Heatblur Simulations F-14 A/B - Page 2
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Thread: Heatblur Simulations F-14 A/B

  1. #26
    **New Pics***update ***Videos*** coming soon***

    Patrick

  2. #27
    Excellent textures in the cockpit!
    Intel i-9 13900KF @ 6.0 Ghz Cpu, MSI RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid X 24GB Videocard, MSI MAG CORELIQUID C360 Water Cooler, MSI Z790 A-PRO WIFI Motherboard, MSI MPG A1000G 1000W Power Supply, G.SKILL 48Gb Ram @76000 MHz DDR5 Ram, MSI SPATIUM M480 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2TB Drive, Windows 11 Pro Ghost Spectre x64

    "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the day and night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

  3. #28
    **mini update**

    "So the HeatBlur F-14 project actually started with the artwork, which were the first images released in early 2015. Those models were meant to be the definitive art work and were undergoing multiple revisions to fix errors and short comings.

    The problem was that the shape of the F-14 is really complicated with lots of hidden curves and angles. Schematics often don't agree on many of the fine details and photos have perspective-based distortions that can limit their usefulness.

    Something similar happened with the interior also. Cobra decided to use photogrammetry to help capture very accurate textures. But this also revealed dimensional errors in the interior.

    Both the interior and exterior were made the "old fashion way" using simple schematics and photos. Because this wasn't giving the quality that Cobra demanded for this project, he decided to travel to the US and laser scan as many Tomcats as he could find. This meant starting over with new models for both the interior and exterior starting in late April 2017. This was a massive undertaking since the detail level afforded by scanning and photogrammetry was much higher, but all the prior shape issues were abolished by taking millimetrically perfect measurements of the real aircraft (many, many separate measurements actually).

    The end results will be the most accurate interior and exterior of the Tomcat that is technologically possible. But it is a lot of extra work while the other parts are nearing completion. I've seen parts of the new art and it is simply spectacular. Leagues better than the current models, both of which suffer from lots of errors.

    The Tomcat project will be much better for it, but means less to show while the models are being finished. Things are close though.

    -Nick

    Patrick

  4. #29
    WIP Video featuring *Jester* AI

    Patrick

  5. #30
    Picking some branches out of the ventral fins I see, great watch!
    Fly Navy/Army
    USN SAR
    DUSTOFF/ARMY PROPS

  6. #31

  7. #32

  8. #33
    New cockpit shot with texture
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 29792161_869791919875094_4974021378052194304_n.jpg  

    Patrick

  9. #34
    ****Podcast Interview with Heatblur***

    Patrick

  10. #35
    Jester AI
    <b>
    "Dear All,For quite some time now; we’ve been working hard on making JESTER AI a reality. One of the biggest parts of this undertaking is for us to build a comprehensive and realistic voice library, and for the past year, we’ve had a dedicated team at Heatblur doing just that, in the form of Grayson Frohberg (RIO Voice) and Aleksander Studen-Kirchner (Director).
    In order to ensure the most natural performance and realism; we decided to approach our recording process in a unique way. By placing the director (Aleksander) into the pilot cockpit and Grayson into the RIO position, and subsequently placing the duo into appropriate combat or non-combat scenarios, we are able to more naturally record voice lines as opposed to dry reading in the studio. Virtual reality helps make the strain of head movement and confusion have a subtle yet important impact on the delivery of certain lines, while natural pauses and hesitation become more apparent and serve as good reference on the engineering side.
    Today, we’re reaching the first of our milestones on the recording and creation process of our voice library. Much effort is being made to ensure that JESTER’s speech sounds natural, and much of our current focus lies with refining existing functionality and adding lots of variations to currently implemented calls. For this, our process focuses on plenty of repetition and repeating the same statement multiple times at a time, and then extracting the lines that we feel will fit well.
    While we work on unveiling the “new”, non-chromecat-branch F-14 - enjoy this behind the scenes look at the recording process for JESTER AI recorded over the past year!"

    Patrick

  11. #36
    That is very cool to hear on "Jester", hope they have the former RIO testers provide script for both standard and slang dogfight calls similar to a particular film that emphasized the constant comms between seats.
    Fly Navy/Army
    USN SAR
    DUSTOFF/ARMY PROPS

  12. #37

    Let there be Thrust!
    Heatblur Advanced Engine Modeling Update (F-14B F110-GE-400)


    Development of the new Heatblur advanced engine model has continued and over the past few months, and our F110-GE-400 engine model has been getting its final touches.

    The F110 was selected to replace the F-14A’s ailing TF30 for two primary reasons; its significant increase in thrust, and its greatly increased reliability.
    While the F110’s operation can be described as extremely reliable, the focus of this update will be on its implemented failure modes and off-nominal operations.

    Heatblur’s F110 will feature an extensive library of failure modes and degraded operation, ranging from slow oil leaks all the way to engine fires.



    Below is an overview and list of implemented failures that will come with the F-14B in early access:


    Oil System

    The oil system is a series of pumps and reservoirs that keeps the engine lubricated. This is especially critical in turbomachinery where rpms are very high. Oil pressure is also used to operate secondary systems, such as the variable exhaust nozzle.

    Oil Leaks
    Oil leaks can occur one of two primary ways: battle damage or sustained overpressure situations. While battle damage is a fairly obvious cause, oil overpressure may occur more subtly.

    Overpressure situations are most likely to occur in cold weather conditions when oil viscosity is higher. Oil pressure is primarily affected by core rpm, but when the oil is cold, temperature can play a significant role. Unloading the aircraft may result in low oil pressures as the scavenge pumps cannot operate effectively. Stay alert for oil pressures below about 20 PSI, as this may signal a problem and getting down should become a priority. Watch for oil pressures above 65 PSI when starting on a cold day, and ensure oil has had sufficient time to warm before increasing engine rpms to takeoff power.

    Sustained oil pressures above 65 PSI can potentially cause oil leaks if left unaddressed. Eventually if the engine oil depletes, expect to see engine oil temperature increase (resulting in an OIL HOT caution light) and pressure decrease (OIL PRESS lgiht), and eventually engine seizure if the engine operates too long without oil. Engine oil quantity is not available as an indication in the cockpit, so the instrument panels oil pressure gauges may be your only cue that an oil leak has occurred. By the time the caution lights illuminate you may only have a few minutes of flying time left at higher rpms.

    Compressor Stalls/Instabilities

    Compressor stalls are events in which the compressor blades stall and can no longer effectively compress incoming air and force it onto the next stage of the engine. When this happens, higher pressure air downstream of the stall can reverse flow directions. Those of you familiar with other aircraft prone to these events are likely familiar with some of their signs and characteristics. Our new engine model goes greatly in depth in the simulation of compressor instability type events, in particular:
    Inlet Buzz
    Inlet buzz is a cyclic phenomenon that occurs when flow instabilities cause the shockwave to move in and out of the inlet cowl lip. This scenario is mostly likely to occur in a few situations: supersonic speeds and low power settings in SEC mode (fixed IGV positions), unloading the aircraft at supersonic speeds in SEC mode, and loss of mach signal from CADC in any AFTC mode. Inlet buzz can result in severe buffeting (+2.5/-1g @ 6Hz), but is not catastrophic and can be easily corrected and avoided.
    Pop Stalls
    Pop stalls can occur in a few specific scenarios, but are generally harmless. A slight increase in EGT may be seen, but the most noticeable indiciation from the cockpit will be a loud bang. Pop stalls generally do not result in a loss of thrust or engine damage.
    Full Stall/Surge
    Full stalls or surges are the most severe form of compressor malfunction. These events involve flow disruptions within the core itself, with numerous resulting effects. Engines require constant airflow, primarily to generate thrust, but also to regulate EGT (constant supply of “cool” air from the compressor regulates this) and drive the compressor via the turbine section. If this airflow is disrupted, thrust loss, increased EGT, AB blowout, and N1/N2 rollback will occur.

    A stall event will be very noticeable from the cockpit and will be accompanied by very loud bangs. Pilots experiencing compressor stalls often believe that there has been an explosion on board before realizing what happened. In extreme cases, the high pressure/temperature gasses in the latter stage compressor and combustor may change flow direction completely, with very loud bangs and even flames coming out the inlet. This can result in damage to the compressor itself or the inlet guide vane linkages. Stalls can also be detected by the FEMS circuit, and a STALL light will illuminate (this is not available in SEC mode).
    High Speed Spool Seizure
    A high speed spool seizure will result in the compressor spool coming to a stop. This event should only occur via loss of oil pressure or battle damage. The engine will cease to function when this occurs, but the low speed (fan/N1) spool will continue to windmill.
    Low Speed Spool Seizure
    A low speed spool seizure will result in the fan spool coming to a stop. This event should only occur via loss of oil pressure or battle damage. The engine will continue to function when this occurs as the core can still spin, but airflow and thrust will be reduced.
    High Pressure Turbine Damage/Failure
    Turbine damage can occur if EGT limits are exceeded. While the turbine can handle brief periods of over-temp, sustained over-temp will degrade performance and can eventually lead to complete failure of the turbine. When this occurs, the turbine can no longer provide the torque needed to keep the compressor spinning.
    Low Pressure Turbine Damage/Failure
    Turbine damage can occur if EGT limits are exceeded. While the turbine can handle brief periods of over-temp, sustained over-temp will degrade performance and can eventually lead to complete failure of the turbine. When this occurs, the turbine can no longer provide the torque needed to keep the fan spinning.
    Engine Fire
    Engine fires will mainly be the result of battle damage. Engine fires are detected by a series of thermocouples in the engine compartment and fire detection will be accompanied by a FIRE caution light. If they are not extinguished, complete engine failure will occur, with likely loss of the airframe as well.
    Engine Core Overspeed
    Engine overspeed event should be very rare, mainly a result of battle damage. Overspeeds are likely to be caused by broken throttle linkages or fuel valves stuck full open. The AFTC provides automatic engine shutdown via fuel cutoff if core speeds exceed 110.5%. Once an automatic shutdown has occurred, the AFTC can be reset by moving the throttle to the shut off position and back to idle. At this point, an engine restart may be attempted.
    AFTC PRI Mode Failure
    AFTC PRI mode should be extremely reliable, but the AFTC can revert to SEC mode in a number of situations. Once in SEC mode, features such as EGT over-temp protection, N1/N2 overspeed governing, AB operation, stall detection, exhaust nozzle scheduling, and inlet guide vane scheduling are lost. An ENG SEC caution light will indicate this condition. The AICS ramp schedule also reverts to a degraded mode.

    This will result in lower overall engine stability and some loss of thrust, but SEC mode operation is very reliable and will ensure you can return to the boat.

    AICS Ramp Failures
    The AICS ramps are scheduled to provide the correct quantity and quality of airflow to the engine during all phases of flight.
    This is incredibly important in an aircraft such as the F-14, which encounters a high variability of flight regimes and parameters.

    AICS ramp malfunctions will most likely be accompanied by a RAMPS caution light, and the following AICS ramp malfunctions can cause severe engine operation issues in extreme cases:
    Fail Open: AICS ramps are scheduled to deploy from their stowed position based on mach number. If the ramps fail to move from their stowed position, the inlet’s pressure recovery efficiency will suffer, resulting in decreased thrust and stability margins, potentially leading to compressor stall. Flying subsonic should mitigate any potential issues.

    Fail Closed: This failure has notably occurred in real life, primarily being an issue on cat shots at takeoff power when the ramps drop from their stowed positions at low speed. The dropping of the ramps results in impeded airflow when the engine needs it the most, resulting in severe loss of thrust and compressor stalls. Fortunately, this should be very rare.

    Cat shots should be done with the AICS ramps in STOW, ensuring the ramps are locked in their stowed position and do not drop unexpectedly!

    Fail in Position: Exactly as is sounds, the ramps fail in position. If the failure occurs at high mach number, this can lead to the ramps being stuck deployed when they shouldn’t be. Selecting ramps to STOW should allow the airflow to blow the ramps back to a nearly stowed position.
    Nozzle System Failures

    The variable exhaust nozzle is responsible for controlling nozzle throat area to control massflow and exhaust exit velocities, as well as regulating engine exhaust backpressure and therefore can affect engine stability.
    The nozzle is almost fully closed during non-AB operation, and only modulates open during AB operation to control backpressure and stability when large amounts of fuel are being dumped into the tailpipe.
    Nozzle Failures
    Fail Open:The F110’s variable exhaust nozzle is operated via engine oil pressure.
    If an oil pressure loss occurs the nozzle will fail open, resulting in reduced thrust.

    Flame Out: Flame out can be caused by improper fuel/air ratio within the combustor, but should be rare due to the F110’s automatic ignition system.









    Off Nominal Operations (The Engines and You!)


    Importantly for the pilot and aircraft, a result of some of the above failures may require corrective actions or off-nominal operations to bring the engines back from a failure. In rare scenarios such as a flame out or overspeed resulting in a shutdown, the engine may need to be started in-air.

    Off nominal operations are really where the intricacies of our engine modeling will interact directly with the player.
    Your decisionmaking will have a big impact on your continued virtual existence.

    The following off-nominal operations have been modeled for Heatblur’s F110:

    Windmill Starts
    Windmill starts are generally a last resort option, usually because both engines have flamed out. Refer to NATOPS for the windmill start procedures, but generally windmill starts are best performed in SEC mode due to the fixed open guide vanes, allowing faster windmill speeds. An odd quirk of the F-14B is that the right engine windmills faster than the left, so always try for a right engine start in SEC mode as this will not require as high of a dive speed/angle to achieve minimum windmill start rpm.
    Cross Starts
    Cross-starts may only be performed if one engine is already running and bleed air is available. This is an abnormal operation since most engine starts are done via ground cart, but they can also be performed in the air without the need to dive at 450+ KIAS as required by windmill starts.

    Lastly, some final additions have been made to complete the functionality of the AFTC detailed in the previous Engine update:
    Asymmetric Thrust Limiter
    This system is designed to limit high asymmetric thrust situations when one AB has been lit but the other has not. Due to the large lateral distance between each engine, large and undesirable yaw moments can occur at maximum thrust, resulting in spin tendences to develop. The limiter holds the lit AB in a minimum fuel state until an AB flame has been detected on the opposite engine.
    Reduced Arrestment Thrust System (RATS)
    RATS is intended to reduce wear on carrier arrestment systems, and reduces max engine core speed by 4.5% when the weight on wheels switch is closed and the arresting hook is deployed. RATS is disabled when in AB or SEC mode, but the light will remain illuminated if the system is armed regardless of mode/active status.


    Summary & Future

    With the additions of these failure state simulations and the completion of the AFTC, the development of our advanced engine model for the F110-GE-400 is beginning to reach an end.

    We will be continuing to iterate upon our new engine framework through the development of other similar jet engines, such as the P&W TF30 for the F-14A and other engines for unannounced projects.

    Hope you enjoyed going in-depth on the engines you’ll be riding shortly.
    Thanks for the support!


    HB
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails OBjz1q7.jpg   3sZIeNr.jpg  

    Patrick

  13. #38
    ***F-14 HEATBLUR SEPTEMBER***"F-14 Development Update!
    Stick with it.

    Dear All,

    4 years, 5000+ commits and tens of thousands of manhours later we’re finally there, on to the final leg of the final stretch of what will hopefully be a new foundation for all things Heatblur.

    As many hours as we’ve put in, you’ve probably spent quite a few yourself mired in frustration about not climbing into your own GRU-7 just yet.
    We understand this and sincerely hope that the quality of the finished Tomcat will weigh heavily in our favour and put us in your good graces.

    That said; we have plenty to talk about for now!


    <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">
    Heatblur Simulations is proud to announce the addition of the AI A-6E & KA-6 to DCS World as Free AI units!

    Furthering our commitment to providing full and rich experiences to the community, and in line with our module development priorities, we’ve decided to introduce the A-6E and KA-6 as free AI units into DCS World shortly following the release of the F-14 Tomcat!

    The Intruder is an aircraft that has been under active development at Heatblur Simulations for some time, and subject to a license agreement, we hope to eventually introduce it into DCS world as a full, playable module - and we are developing it with this intent in mind.

    In the meantime, the AI Intruders will serve a critical role in the F-14 campaigns and provide an additional level of authenticity to the game and simulation battlespace environment. The A-6’s are built to our extremely exacting standards, with laser scanning forming the basis of our core workflow and ensuring complete accuracy in shape and dimensions.
    In-game, the KA-6 will provide the player with texaco services while the A-6E will serve as a venerable strike partner with an unmatched payload - good friends to have in the cockpit of an F-14.

    The A-6’s will also play a crucial part in one of the two free included campaigns with the F-14; as the particular cruise being depicted is the famous all Grumman cruise.
    Dirty, greasy Tomcats and Intruders playing with each other on deck? Sign us up.The F-14

    Ongoing work on the aircraft itself has been distributed across a broad range of development areas.

    Primarily, and non-exhaustively, these include:


    Flight Model
    We’re now getting close to completing the final pre-release tweaks of the flight model. The aircraft (still) flies closely to our available performance data and parameters; but we’ve been continuing our heavy back and forth with SMEs, again, repeating ad nauseum: to truly capture the spirit and behaviour of the Tomcat. Some highlights of areas that have been touched upon lately include:

    • Roll behaviour/performance & wing position: We’ve been correcting various inconsistencies between our simulation and the real jet in roll handling, inertia and lateral responsiveness, especially with the wings swept aft.
    • Elevon drag in ground effect: We’ve been looking at and tweaking behaviour and the influence of the elevons on the aircraft in ground roll or ground effect situations.
      This has been important in order to more accurately simulate the immense drag and utility that the elevons presented during landing or other ground operations.
      Differential stabilizer inputs will now turn the aircraft in the direction of stick movement, and the elevons are now more effective at acting like massive airbrakes during your ground rollout.
    • Turn performance: We’ve been spending considerable time fine-nudging and tuning turn performance and related parameters.
      This is delicate work and has required a steady balance between changing too much and causing cascading effects. Like most of the FM in this stage of development, these changes are truly minute and will continue until launch day (and beyond!).
    • Engine
      Our engine model is now reaching advanced maturity and we’re reaching the stage where we’re adding features not deemed integral to the operation or simulation in the Early Access stage. However, because a deep and robust engine simulation is even more important for the F-14A; we want to make sure to have a head start on this area of development.


      Some of the changes and items added to the engine modeling lately include:

      • Connected various missing interconnectivity between integral aircraft systems, e.g. correct data flows between CADC and AICS/AFTC.
      • Added several new failures; including supersonic inlet buzz and pop stalls due to lost CADC Mach signals.
      • Engine compartment failures due to sustained extreme temperatures, either from engine malfunctions causing extreme EGT or battle damage. We’ve done our best estimate guesswork on how quickly the structural compartments would fail based on the temperatures we’re simulating inside the engine compartment.
      • Multitudes of tweaks and corrections; changes to thrust penalties from AICS errors, turbine overtemp time/severity before turbine begins to degrade and much more. As our engine simulation becomes more deep, we will begin to spend more time fine tuning inconsistencies across the entire simulation gamut.
      • Overhauled compressor stall chance and variability - and began to account for more variables impacting the correct operation of the engine: e.g. spin direction in a flat spin.
      Once we consider the F110 to be fully complete; we will turn all of our attention on the P&W TF-30.
    • Other areas of the simulation that are being worked on become more broad. In no particular order or priority:

      • Jester AI: This is a massive topic and we’ve been focusing a lot of our attention on this area. In particular, we’ve been working on:
      • Re-recording all older, or non-fitting voice lines (especially those that were recorded prior to us having a solid understanding of how the system would look). This has resulted in re-recording a few thousand lines in the past month and a half.
      • Adding code support for making JESTER appear more lifelike. Mistakes, uh’s and ah’s, conjoining multiple separate statements into one where possible. I think we’re all familiar with ArmA-ness in speech and it’s difficult to avoid this entirely, but we’ve been trying to alleviate this as much as possible.
      • Complete redesign of the User Interface from a visual standpoint. While we’ve been pleased with the usability of the JESTER Rose UI; it was in dire need of a visual overhaul. We focused on a few key areas during this process, namely: Quick readability at a glance, strong identifiable category colours and iconography, pleasing and responsive interaction animation (opening, closing, item selection) and enhancement of text space. We’re currently implementing this new redesign fully and it may not be entirely complete at launch, but we consider it a high priority.
      • Teaching Jester a lot of tasks pertaining to navigation, radios, radar and fleshing out his capability as much as we can prior to release. Make no mistake; Jester will be at its most rudimentary form on launch, but our ultimate goal is to provide ourselves with a solid foundation to build upon.
      • CONTINUED........
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails A-6E_1.jpg   A-6E_2.jpg   JESTER_Rose.jpg  

    Patrick

  14. #39
    ....CONTINUED

    The big elephant in the room. This has been the cause of a lot of hurt and pain (financially, life-wise, PR, etc.)
    It really is the cause for the biggest chunk of our delay and the additional cost overhead has been massive.
    Quality has to always take precedence, no matter how frustrating for everyone involved (and that includes you guys )




    Again, in no particular order, priorities for the art team have been:

    • Full completion of exterior textures. This has been an immense task. We’ve hand laid thousands of screws and rivets (yes, manually, each one. ) according to laser and photogrammetric scans. There have been no shortcuts, and no cut corners. This is probably the first and only time we go into this much detail on such an “inconsequential” thing whether screws are in such extremely precise locations.
    • Completion of the Pilot’s cockpit textures and functionality. This area is now for the most part complete and will wrap up in the coming days. We can’t wait to fully unveil the novel and unique features that will elevate our artwork to the next level. That’s coming on the 7th!
    • Completion of the RIOs cockpit textures and functionality. This area is scheduled for completion in the coming weeks of September and will be one of the final major items left for us to conclude.
    • That just about sums up most of what we’ve been working on over the past 1,5 month(s). Obviously we’ve somewhat slipped from the 90 day estimate we made 4 months ago; but not dramatically so, and while we easily expect to be ground down mentally over the next period of time, it’s just about time for us to get our ducks (turkeys) in a row and close what will essentially be a long chapter in each of our lives.

      We hope it will have been worth it.

      Tune in at heatblur.com on October 7th for our special unveiling. We won’t let you down!

      Sincerely,
      The Heatblur F-14 Team
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Cockpit_02.jpg   cockpit_03.jpg   Cockpit_04.jpg  

    Patrick

  15. #40
    ....CONTINUED..............

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Cockpit_Banner.jpg   carrierdeck_Thumb.jpg  

    Patrick

  16. #41
    SOH-CM-2023
    Join Date
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    Netherlands
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    65
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    You – and Heatblur – made my day, Patrick!

  17. #42
    Speechless....I am without speech.... Looking forward to this muchly!

    "Hornets by mandate, Tomcats by choice!"

  18. #43
    I'm very excited as well friends Watch this Page for BIG NEWS
    Coming 10-07-18

    http://www.heatblur.com/

    Patrick

  19. #44
    LOL, my wallet hates you....thanks for the updates. Love what's coming forth.
    ....my other Stryker is a 2019 Challenger Hellcat Redeye.....

    Matt

  20. #45
    As much as I'm enjoying the Hornet and flying around the boat, this has to be the most anticipated module for me. Add in tanking and escorting A-6s, very cool! Great job with the 1980s theme vid!
    Fly Navy/Army
    USN SAR
    DUSTOFF/ARMY PROPS

  21. #46
    A Note from Heatblur concerning TomCat Flight model

    "
    Originally Posted by SMH
    Looks great! Will it be PFM?

    Short answer is: yes, but not called a PFM.

    Long answer is: the model is an EFM meaning the flight model was developed outside of ED and in fact is a program that runs outside of DCS. It receives atmospheric and physical parameters (speed, AOA, etc) from DCS which is then fed into the Heatblur FM program. The program then crunches all the info and feeds forces to the rigid physics model inside of DCS.

    I think a lot of people figure that FM development is a lot like a "mad libs" word game where you take some aircraft specifics and plug it into a framework that exists in DCS - that is true for SFMs. But PFMs/EFMs are clean sheet mathematical descriptions of the aerodynamic and physical forces that effect the airplane. So instead of a mad libs we are talking about a blank sheet of paper.....pretty intimidating.

    In the case of the F-14, the FM was developed from NASA wind tunnel testing, NASA aerodynamic evaluation data, USN real world performance data (covering all aspects), USN documentation for handling/testing, USN docs for the AFCS system, flight control systems, USN weight and balance documentation (which proved to be quite important for replicating behavior), detailed engine documentation/dynamics modeling, etc, etc, etc.....a lot of stuff!

    All of this information is then digested and converted to equations, coefficients, look-up tables, and all that stuff by the FM developer. The F-14 FM actually has 2 FM engineers/coders/developers. The lead is a joint PhD in engineering and computer science (Mechatronics) while the other's day job is as an FM developer for Level D simulators (private and light commercial jets).

    Add to that, the FM has over a hundred hours of real F-14 pilot evaluation time resulting in many adjustments. We thought the FM was in pretty good shape a year ago when the pilots first stated giving feedback. Well a year later we have adjusted a lot of stuff! Things are actually quite different than they were back then (even without changing the core aero data from wind tunnels and other sources). FM development means a lot of very fine tuning that can have big effects. Without all the pilot input, things would actually feel pretty different - even though everything would still match the data. Aircraft feel is surprisingly dependent on small details.

    I am happy to say that our pilot SMEs are quite happy with it, even as we adjust a few more details (like how much roll rate changes with wing sweep, as Cobra mentioned). One of our best SMEs (very detail oriented and he uses DCS habitually - he has made a huge contribution to the module!) recently described the FM as a "game changer" - so we are very happy with the depth and accuracy.

    So like I said....long answer.

    In summary: it's really good!

    -Nick (Heatblur Tomcat tester)"

    Patrick

  22. #47
    This is intense! I am seriously waiting for this release.

  23. #48
    Heatblur Interview

    Patrick

  24. #49
    From Heatblur FB Page.........


    "This winter is in the claws of the cat. Tune in on the 7th to see what our Tomcat is all about"




    .




    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 42716137_996617787192506_4709816099766534144_n.jpg  

    Patrick

  25. #50

    One More Week....."Baby"!!!

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_8289.jpg  

    Patrick

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