Fighting 99th Forum
Combat Air Patrol 2
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Combat Air Patrol 2 #705
Well, whoever had a Commodore Amiga in the late '80s/early '90s will know who Psygnosis was (Lemmings, anyone? Armour-Geddon? Shadow of the Beast?). I shamefully have to admit to being one of those old dotherers, so I couldn't really miss trying out this sim, put together apparently by the "remnants" of that once great software house, and which I have been keeping an eye on since Gabe posted info about it in the chat some time ago.
It is early access, on Steam, as yet. And yes, it is a bit rough around the edges, but it flies nicely enough, if a little touchy on coordination. And does VTOL. Views controls are all a bit messed up, though, or I just have not fathomed how to configure them properly, I don't know.
I really don't have to say it, but will anyway; no one of the F-99th will have any trouble, at all. If you can fly the MiG-21 and the UH-1, you won't even scratch the paint of the thing on your first flight. But it is fun. And there's plenty of promise that it will get better. Let's hope that's true.
I took a Shadowplay video and snapped some screenies of the first and only flight I've done, so far; here are some of the latter, as it is too late right now to go uploading videos...
Actually, I'm over the moon with it, myself! LOL! I have missed a good Harrier sim since Domark's AV-8B Harrier Assault, which was also back on the Amiga.
It is early access, on Steam, as yet. And yes, it is a bit rough around the edges, but it flies nicely enough, if a little touchy on coordination. And does VTOL. Views controls are all a bit messed up, though, or I just have not fathomed how to configure them properly, I don't know.
I really don't have to say it, but will anyway; no one of the F-99th will have any trouble, at all. If you can fly the MiG-21 and the UH-1, you won't even scratch the paint of the thing on your first flight. But it is fun. And there's plenty of promise that it will get better. Let's hope that's true.
I took a Shadowplay video and snapped some screenies of the first and only flight I've done, so far; here are some of the latter, as it is too late right now to go uploading videos...
Actually, I'm over the moon with it, myself! LOL! I have missed a good Harrier sim since Domark's AV-8B Harrier Assault, which was also back on the Amiga.
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Combat Air Patrol 2 #4921
What do you think of the flight model so far. Do you think it compares pretty well to a DCS level aircraft in terms of flight modeling? Flying is my favorite part, the bombs, missiles, and rockets are all second to the experience of flying these magnificent machines.
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Combat Air Patrol 2 #4975
I'm the same there; I like a convincing flight model, too.
First off, there's this reference . I try and find these things whenever there's a new model out, and go straight to the limitations section, at least. Now, I'm no expert on how an AV8B should fly, and I'm still only one flight old on this sim, but here are a couple of impressions...
This one is not as complex as the DCS models in terms of systems administration. On the one training mission I tried, I was already on the deck of what I think was a Tarawa class (didn't look closely enough to verify), with the engine running, and the blurb said it was at Kaneohe. I had already played around with the key mapping and got the basics I needed sorted out for a test flight. Another Harrier took off in front of me, and as I moved the throttle, I realized that I would need to invert the axis. I performed a STOL take off with the nozzles at about 30 degrees, full flaps (V/STOL setting). No problems. The mission tried to stop there, congratulating me for not bending the machine or myself, so I clicked "continue flight". Anyway, conclusion of that; if you really are a switch junkie, this one hasn't got anywhere near as many as the finer DCS modules we all know and love.
Flight model. I'm pretty sure some work is needed here, but generally the handling is good in forward flight and they've crossed the barrier between "it feels like numbers crunching on a computer (eg: FSX)" into the realm of "it feels like an aircraft, yay!". Control inertia is good, both for input and release. There is, however, a notable absence of positive dynamic stability along the longitudinal axis. It stays where you put it in pitch, kind of like an FBW aircraft (which it is not). Now, before I criticize that, it could be right, considering there is probably a very constrained CG, and maybe an unusual CG positioning due to the aircraft's VTOL requirement. I won't go into a lengthy discussion on that, though (as I did on the first attempt at answering this post last night).
There is no warning of a stall, and no nose drop once it has happened (which elaborates on the above). You need to keep an eye on your alpha indicator on the HUD, and notice massive altitude loss beyond about 14-16 degrees AoA. Glad I had some altitude before trying that, lol!
There are no noticeable secondary effects to control inputs, far as I could tell, except speed loss or gain to pitch inputs. No secondary roll to rudder inputs, no noticeable adverse yaw to aileron inputs. The latter might also be right, though. There's very little aileron lateral arm for moment on those short span wings, and differential aileron deflection can eliminate adverse yaw.
You have to be awake with the Flight Path Vector on the HUD. In forward flight, it is easy to get dis-coordinated with the rudder and find yourself skidding or slipping violently. I actually like that, and this could also be right. Visually, the distribution of keel surface forward and aft of the CG suggests some neutral static stability about the normal axis.
Hover flight requires concentration, but you'll soon develop the sequential scan of the parameters you should be looking at. I went in at the hardest level of "vertical flight" difficulty, and I suggest anyone who plays DCS should, too. It is not the end of the world, and you'd soon get the hang of it, without buying the farm. LOL!
In conclusion, a fun sim to fly, and does not require a type rating ground course before you venture to fly it.
Weapons? Can't say anything about it. Didn't try them.
First off, there's this reference . I try and find these things whenever there's a new model out, and go straight to the limitations section, at least. Now, I'm no expert on how an AV8B should fly, and I'm still only one flight old on this sim, but here are a couple of impressions...
This one is not as complex as the DCS models in terms of systems administration. On the one training mission I tried, I was already on the deck of what I think was a Tarawa class (didn't look closely enough to verify), with the engine running, and the blurb said it was at Kaneohe. I had already played around with the key mapping and got the basics I needed sorted out for a test flight. Another Harrier took off in front of me, and as I moved the throttle, I realized that I would need to invert the axis. I performed a STOL take off with the nozzles at about 30 degrees, full flaps (V/STOL setting). No problems. The mission tried to stop there, congratulating me for not bending the machine or myself, so I clicked "continue flight". Anyway, conclusion of that; if you really are a switch junkie, this one hasn't got anywhere near as many as the finer DCS modules we all know and love.
Flight model. I'm pretty sure some work is needed here, but generally the handling is good in forward flight and they've crossed the barrier between "it feels like numbers crunching on a computer (eg: FSX)" into the realm of "it feels like an aircraft, yay!". Control inertia is good, both for input and release. There is, however, a notable absence of positive dynamic stability along the longitudinal axis. It stays where you put it in pitch, kind of like an FBW aircraft (which it is not). Now, before I criticize that, it could be right, considering there is probably a very constrained CG, and maybe an unusual CG positioning due to the aircraft's VTOL requirement. I won't go into a lengthy discussion on that, though (as I did on the first attempt at answering this post last night).
There is no warning of a stall, and no nose drop once it has happened (which elaborates on the above). You need to keep an eye on your alpha indicator on the HUD, and notice massive altitude loss beyond about 14-16 degrees AoA. Glad I had some altitude before trying that, lol!
There are no noticeable secondary effects to control inputs, far as I could tell, except speed loss or gain to pitch inputs. No secondary roll to rudder inputs, no noticeable adverse yaw to aileron inputs. The latter might also be right, though. There's very little aileron lateral arm for moment on those short span wings, and differential aileron deflection can eliminate adverse yaw.
You have to be awake with the Flight Path Vector on the HUD. In forward flight, it is easy to get dis-coordinated with the rudder and find yourself skidding or slipping violently. I actually like that, and this could also be right. Visually, the distribution of keel surface forward and aft of the CG suggests some neutral static stability about the normal axis.
Hover flight requires concentration, but you'll soon develop the sequential scan of the parameters you should be looking at. I went in at the hardest level of "vertical flight" difficulty, and I suggest anyone who plays DCS should, too. It is not the end of the world, and you'd soon get the hang of it, without buying the farm. LOL!
In conclusion, a fun sim to fly, and does not require a type rating ground course before you venture to fly it.
Weapons? Can't say anything about it. Didn't try them.
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