Since the update, the default F-18 (on Series X) has a severe lack of thrust especially at higher altitudes.
I am having to constantly use full burner to keep up with airliners at cruise (clearly wrong) where as pre-SU9 I was able to easily maintain typical cruise speed with 65-70% throttle with zero need for burners.
Turning engine bleed air OFF only helped slightly, but not enough. I am also using engine de-ice at high alt.
Spoiler is obviously retracted and flaps are set to auto.
Is there something else I am missing that has changed? I did bind the same axis used for rudder (joystick twist) to the new nose wheel turn binding, but I can’t imagine that causing drag issues.
I’m able to get up to Mach 0.96 at altitudes up to 40,000ft without afterburner as long as you fly an appropriate climb profile. Keep in mind these are low bypass turbofan engines, so most of the thrust is coming from the hot air turbine. At airliner cruising altitudes the F-18 will become more and more dependent on ram air pressure to provide sufficient mass flow to the turbine section. At 30,000ft once you fall below Mach 0.8 the engines can no longer generate sufficient thrust to accelerate/maintain cruise, by 40,000ft this minimum speed reaches Mach 0.85. The climb profile I use is to maintain 350 KIAS until it becomes Mach 0.85, then continue to climb at Mach 0.85 as needed.
I understand what you’re saying and how all of that works. I am talking about lack of that power since SU9. If I am at or above about 30,000’ (level flight), even if I use the burner to accelerate beyond mach 1, staying at even LEVEL FLIGHT, 100% throttle (no burner), the plane will eventually slow down to nothing.
This was at 30,000’ accelerating from Mach 0.8, I was able to do the same at 40,000’ starting a Mach 0.86, all without afterburner on a max fuel load. Not sure why you’re experiencing differently.
Well the only thing I can think of is maybe something is interfering with my rudder after binding “nose wheel steering axis” to the same axis I use for my rudder, however if I understand correctly, NWS completely disengages after takeoff, so I don’t think that’s it.. I have even turned off engine air bleed to squeeze as much power out as possible, however at 100% throttle (no burner) I should easily be able to keep up with an A320 at cruising alt, but unless I’m constantly reigniting burner every 30 seconds or so, I fall behind.
Every assistance is set to True to Life as it was before SU9, so I’m not sure what changed.
Update: at 30,000 feet, 100% throttle, no burner, the aircraft will not even accelerate to mach .5
Non AB climb to fl300. 100% fuel. Default F18E.
PHKO, preset weather “clear skies”
Civy climb at 245kts to 10k.
Throttles to gate after that, about 0.65 mach to 30k. (4,000fpm ish )
(wanted to be heavy at 30k)
Leveled and set balt 30,0100, at .64 (corrected typo of .61)
Slow but steadily increasing to .97, about 2 minutes to .97m and then held there.
So pulling up debug data, at 30,000’ the total thrust output is about 9100 lbs at MIL power, as opposed to a Sea Level output of 26,000 lbs. The Sea Level output is in line the General Electric’s brochure values, whether the 30,000’ output is accurate, only GE and certified Super Hornet maintenance staff really know. What I will say for now is in the simulated jet, once above 15,000’ if you let it get below M0.85 you’re going to have a bad day without using the afterburners to get back on speed.
