Download and Installation
As with all Lago products, purchasing and downloading is a breeze. I had no problems with the download, auto-installation or registering it. Within minutes you are ready to go. If you have already purchased it make sure you get the latest patch (1.12 as of June 1st, 2003).
2D Panels
There's an old saying, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." In this particular case, first impressions were mixed. I guess having spent so much time with Falcon 4.0 I was expecting a bit too much. The fact is that the 2D panel is pretty good by FS2002 standards, but not as fully functional or realistic as I had hoped. It is "photo-realistic" in both the good and bad meaning of that phrase. Good in the sense that it is true to the real airplane. Bad in that it looks a bit too much like a photo and lacks the 3-dimensional look that a talented artist could have given it with some retouching and painting.
I did notice that it does have some fps hit but less than the Lago Tornado 2D panel that really pushes my system and is very slow to load. A very nice touch is that all of the side panels are modeled, and can be quickly and intuitively selected by clicking on an icon in the lower right that is a plan view (in yellow) of the cockpit. Clicking on the appropriate spot on the plan view brings up the panel you have selected, taking you along the sides of the cockpit on either side (like an inverted U shape with you in the middle).
One frustrating part of the numerous panels is that most of the switches are either non-operative or are dummies. As there are an awful lot of them, you can spend a lot of time trying to find the one relevant switch among a plethora of knobs and switches that are just eye-candy. That's okay on the ground but when you are "heads down" at 600 knots it can be quite unhealthy! (Though "bitching Betty" will help you out before you make an F-16 shaped hole in the ground—more on that in a moment).
Instrumentation is clear and fairly easy to use but most of the time you will be flying heads up using the HUD anyway. ("HUD = "heads up display.") There are two Multi Function Displays (MFDs) but neither is truly "multi-function." The left one can be used to activate and use the "air to air" radar (which works though it is not a realistic replica of the real F-16 radar as this is beyond FS2002 capabilities.) The right MFD simply replicates the HUD, which seems superfluous to me and could have been put to better use. One minor disappointment is that the same panel/HUD is used for A/B and C/D version. In reality there are several differences between the earlier models and the later C/D but this is not modeled. (I guess you just have to assume that the earlier A/B has been upgraded to C standards, which in some cases is probably true.)
The HUD has two modes – normal and ILS approach. (You select ILS by clicking on the icon for the front starboard-side panel and turning the switch DED Data to "off.") For obvious reasons the weapons modes are not modeled, nor are all aspects of the HUD modeled, probably because of FS limitations. Nonetheless, the HUD is realistic and very functional and with an airplane that moves as fast as this one, "heads up" is definitely the way to fly it!
Virtual Cockpit (VC)
Ever since I got the wonderful Captain Simulations Legendary 727 I have become a fan of flying whenever possible in the Virtual Cockpit (VC). And here is where the Lago team has done an awesome job. In modeling the F-16 cockpit, they have produced a fairly detailed cockpit that gives a true feeling of being in the unique "office" of the F-16. Visibility (as you would expect) is outstanding and you really do have the feeling of being in a "flying bathtub" which is how I once heard an F-16 pilot describe the outstanding pilot position in the Viper. And here's the really good news—not only does being in the virtual cockpit feel and look right, the Lago team have managed to do this while retaining excellent frames per second. In fact, the VC is much more frame rate friendly than the 2D cockpit.
The only caveat I have about the VC is that the night lighting is very muted and even the HUD is hard to read, which makes night flying quite an adventure. I find myself having to go to the 2D cockpit to read vital information, whereas in daylight I never do unless I have to click a switch. (I use a HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) system so most functions are programmed as button presses and I rarely have to use the mouse.)
You can spend a lot of time exploring all the panels, reading through the manual and trying to figure out what is truly functional and what is not, but in the end what matters is flying—so let's go!
Visual Model
Okay, the 2D panels are decent, the VC is great but we want to fly this baby. But first, let's do a walk around! Change views and you will gasp. This is an awesome looking airplane and Lago have done an absolutely perfect job of modeling it.
The Lago F-16 comes in four versions—A model (single seat) and B model (dual seat), the more advanced C model (single seat) and D model, a two-seat equivalent of the C. Numerous liveries allow you to choose to fly as the pilot of a wide variety of USAF and Edwards Test Center aircraft, NATO allies Belgium, Greece or Norway, or the Israeli and Pakistani Air Force. And you can also join the elite display team of the USAF, the Thunderbirds in either a single-seat F-16C or take a VIP for a ride in the two-seat Thunderbird F-16D. A variety of load-outs give you a look at what this multi-purpose machine carries into harms way—everything from iron bombs to Maverick air-to-ground missiles, Sidewinders for dog-fighting and the deadly AMRAAM for more distant bandits. As they say in the US, "this baby is loaded for bear" and anyone who thinks that an airplane designed in the 1970s isn't a threat has not seen an F-16 in action.
Everything is detailed—absolutely everything! I don't think I have ever spent as much time outside an FS aircraft as I have with this one—it is absolutely beautiful to look at it on the ground and in flight. The gear retraction sequence is fascinating to watch (look closely as it is very fast) and details like pressing <shift>+<W> and the pilot lowers his sun-visor are just amazing. Watch the jet nozzles moving when you increase and decrease thrust—smooth, totally believable animations will have you grinning like an idiot and calling out to the family to "come and look at this!" As with the Lago Tornado the pilot removes his oxygen mask as the canopy rises. (<shift>+<E>) The visual model is simply stunning and I cannot imagine that anyone could improve on it. It is a thing of beauty and has become a frequent AI visitor to many airports I fly in and out of so I can watch it often. (More on the AI aspect in a moment.)
Sound
The sound set that accompanies it is wonderful. The 1.12 version has muted the too-loud auto flap sequence and what you hear is very believable. Lots of wind noise around that all-encompassing cockpit canopy, a thud when the afterburner kicks in (a slight error there as the F-16 has multi-stage afterburner but you get only one "thump" in this version) and the externals will have the neighbors calling to complain in no time at all.
Flight Model
Now we've done the walk around (taking longer than usual because this is a work of art that deserves to be admired) and it is time to do the "flying" part of the mission. Start her up (sounds wonderful) and get clearance quickly because this baby eats a lot of fuel in a big hurry. But don't taxi too fast or you will quickly find out another Lago masterpiece—the narrow track landing gear will not tolerate excessive speed; if you try to turn on the ground and she will tilt and even roll onto her side. Of course, a careful guy like me didn't find that out by accident - it was all part of the test. (If you believe that I have some wonderful stocks in a company named Enron I'd like you to buy.)
Cleared onto the runway, slide the thrust lever forward and let go of the brakes. The nose pumps up slightly, and the airplane begins to accelerate like a greased pig. The nose gear steering light goes out as you shoot past 40 knots and the afterburner kicks in with a thump. Off the ground at around 160 knots (who knows the actual speed, she accelerates so fast?) and she leaps into the air. Gear up and throttle back, though probably too late and you've already broken the 250 knots speed limit!
It just doesn't get any better than this. Lago have done something that I had begun to think was impossible. They have modeled an agile, fast and light airplane that responds to a mere touch on the stick yet is perfectly controllable. I don't know about you, but my experience of downloading military aircraft for FS has either been that they are too docile or they are almost unflyable. At the one extreme they fly like a 737 with guns and at the other extreme they are so sensitive and unstable, especially in pitch, that flying them is no fun.
Not so the Lago F-16. I don't know what they have done differently but I do hope they will share their secret with the rest of the designer community. This airplane is an absolute joy to fly. It fairly screams to be put through an aerobatic routine and yet you can shoot precise ILS approaches and land it smack on the center line with a satisfying "squeak" almost every time. Yes, it is a little bit sensitive on the longitudinal axis (roll) as you would expect, and you do need to avoid over-controlling and setting yourself up for pilot induced oscillations, but within a few minutes any experienced flight sim pilot is going to get the feel of it. I simply love doing circuits in this airplane. It is a joy to fly and for this achievement alone, the Lago team deserves praise. The controls are fluid yet stable, light and responsive, and all I can say is bravissimo! (Sorry Lago team, that almost exhausts my knowledge of Italian.)
AI Friendly
This is a new category that I have decided I am going to add to all my aircraft reviews. Next to flying them, the most important thing for me about a new plane is seeing it taxi by when I am at an airport. And once again, the Lago team scores big time!
I have a number of wonderful military planes in my FS stable. But some of them, though they are fine to fly as pilot-controlled aircraft, are simply unusable as AI aircraft. They veer off at a right angle on take-off, they land one mile short of the runway, or in one case, they crawl into the air, stagger to a few thousand feet then stall when trying to turn and disappear into the ground. Not so the Lago F-16. She flies like a dream, and unless the well-known terrain bug of FS2002 interferes (with that eternal "going around" message), she will take off, fly to her destination and land with a satisfying puff of smoke that would put a smile on my old and crusty Chief Flying Instructor of long ago. (Believe me, not much put a smile on his face!)
My virtual skies are now regularly patrolled by NATO F-16s of several nations and if my virtual world is not actually safer as a result, it is certainly more colorful and interesting.
Manual
As this is a downloaded product, there is just the usual PDF manual. It is well written (in English for me) and contains a lot of actual data about the F-16. This can be good if you are interested in those kinds of details, but sometimes I find myself impatient with needing to read a lot of detail that is not actually modeled in the simulation. I wish producers would give us an abbreviated "FS only" manual so we could get the actual information we need to fly in FS and not be distracted with a lot of real world data that may be of interest, but can be a tedious read when we want to fly. A tutorial flight with step by step instructions, like with the PSS Dash-8, is also something that I personally really appreciate. There's nothing wrong with the manual—it is average or better, but I found it a bit tedious and would prefer something more geared to the simulation than the real world.
Innovations/Pushing the Envelope
One of the things that an AVSIM reviewer is told to look out for is in the area of creativity. We ask the question, "In what ways is this product innovative? Does it "push the envelope" of what is possible in FS and does it exceed what others have achieved?"
There are several areas where the Lago F-16 just does this:
The first is the "Bitching Betty" warning system. As far as I know, the F-16 was the first combat aircraft to have a built in aural system that warns the pilot of impending doom. The folks who developed this found that most male pilots would respond more quickly to a female voice, so the system got the name "Bitching Betty" from the fact that a woman's voice was telling them to "pull up" from a dive (target fixation has killed a lot of good people) or "warning, warning" when they needed to pay attention to those red lights glowing in various places "heads down" on the panels. Along with the verbal warnings, the HUD also displays various warning messages—and the Lago team have modeled this perfectly. If you are flying a collision course with Mother Earth, you will get a consistent voice telling you to pull up and will see "warning" flashing in big letters on the HUD. If you fly below 200 feet AGL you will get an altitude warning, and when you reach "bingo" fuel (time to return to base or you are going to have to walk home after ejecting) you will hear Betty's voice saying "Bi-Bi-Bingo" over and over. (Very annoying but much less so than facing a court martial for losing a multi-million dollar airplane by running out of fuel!)
A second innovation is the replication of the entire cockpit with icon selection for 2D panels. It is simple and intuitive and allows you to "pan around" the cockpit in 2D by quickly selecting any appropriate panel on the icon.
I'm not sure if this third one can be termed an "innovation" but is sure is a major "Bravo Zulu" for me, and that is the superb way they have modeled high G contrails from the wingtips (a thin trail) and the strakes that blend the wing into the fuselage (thicker trail). One of the many virtues of the F-16 is its ability to make sustained high G maneuvers. The F-16 can hold a 9G turn at around 450 knots that makes it absolutely deadly in ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering). I once asked my nephew, a USAF F-15C pilot how they fared up against the aggressor F-16s from Nellis AFB. (You get one of these in the package.) Though he didn't actually say that they get eaten alive, he did admit that they preferred to use their more capable radar to take the F-16s out at BVR (beyond visual range) and admitted that if they got close-in "it can be quite interesting."
Well, Lago have modeled these high G maneuvers beautifully. The airplane does what it should, and when you look outside you will see long, thin contrails steaming from the wing tips only at high G and a thicker trail from the strakes. Awesome!
Another "innovation" is not new to the F-16 but was actually developed for the Tornado. Lago has developed a module that allows you to refuel in flight from a KC-10 tanker. There is a great description of this in David Slavin's review on AVSIM of the Lago Tornado so I won't repeat it here, but it still deserves mention. If you think you can do it all, then this challenge is for you. It will humble the best virtual flyer out there, but if you persevere and are very, very patient, you just may hear that life-saving radio message from the tanker that they are "passing fuel." (Most of the time you will hear a sympathetic voice blaming your ham-fisted attempts on some mythical "turbulence.")
The last may be arguably not an "innovation" but as far as I can say, no one else has ever fully achieved making an FS aircraft that is capable of extreme agility yet is stable and very "flyable." The beautiful coordination of the controls of Lago's F-16 makes it an absolute standout in my experience. In a nutshell, this airplane is just a pure pleasure to fly.
So what do you do with an F-16 in FS2002? Sure, you can't "fight." But you can simulate many of the real world training missions that make an air force pilot what they are. With an AI aircraft, you can fly formation. You can use the radar to intercept and "eyeball" AI aircraft, in a way that many USAF F-16 National Guard pilots have been doing since the atrocity of 9/11/2001. If you want a really big challenge, you can fly a refueling mission and try to stabilize within the "box" to take on fuel from a KC-10 (with an F-16 escort). Or if you're like me, you will want to do aerobatics and simulate being the solo member of the USAF Thunderbirds. Whatever you chose to do, other than blowing things up, you will find this wonderful airplane a joy to fly. And if you must destroy things, you can fly it in CFS3 but I can't speak to that as I don't own that simulation. (I'm waiting for LOMAC!)
In summary, I think the Lago F-16 is the best simulation of a modern fighter jet that I have been privileged to fly outside of the famous Falcon 4.0 simulation. Within the limits of MS FS2002, it truly is "as real as it gets." You will love this add-on.
You can purchase and download this plane at the LAGO website.
