread.....

Don't swap the .air files. I just won't work in FS2K2.

I used FSEdit to tweak the .air file. And, I think I played with the .cfg file, too. But that was for the air brake and the wheel brake. Really easy to find and work with.

I've never tried to tweak flight dynamics. That could get tricky. I did add a small line of code in the FS2002.cfg file, that limits the stick sensitivity, but that affects all of your aircraft, and I really didn't like the results so I deleted it.

It actually sounds like you're "man-handling" the stick. Any hi-performance jet needs to flown with small, steady control inputs and lots of finess. Try not to snatch back on the stick on takeoff. 10 degrees of nose up attitude, max. You might need to give it some flaps just before entering a turn, too. A 350-450 kt., 180 degree turn is really dificult to do. Stick slightly back, and don't forget the rudder.

Hope this helps.

[fisharno]

Sorry. One other thing I didn't mention.....

You would be suprized how accurately the authors of some of those add on fighters model their aircraft. And what they go thru to research what is correct in the real world. Some of the finer models come quite close to the real thing. If you've got any aircraft from Chuck Dome, Dino Cattaneo or Giuseppe Chiacchietta, you can pretty much bet they are as close as possible to their real world counterparts.

[Soar]

Sorry. One other thing I didn't mention.....

You would be suprized how accurately the authors of some of those add on fighters model their aircraft. And what they go thru to research what is correct in the real world. Some of the finer models come quite close to the real thing. If you've got any aircraft from Chuck Dome, Dino Cattaneo or Giuseppe Chiacchietta, you can pretty much bet they are as close as possible to their real world counterparts.

Accuracy is something I've always pondered. I'll keep an eye out for files by those authors. I imagined most of the authors of the models did have access to real-world numbers.

Definitely good to know, I just wish when I yanked the stick to the right or left, the F-18 didn't spin like a top, heh.

[fisharno]

I know what you mean, Soar... It's a pain.

Now, I'm no expert in flight dynamics, or physics or anything. But, I do know that the faster you fly, the laws of Relativity, and Inertia multiply, exponentially.

[Soar]

I know what you mean, Soar... It's a pain.

Now, I'm no expert in flight dynamics, or physics or anything. But, I do know that the faster you fly, the laws of Relativity, and Inertia multiply, exponentially.

I dunno... what I've noticed is while you'll noticed increased control surface response on smaller planes, larger planes lag at higher speeds... at least when it comes to FS2000/2002.