F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

[-HAC-_mainframe 0]

Guys you broke the sound barrier

Very cool features and functionalities, some bugs true but until it becomes un-beta it is a very good toy!

[wolfbite 8]

Yah yah jus checked it... Mk-82's on the inside pylon and the rest Maverics ends up like this

[franze 196]

@wolfbite

Already fixed yesterday but thanks regardless.

[Bingham67 0]

@Bingham67

I think what's happening with the F/A-18E/F + Mando Air Support is the bombs are coming in contact with the jets and blowing them up.

I set the bomb pos in the script to be 3 meters less than the default and it worked just great.

EDIT: As a side note, if you try to use any of the bombs I have, you better plan the attack well. The bombs tend to overshoot by about 300-400m - I blew myself up by accident!

lol

Ok thanks very much for taking time to look big help.

[MaxRiga 0]

I love the model physic and I know it was the best u could do in ArmA ( since ArmA has it's own limitations ).

but still, the model looks too maneuverable I think this kinda maneuvers u could hold for Su37 and Mig29, but not f18 )))

[ricnunes 0]

but still, the model looks too maneuverable   I think this kinda maneuvers u could hold for Su37 and Mig29, but not f18 )))

The F/A-18 is just as maneuverable as the Su-37 (without Thurst-Vectoring of course) and the Mig-29.

Actually I read some years ago in an AirForcesMonthly Magazine issue, that a comparative was made between a Swiss Air Force F/A-18 and a German Air Force Mig-29, and the F/A-18 proved to be more maneuverable than the Mig-29 (in horizontal manouvering).

But I still agree that the pitch is a bit too sensitive.

[mandoble 1]

EDIT: As a side note, if you try to use any of the bombs I have, you better plan the attack well. The bombs tend to overshoot by about 300-400m - I blew myself up by accident!

Are the bombs of your model overshooting the target by 300m using mando_bombs ?

[ricnunes 0]

@urbanwarrior

Suggest you recheck the max TO values on Wikipedia for the Super Hornet and F-16 - the Super Hornet takes off with 10,500kg greater than the F-16.

Actually what I think that urbanwarrior is pointing out is the maximum payload weight only and not maximum takeoff weight.

The maximum payload weight is the maximum quantity in weight of weapons that an aircraft can carry.

The maximum takeoff weight is something like "empty weight"+"maximum fuel load"+"maximum payload weight". Since the F/A-18 (both Hornet and Super Hornet) are heavier and carry more fuel than the F-16 a comparison in terms of payload must be made using the maximum payload weight value and according to the values that I have the "normal" Hornet (F/A-18C/D) carries in terms of maximum payload weight more 700Kg's than the F-16 (which doesn't difer much from to urbanwarrior's values) BUT instead if you compare the F-16 to the Super Hornet than this diference incresses to something like 2600Kg's.

We must be carefull when using for comparison the "F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornet" or the "F/A-18E/F/G Super Hornet" because despite sharing a similar name and a similar airframe design those 2 aircraft are in fact completly diferent aircraft. For example the Super Hornet is 25% larger than the Hornet.

[EricJ 725]

Think it was more like 33% more but it's only a matter of conjecture. Anyhoo Franze did alot of research into the Super Bug so in a sense, he's tracking on what's going on. Besides he has both NATOPS manuals for the Super Bug, so he's not going totally in the dark

[MaxRiga 0]

but still, the model looks too maneuverable   I think this kinda maneuvers u could hold for Su37 and Mig29, but not f18 )))

The F/A-18 is just as maneuverable as the Su-37 (without Thurst-Vectoring of course) and the Mig-29.

Actually I read some years ago in an AirForcesMonthly Magazine issue, that a comparative was made between a Swiss Air Force F/A-18 and a German Air Force Mig-29, and the F/A-18 proved to be more maneuverable than the Mig-29 (in horizontal manouvering).

But I still agree that the pitch is a bit too sensitive.

i've made simple search in google and found this guys arguing about the same theme - which plane is most maneuverable -

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread292441/pg1

U can find different ideas and meanings but there wasn't f18 even close

[Bingham67 0]

EDIT: As a side note, if you try to use any of the bombs I have, you better plan the attack well. The bombs tend to overshoot by about 300-400m - I blew myself up by accident!

Are the bombs of your model overshooting the target by 300m using mando_bombs ?

Been going through it and missiles are missing the target but these hit fine which are bombs from what i can see.

fz_f18_gbu16 gbu12, 10

fz_f18_mk84 83,82

Oh and the mk84 is freaking awesome it is now my bomb of choice all the above hit perfect for me superb Mando and Franze thanks again for help.

[franze 196]

Beta 0.2 uploaded. See first page or get it here.

Changes since Beta 0.15:

- Some weapon combinations fixed.

- Ejection seat is armed at all times.

- Wreck function introduced: When aircraft is destroyed and crashes, vehicle is deleted and replaced with a wreck model.

- Aircraft rebalanced: center of gravity is in front of the wheels.

- Reduced maneuverability of aircraft as a result of rebalance.

- Stall speed increased to approximately 100-110kts.

- Afterburner acceleration reduced.

- New keyboard-friendly variants with control sensitivity reduced by 50%.

- Canopy model and texture revised.

- Increased sound coefficient for inside view.

Now, to catch up with things...

@MaxRiga

In terms of overall agility, the F/A-18E/F should be in the same ballpark as the MiG-29C. I'd put it in the same realm as the Su-27S given that they are very similar in weight and loading. That's not bad for an aircraft that has to have all the assorted equipment for carrier ops as well. The Su-33 gained two metric tons to get a carrier-capable Flanker and has much less combat capabilities compared to even the legacy Hornet.

I'm sorry, I don't buy into the "MiG-29 and Su-27 are superior to all other combat aircraft" doctrine. I like both aircraft and most of their family members, but they are not the end-all, be-all fighter jets that the Sukhoi or Mikoyan people believe.

As for which would win in a fight... Why, whichever one I'm flying of course!

@Mandoble

Using the mando_bombs_mapdlg, bomb runs and air strikes with my bomb types resulted in the bombs overshooting the target by at least 300m. I think it's because a lot of my bombs are not as draggy as the bo_gbu12_lgb.

@ricnunes

That makes more sense, I get it now. On the other hand, seldom do these aircraft deploy with maximum payloads, so perhaps it's a moot point. I'm thinking of the F-15E, it can stuff some 50,000lbs of fuel and weaponry onto it's airframe, yet it rarely loads that maximum. There might also be some carrier-based limitations on the Super Hornet's maximum load as well.

[mandoble 1]

Drag should not matter, as the script "moves" the falling bombs (mando_drop_bomb code inside mando_bombs.sqf). The reason should be another, I'll see if I can do a test with your plane.

[wld427 1705]

Great job Franze. You are really getting this baby tuned in!

[Chip360 0]

I was sitting in the Commander seat of your F-18 the other night (with an ai pilot flying) and he wouldnt listen to anything I said, I tried setting waypoints to search and destroy and even commanding him to target specific vehicles but he kept flying in circles :?

Do you know whats wrong?

Edit: Also, do you think it's possible you will be making more pre-selected Configurations for your Aircraft? (and maybe even making it fall under the "air" category instead of "mas_Aircraft" ?)

[Drake Starkiller 0]

Nice Update! I like the wrecks and the new Flightmodell.

[ConfuciusOFP 0]

just got this bug :S bit wierd, considering it didnt happen b4. also a bit offtopic but, franze i would love u longtime if u made a similar arming system for the a10, cuz goddamn the stock one needs it.

the guy stands in the cockpit, on start of mission even. i tried gettin out n back in n this is what happened.

edit: btw its only the pilot in both the E n F models, no conflicts show up so its very odd, here's another screeny of the great pilots view. dont think he'd die or anything...

[franze 196]

@Chip360

If you're commander of a F/A-18F and the AI is driving, he ignores all commands from you except fire commands. It's some limitation where fixed wing aircraft can't have properly functioning commanders.

Pre-selected configs - I'd rather not because it's a mess to organize. I want to make some updated weapon scripts but the old action menu weapon scripts are still there and they should work on both aircraft (default weapons only though). You can try these lines in the init of either jet:

4xMk84, 2xMk83, 2xAIM-9X, 2xAIM-120

[this] exec "\fz_f18\arming_aws\load_mk844_mk832_side2.sqs"

10xMk20, 2xAIM-9X, 2xAIM-120

[this] exec "\fz_f18\arming_aws\load_r8_s2_side2.sqs"

2xGBU-10, 2xAGM-65E, 4xMk82HD, 2xAIM-9X, 2xAIM-120

[this] exec "\fz_f18\arming_aws\load_hb2_m2_r4_side2.sqs"

I meant to make more straightforward combination scripts to use but forgot to do it. The three above are real old but should still work. They take two seconds to put all the weapons on though, so keep that in mind.

As for the vehicle class, given that there's two jets plus about 5-6 subunits, it makes more sense to group them all in one section instead of spread throughout the menu. They're all related anyways.

@ConfuciusOFP

That doesn't make any sense; I made some new custom animations for the crew in hopes that any animation mods wouldn't affect the aircraft. If the commander position is ok, then...

Try using a radio command with this in the onactivation field:

player switchmove "fz_f18_pilot"

and see what happens. If the position remains the same as in your pictures, I'd try reinstalling the addon.

As for the A-10 - that's a lot of work. It can be done but the A-10 can carry quite a few weapon types, not including any MERs.

[4 IN 1 0]

thx for the update, the FM seems to be more close to the real stuff now

one question: do you plan to set up a few master loadout for different type of mission like one for CAS, one for CAP and such in the load out menu? while i like the features that i can change different loadout for each port one by one, it some time makes a pain in ass to reselect all of them when sh*ts starts to hit the fan

[franze 196]

Not a bad idea: having a quick selection for various mission types would get my vote. The only problem is defining what weapons would be loaded for which type. For CAS we can take something along the lines of 10xMk82/Mk83/GBU-12/GBU-16 or 6xAGM-65E, etc.

I'm not sure of any reference points here as standard mission loadouts seem to vary not only from unit to unit, but from conflict to conflict.

[EricJ 725]

@MaxRiga

In terms of overall agility, the F/A-18E/F should be in the same ballpark as the MiG-29C. I'd put it in the same realm as the Su-27S given that they are very similar in weight and loading. That's not bad for an aircraft that has to have all the assorted equipment for carrier ops as well. The Su-33 gained two metric tons to get a carrier-capable Flanker and has much less combat capabilities compared to even the legacy Hornet.

I'm sorry, I don't buy into the "MiG-29 and Su-27 are superior to all other combat aircraft" doctrine. I like both aircraft and most of their family members, but they are not the end-all, be-all fighter jets that the Sukhoi or Mikoyan people believe.

As for which would win in a fight... Why, whichever one I'm flying of course!

I agree man, I've flown the Su-33 in Flanker 2.51, and LOMAC. If the flight model is anything close to the real thing, then it's just one of the best aircraft. If you can handle a big plane, then it's your friend. Just always keep it in mind, but I've tangled with F-16s, F-15s and Tomcats, and won most of the time. So I agree man, it's only relative but then again watching the MKI fly under the hands of the Indians... it's a beast...

But back on topic.. I'll download the updated one sometime Franze and give it a go... been doing some other stuff lately..

[franze 196]

After I read Fulcrum: A Top Gun Pilot's Escape from the Soviet Empire I almost wouldn't fly anything else in LOMAC except for the MiG-29A. The Flanker(s) are great in there but there's no doubt they take a fine touch.

[EricJ 725]

Hardly man, they're smooth

[ConfuciusOFP 0]

alrite man ill give it a go, btw bout the a10's, i know it would be a massive pile of scripting but i think the community needs it because nothing compares to the A10 in the ground attack role, n i think it suits arma better than most multi role fighters or whatever, because arma is more ground based than airbased, btw, dont hear this as a complaint about ur fa18 whatsoever, i love the bird, just love the a10 more lol. yes, im a ground attack nut, anyway, back ontopic i had another interesting bug, not sure if it exists in current version, where i would target something with gps, and what would happen was, the target would appear 1000m infront of the aircraft, n i would have to disable targeting for it to appear on target, it would also say weapon released, weapon being whatever it was that i was dropping. the weapon would hit the target but it was a bit annoying.

edit: nah i tried that command, the guy gets in, gets stuck at the end of the get in anim in the cockpit, and when i try the trigger he just stands there with the normal standing anim, like, weapon in hand. VERY strange

[franze 196]

The GPS target function is designed to work without being within visual range of your target area. You pick the area you want a GPS weapon to target (AGM-84H or AGM-154A), acquire the target, then launch the weapon. The GPS targeting is designed to be used against high-value targets in high-threat areas, so being able to launch a weapon outside of their threat range is a big plus.

I understand ArmA is primarily a ground-based simulation, and that's part of the reason why the F/A-18E/F has a huge variety of ground attack weaponry vs the 4 AAMs for air combat. Nonetheless, I do like the A-10, so there is a possibility for it.

Re the error - try this instead:

player switchmove "fz_f18_commander"

If that one works, then somehow the pilot animation must've gotten corrupted. How is beyond me.