F/A-18 Super Hornet Request For Update/Improvement

Official Microsoft Flight Simulator Wishlist
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1

On behalf of some some IRL Naval Flight Officers, I would like to take this opportunity to share their expressed appreciation for bringing the F/A-18 Super Hornet to MSFS 2020! It is my honor to have the opportunity to convey some
insights/suggestions on their behalf that we hope will serve as a guide to improve upon the F/18 experience and in so doing both enrich and compliment the flight simmers experience.

I have been assured that the following has been fully vetted and does not contain sensitive info, please reveiw the following and if there are any questions or concernsā€¦ please do not hesitate to ask and they will be
relayed accordingly.

Those of you that are reading this forum post, please do not hesitate to ā€˜up-voteā€™ this postā€¦ ā€˜up-votingā€™ is a great way to be sure these requested insights see the light of day and also a great way to say ā€˜thanks!ā€™ to those with
IRL F/18 experience that took the time to share their insights with us.

  1. AIRCRAFT:

No working ICLS
Flaperon behavior still not correct

Image of F-18 at 15 degreee flaps or ā€œhalfā€.
[see attached pic]

No working animations for Canopy/fuel probe/OBOGS (Animations only found in dev mode)
No animations or options for manual control on formation/NAV lights (master light binding does works but not useful without keyboard)
No external fuel tanks (Fuel pg. shows external fuel tank value option. This is not a tactical system, and is on other aircraft in the sim that can be found on the MSFS 2020 marketplace)
No working aircraft stores pg. (This is not a tactical system, and is on other aircraft in the sim that can be found on the MSFS 2020 marketplace)
No working FCS reset (although there is a FCS pg.)
No working FCS BIT.
No audio for Fire Test tape, (lights work without sound)
Improper startup procedure (procedure is correct in checklist, but does not match the actual aircraft.)

  1. AIRCRAFT CARRIERS:

Aircraft Carriers not found in free roam, only found in Top Gun Maverick activity menu option.

(However, Aircraft carrier does move + wires work correctly/with good LSO terminology) - We hope they open this up to third party devā€™s to use on their own carriers.

  1. Startup from Cold and Dark

Chronologically from cold and dark

a. No power on: green advisory ā€œ----ā€ lights are on, should not be on

b. Engines not on: flight control surfaces are moveable, should not be

c. Parking brake: when stowed, should automatically rotate 90 degrees clockwise

d. Battery power: turns on all displays, should only turn on EFD

e. No throttle OFF position, throttles can only be retarded to IDLE position

f. FIRE, APU FIRE, and L/R BLEED lights are green, should be red

g. Light test switch does not illuminate gear handle red light or trigger gear warning tone

h. T/O trim button sets 3 degrees stabilator down, should set 4 degrees up

i. FCS page does not show flight control surface at trimmed position

j. Fire test switch only goes to B, does not animate, mouse cursor position to turn off shows cancel icon

k. Flaps do not correctly position all the way down to ā€œFULLā€ position

l. Ailerons do not droop correctly with flaps HALF or FULL
Rudders do not ā€œtoe inā€ correctly with flaps HALF or FULL

m. RALT when turned on while parked constantly goes off. While on the ground, radalt should be suppressed except
for one tone when turned on.

n. Speedbrake selection only moves LEX spoilers, should also move ailerons and rudders

o. No waterline when VV is HUD-limited

p. Dropping gear does not automatically retract speedbrake

q. Holding down CRS switch does not bring CSEL to the UFCD

r. Betty does NOT make ā€œpower, powerā€ calls

  1. Aircraft Overall Experience Improvements

Please add fully functioning ICLS/ILS
Please add AIRSPACES N LAT+LONG GRID to the MAP function on the MPCD
Please add an animation ejection arm seat handle
Please add make formation lights visible on other F-18 if I have my mine on/accurately show formation light visibility
Please add working FLIR pod/or at least some kind of stand-in like used on D77 Pelican or Darkstar
Please add toggleable night vision filter for nighttime flying groups/operations

Flaperon
Flaperon1920Ɨ2556 300 KB

7

F/a-18 definitely needs improvement. I often attempt maneuvers that it should be fully capable of at correct speeds and it just stalls. It canā€™t handle lower speeds very well.

4 Likes
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Not an important feature but they should also make it when starting from Cold and Dark, the wings are folded and the canopy is open.

3 Likes
9

Not all users fold the wings as an SOP.

10

On the real Super Hornet, the ailerons extend with the flaps.
In the simulator the flaps come down alone without ailerons.

See in the video at 0.15min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8SJ98CEqsQ

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contact support

13

Just wondering if you had tried the Super Warrior mod by TouchingCloud (unfortunately appears to no longer be supported by the developer but it is/was a free mod) and the associated PBK-carrier mods?
It might check a couple of boxes on your list (working ILS comes to mind).
Also, Iā€™d appreciate any input you might have on my post titled:
F/A-18 mod obstructive OLS when in VR
Thanks and I hope your list of improvements gets some developer attention.

1 Like
14

I am having issues with Xbox on the super hornet, has anyone else had a problem, trying to land between switching between cursor mode, and regular mode. Pretty much learn how to fly it but trying to come in for a landing doing all that clicking my speed drops and then I crash because thereā€™s no speed hold. Xbox needs to do something.

15

There is no speed hold mode due to a number of reasons. Pitch on landing is controlled by the Powered Approach mode. MSFS 2020 Default F-18E Hornet Landing RWY 18 RAAF Edinburgh South Australia, Xbox Series X - YouTube At around the 15 second mark, you can see that I start adding pitch trim and retarding the power lever to bring the E bracket down to align with the VVS and illuminate the amber circle on the AoA Indexer. You can see the nose of the aircraft pitch down as the Powered Approach mode takes over from pitch trim and I catch it using the power lever by increasing thrust. At this point pitch and therefore climb and decent is controlled using thrust and the aircraft automatically adjusts AoA using Powered Approach mode.

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Good luck on this Sr. They have lots of other work to do on serious simulator issues. At least I hope they are. ā€œBugs galoreā€ It would be nice to be able to request things like this. It would be even better for them to implement them from the start. They donā€™t seem to want to release default aircraft with full real life functionality. The stock aircraft are maybe 60% real to life. I mean the doors donā€™t even open on them. You can start most of them by simply hitting the starter. No priming or mixture condition. Almost no preflight. Most of the switches in the cockpits donā€™t work. You will be better off waiting for a competent developer to make either a major add on for the stock aircraft or a completely new version of the aircraft. Sad but true. If you want a real representation of the combat aircraft, DCS is the way to go. MSFS wonā€™t even model weapons systems on any of their releases, or allow any in the Sims Market. I buy everything I can from outside the in game market for many reasons, but weapon systems is one of the big ones. Happy flying.

1 Like
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I loved this mod. It added a lot and the carrier part was awesome with the deck crews. Sad itā€™s not supported anymore. It would be worth paying for if it was up to date. Made the F-18 fun to fly and land

1 Like
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Love this bird, itā€™s got so much potential to have more features added and quite a few would seemingly have most of the work already done!!! No Iā€™m not talking about weapon systems - things like an opening/closing canopy add a lot to the simulation experience. Be nice if we had more avionics support as well, a few more nav capabilities through the HSI to allow a better IFR experience in MSFS. I cannot even find a UTC clock for example in the menusā€¦ please consider continuing updating it!

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Yep, you canā€™t even use the ILS. I flew this recently and the autopilot seemed to have acquired some bugs as it didnā€™t function as before. It also wonā€™t pick up my assigned heading bug slew which other aircraft still do.

20

From what Iā€™ve heard, the US Navy F-18 doesnā€™t have ILS capabilities for airfields. Only carriers, ICLS. Could be wrong though.

2 Likes
21

This aircraft in MSFS seems to have decent problems.
Just yesterday I found out you can land perfectly fine with 110 kts and less without stalling.
Also the reactions to any steering inputs seem to have it fly on rails. No air mass around it, no drag, nothing.
Then the ridiculous AB implementation and the missing half step for the flaps. The Hornet looks like one of the rather lazy features in MSFS, which they can still count on due to most virtual pilots not having a clue about actual aerodynamics and flying real world.

4 Likes
22

This is correct.