Based on the screenshots I've seen of the F/A-18 sitting idle on the carrier deck and tarmac, seems it sits too high in the back, the rear landing gear should be compressed more, the plane looks to be in a nose down postion even with the launch bar up.

Hi,Wow, I'll bet the tire pressure is off by one pound also. People have done a heck of a job with this stuff. Let's fly the planes and have fun.Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/

:-lol :-lolAndr

Yep i'm with you Jim...BUT..i did notice there were NO dead flies on it!! not one anywhere...outrageous!!!!!:-smile12 steve

He is only observing! sheesh what's up with people lately.. :-rollI bet if the add-on was by PMDG or whatever people would have jumped right on top of it saying it didn't look good or it should be this or it should be that.But since it is by Microsoft and only 30$ bucks critisism is suddenly not allowed anymore.. :-waveshocky :-hahhttp://img7.exs.cx/img7/5379/Banner21.jpg

>He is only>observing! sheesh what's up with people lately.. :-roll>>I bet if the add-on was by PMDG or whatever people would have>jumped right on top of it saying it didn't look good or it>should be this or it should be that.>>But since it is by Microsoft and only 30$ bucks critisism is>suddenly not allowed anymore.. Actually, all three new models and gauge systems were created by contracted, professional third-parties......all of whom are well-known and respected folks from extremely popular companies... :)

>>He is>only>>observing! sheesh what's up with people lately.. :-roll>>>>I bet if the add-on was by PMDG or whatever people would>have>>jumped right on top of it saying it didn't look good or it>>should be this or it should be that.>>>>But since it is by Microsoft and only 30$ bucks critisism is>>suddenly not allowed anymore.. >>Actually, all three new models and gauge systems were created>by contracted, professional third-parties...>>...all of whom are well-known and respected folks from>extremely popular companies... :)>Shame they did not contract out the MULTIPLAYER system as well :(

Nope! The real aircraft also sets up high in the rear. There are two reasons. One, on the catapult, if the aircraft were not high in the rear, the inertia from being "tied down to the deck" for takeoff would cause the aircraft to bottom out in the back.Two, when you land the F-18 there is a tremendous force on the rear on the aircraft - something like a "controlled crash." In addition, there is very little flair in the landing so you want the main gear to get on the deck ASAP. If you view a landing in slow motion you can see the main gear compress quite rapidly and the tail hook protrudes between the wheels to catch the wire.fb

Now it's been a few years since I worked on a carrier flight deck - but my memory of the F-18 was that it did sit up in the back.The compression for the main gear is built to take 4, 5 or more G on landing on the carrier desk. Of course ready to take that compression load, the gear do not compress much when the aircraft is empty on the deck. With a full load of fuel and weapons, it goes down a bit, but no more than 20-25%.If my memory is right - one of the design goals for the F-18 was to have a lighter, but highly compressible, landing gear as opposed to some traditional Navy fighters. Trying to increase the number of carrier landing cycles this model aircraft could take before major inspections and rebuilds. That was a real issue on the F-14.It's a 10,000 kg aircraft with 5,000 kg of fuel internal, 3,000 kg of fuel external and 7,000 kg of external weapons.I'd have to see some screen shots super imposed over read aircraft photos in similar weight configurations to be sure.

>In addition, there is very little flair in the landing so you>want the main gear to get on the deck ASAP. To be more exact, there is NO flare on a standard F/A-18 landing, regardless of whether landing on a carrier or a normal runway.Gary

Looks pretty real to me! Handles good too!http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/178571.jpg

Look at the rear struts

jymp,IANA Boing engineer ... however, given the reduced weight by removing the weapons infrastucture, the rear struts would not sit quite as low, seems to me.And lemme tell you something ... this baby is FUN TO FLY. I have a whole new respect for the military guys who can put this thing down in a 50-foot box and get her stopped without damaging those rear struts.

It's a small point, but it looks more like the gear is in the unloaded pre-touchdown position.Ron

The struts do, indeed, appear to be deloaded. That said, and in general, I see nothing exceptional about this external model.Doug