Is anyone flying the F-35B STOVL?

[alexis99 124]

If so, how's it going? Crash much?

The problem with the aircraft is that the RCS system does not aid you in using the STOVL feature. Go to 50 degree down nozzle, and the nose dips. Be full throttle and it dives for the ground. The RCS is supposed to stop that happening.

I compared data entries between the F-35B and the AV-8B Harrier Plus (whose RCS works) and noted that the RCS_UP in the F-35 is back in the fuselage, whereas in the AV-8B It's in the nose. I thought that might have an effect on general stability, but decided to go for a quickfix test.

I took the RCS entries in the AV-8B and pasted them directly over the RCS entries in the F-35B. 

Success: the F-35B now flies STOVL just as the AV-8B does, with excellent stability.

You can now do the rolling take-off: Military Power to 125 Kts, snap nozzle down to 50 and you're jumping into the air. Raise gear, move nozzle slowly back to zero and then you can go to afterburner as required.

I can't do full STOVL yet. Couldn't in theAV-8B. But in landing, you can airbrake to a decent speed, push the nozzles to 100 to slow down further. drop gear and do short roll. 50 degrees to slow descent and power off. Lovely.

Presumably everyone else has fixed this, and done much more, so talk to me guys.

Thanks.

[EsPeKTr0 31]

 

I have flown more than once with the F-35B and I can tell you that the VTOL flight at full power is impossible since you enter from 70% to afterburner and the plane starts to make strange turns. The best thing is to get up to 50% Do a little race on the deck and take off bit by bit in VTOL.

[alexis99 124]

Even with the AV-8B entries, you have to stay Mil Power for STOVL. But after the nozzles are full aft, you can fly afterburner as a normal aircraft would.

Basically the forward fan is not as powerful as the rear nozzle and needs better RCS Up control. It might be possible to do the math and get the proportions the same as for the AV-8B.

Incidentally, I believe the pod underneath the fuselage is the gun pod. If you use the following entries in the data file, it certainly becomes the gun pod..

This works for both F-35B and F-35C. The F-35A has a gun port on the port shoulder. I probably tweaked that too, but can't remember.

[InternalGun]
SystemType=FIXED_GUN
GunPortAnimationID=4
GunPortAnimationTime=0.2
GunTypeName=20MM_M61A1
InputName=FIRE_PRIMARY_GUN
MuzzlePosition=0.0,-0.1,-1.3
LightPosition=0.0,-0.1,-1.3
AimAngles=0.0,-1.875,0.0
MaxAmmo=182
EjectShells=FALSE
MinExtentPosition=
MaxExtentPosition=

[EsPeKTr0 31]

Of course, the situation is to improve the RCS points so that the impulse improves a little more the rise of the plane and takes off in VTOL mode in a soft way with little power and thus avoid reaching the afterburner point without going crazy. I in the AV-8B Harrier to take off so loaded with a minimum load of air-to-air combat I had to raise a bit the values, to raise them the plane took off and landed smoothly without brusque and above could keep it static on deck following the boat as if it floated.

 

[alexis99 124]

The RCS points in the F-35B are not as widely spread as in the AV-8B.

In particular the F-35B forward RCS point, which coincides with the fan, is much further back than in the AV-8B.

A wider spread gives more stability. This is why the AV-8B hovers better than the F-35B.

I am therefore using the AV-8B RCS point positions in the F-35B.

The original F-35B thrust figures are higher than the AV-8B, and I have gone back to using them.

I don't believe you are supposed to go higher than Military power when using the variable nozzle. Full Mil on my system is 66%. I may have tweaked that so it coincided with the Afterburner stop on my Thrustmaster Throttle.

I have test flown from the C-551 Giuseppe Garibaldi. It should have a ski-jump deck, but the model doesn't. I can take-off fine with the technique of Full Mil Power, nozzle to 50 at 125 kts.

My wingmen do not use the variable nozzle, but they take-off just fine anyway.

I just need to get my act together with landings now.

[alexis99 124]

I adjusted the MaxThrottle on all four engines in the F-35B data file to =0.75.

On my Thrustmaster this gives a Mil Power maximum of 66% before the afterburner stop. Aircraft flies stable with variable nozzle at this Mil Power.

The C-551 Garibaldi, in the Sim, actually has catapults and arrestor hooks. I'm guessing the ski-jump is not a feasible feature.

[Wrench 9,848]

the shape of collision boxes prohibit ski jumps. and neither engine (sf1 or sf2) is built for it