I tested these 13 Military Jets Top Mach, the results may surprise you

Discussion Hub Aircraft
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First off, there are many variables that do not make anything definite in terms of real life reported numbers, so take the results with a grain of salt if for some reason you are upset about the results.

I did this with the only bias being towards achieving the fastest mach.

Clear skies conditions. Multiplayer turned off.
I did not fly one specific altitude, as similar to real life, top speeds can be achieved at different altitudes for different jets. So whatever altitude I was able to achieve the fastest speed while flying level, that is the altitude I flew at for that specific model.

Some of the #'s are IDENTICAL to what is reported online, other’s close to it, and some seemingly further off(at least when compared to others).

Quick Results:
F-22 Top Mach
SU-57
F-16
F-18 Freeware DCD
4 that achieved identical #'s to what was reported online. Keep in mind different countries will provide different results so what I find for top mach may be different than what you find so again, take with a grain of salt but I was very satisfied after many of the jets did not get to the #'s or close to it, when these 4 jets did, I felt good about these specific 4 jets when the results were being done.

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F-14(B) DcDesigns
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2
Reported in real life Top Mach=2.34
Difference of=-.34

F-14 Super Tomcat
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2.12
Reported in real life Top Mach=2.5
Difference of=-.38

F-15 Eagle
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2.07
Reported Real Life Top Mach=2.5
Difference of=-.43

F-16
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2.02
Reported Real Life Top Mach=Just Over Mach 2

F-18(Default Asobo)
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=1.42
Reported Real Life Top Mach=1.8
Difference=-.38

F-18 Warrior Mod
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=1.55
Reported Real Life Top Mach=1.8
Difference of=-.25

F-18 Freeware DcDesigns
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=1.8
Reported Top Mach in real life=1.8

Mig-29
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2.04
Reported Top Mach in real life=2.25
Difference of=-.21

Jas Gripen
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=1.79
Reported in real life Top Mach=2.13
Difference=-.34

Eurofighter Typhoon
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2.2
Reported in real life Top Mach=1.8
Difference=+.4

F-22
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=1.5 Super cruise and Faster than 2.25 AB
Reported in real life top mach=1.5 Super cruise and Faster than 2.25 AB

F-35
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=1.69
Reported in real life Top Mach=1.6(full load)
Difference=+.09
(full load/empty load no difference on top mach in the sim)

SU-57
MS Flight Simulator Top Mach=2.18(above Mach 2)
Reported in real life Top Mach=Above Mach 2

MS Flight Simulator Top Mach at Super Cruise=1.3
Reported in real life Top Mach at Super Cruise=1.3

How do you feel about the simulation test and the results? Do you agree with the test and results? Do you disagree with the test? Do you agree with the test but disagree with the results?

Feel free to discuss.

Also, I am curious if there is a way to conduct acceleration test and roll rate test in the sim to see how accurate they can match real life.

Edit-Mig-29 has been updated and can now reach mach 2.09, difference of just .04 from reported actual.

F-4 Phantom has been tested and reached 1.41 in the sim. Reported is 2.23. Difference of .82.

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Results=
Identical:
F-22 Top Mach
SU-57 Deimos Inc
F-16 SC Designs
F-18 Freeware DC Designs

F-35 IFE =.09 difference

Mig 29 Deimos Inc=.21 difference
F/18 Warrior Mod=.25 difference

Jas Gripen Deimos Inc=.34 difference
F-14 DC Designs=.34 difference
F/A 18 Default Hornet=.38 difference
Super Tomcat Steve-E & YuriKairi=.38 difference

EuroFighter Typhoon CJ Simulations=.4 difference
F-15 DC Designs=.43 difference

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This is great info, I noticed the default F-18E was too slow! I am on Xbox now but used to do a lot of testing for myself in previous flightsims. I used the tools at https://www.aero.sors.fr/

Would be good to have similar software for Msfs 2020. Some actual range figures compared to real life would be interesting too.

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Moved to #gd-interests:aircraft

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It’ll do 1.48 to a published Max of 1.6, not terrible for a free plane that Asobo legally cannot obtain performance charts for.

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I tested the freeware DCD Hornet after I tested the other 2. I will say after testing so many jets and not getting close to exact, when the freeware hornet hit 1.8 flying level, I was very satisfied and knew if I ever want to do a canyon run, that’s the jet to do it in if a Hornet is your preferred jet.
In addition to the top mach being exact, if you follow military aviation you will know that one of the main perks about the Hornet is it’s ability to 1 circle fight, ie do tight rate turns at low speeds.
When doing the grand canyon run, the Asobo and Warrior mod are almost impossible to make the sharp turns at Horseshoe bend, but the freeware one does it with relative ease that you would expect from that particular aircraft.

If you care more about the look of the aircraft than the accuracy of the flight model, probably stick with the default or Warrior mod, but since I care more about the flight model, it’s an easy decision for me to make.

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Deimos updated his Mig-29 Fulcrum to where it now can reach 2.09 top mach, up from 1.79(prior to update).

.04 off from reported real life. Not exact, but very close.

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Remember the freeware is the F-18C is smaller and more maneuverable than its larger -E cousin.

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I am so glad your sharing this… Ive actually been wondering about this exact thing for weeks and its going to save me alot of money that I wouldve spent testing jets lol…

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Yeah compared to the default, they seemed to do a good job. With the exception of the texturing, I like the freeware one better.

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Just be mindful, that the published speed/mach for military aircraft were record at sea level, or just above sea level.

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Definitely not the case with published Mach, with a few exceptions such as the F-15, most gen4 and older fighters are still borderline subsonic at sea level. Majority of published Max Mach are going to be around the 36,000ft altitude range.

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I’ve seen M2.25 in the DCD F14B, but I was well above 50,000’

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That’s not what I read at all. I read that different aircraft were tested at different altitudes to achieve fastest mach, typically between 35k - 45k altitude, where the air is thinner.

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You would have way more fun testing some REAL jets, way better than all of this 10$ shovelware-trash barely simulating a real fighter jet at all (even Ace Combat which is currently on sale is probably more realistic than all of this :wink: )
If you like good fighter jets you should absolutely get the HeatBlur F-14 and the Razbam F-15, everything there is perfectly accurate simulated… including the compressor stall when flying too steep turns with the iconic A-model of the Tomcat is perfectly and fully realistic simulated.
Go and get these ultra high quality jets and you will not regret it one second.

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just curious, rookie question here… but do you know which one has the fastest top speed in KTS… ik theres some weird relation between mach and KTS… just havent figured it out yet

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Mach is the ratio of your speed to the speed of sound – however because the speed of sound varies with conditions, any conversion between speed (in knots, mph, or km/h) and Mach must take into account the altitude and, for additional precision, the difference between standard temperature and actual temperature.

You can find online calculators such as this one by searching for “mach calculator” or similar:

That one also calculates indicated airspeed vs true airspeed, so can be handy.

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Tested the F-4 Phantom.

Best I could reach was 1.41. I tried with different models.

Reported Top Mach=2.23
Top Mach in the Sim=1.41
Difference=.82

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I don’t have the refernce handy, but I know from reading that getting the F-4 up to Mach 2 is a process. It’s not like the most other supersonic fighters where you level off at altitud, light the burners and off you go.

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This post honestly isnt getting the attention it deserves… you obviously put alot of work into this and I wish more people would notice

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