Hello, everybody!
Recently I've acquired Falcon 4: AF so as to prepare to my military service starting January in the Air Force Academy (I know I'm ahead of myself here, but I always loved simulators and thought of getting Falcon 4: AF, this was just a final 'push'). I've predictably started with the training missions, and have encountered a problem with the first turning mission: I find it physically impossible to complete under all parameters handed to me.
The manual states I have to perform a 360 degrees turn (starting at 20,000 feet) and stay between 330-440 knots, as that speed provides the optimal conditions for the tightest turns with an F-16, and that I should perform it in about 20 seconds without losing or gaining more than 2,000 feet. It is written in the manual that I should be around 7g at all times during the turn and that the turn radius should always be between 3500-4500 feet.
Here's what happens: I start making the turn (my roll is about 80-90 degrees), pull the joystick backwards until I reach 7g, and my speed drops dramatically. It drops so quickly that it's below 330k very quickly and I'm out of the turn corner before I've even managed half a turn. The only solution I see to that is to make a downward spiral and to exchange height into speed, so that I can maintain the turn corner velocity while performing a 7g turn. Doing that I cannot possibly lose less than 2,000 feet in height as suggested. What I do eventually is just maintain the same height (I usually lose or gain around 100 feet) and start from 440 knots, turning as hard as possible until I reach 330 knots, and then just turn less sharply so that I stay at that speed. Doing so provides me with a huge turning radius of around 20,000 feet and the turn takes nearly a minute to complete.
What am I doing wrong? (note that the thrusters are fully open and that all the settings are at their mission beginning's defaults)
