From: wrr3118@tamsun.tamu.edu (Rick Russell)
Subject: Re: Hellcats over the Pacific gripes
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 03:50:34 GMT

In article <bjEm6hcn@twinsun.com> junio@twinsun.com (Jun Hamano) writes:
>   reference says). Why no simulation of WEP?

>Agreed, but this may be already built-in in their throttle
>simulation, which is after all how WEP was controlled in the real
>thing.

Hmm, careful examination of the manual suggests that a switch (the
water pump switch) has to be thrown manually before WEP can be
activated. Although the fuel-mix and supercharger switch is in the
throttle.

Besides, in that case, WEP should cut out as soon as the auxilliary
water tank is empty (it's only got 16 gallons), and subsequent
dangerous overheat and/or overpressure could destroy the engine.

>    - The tech reference very clearly states that flaps do not deploy at
>   IAS greater than 170 knots, yet the effect of deploying flaps at very
...
>As you described above, the flaps are blown to smaller angle at
>high airspeed.  The POH also says this happens no matter what
>flap setting you have in the cockpit.  So even if you flap
>indicator shows 40 degrees, it may be blown to, say, only 5
>degrees at 170 KIAS.  As to the abrupt effect of deploying flaps,
>remember at a higher speed, even smaller control surface movement
>gives you a lot more effect than when you are flying slower.

No, you don't understand. The flaps DON'T deploy at 170 KIAS or
greater.  Not at all. Not a bit. Lowering flaps at 170 knots should do
nothing at all to the Hellcat (and it would make for a much more
realistic simulation, IMHO).

>    - As a general gripe, why are so many features of the actual Hellcat
>   missing?  No command or navigation radios. No rudder/elevator/aileron
>   trim. No possibility of damage to the hydraulic system, which should
>   be one of the first things to go. I'd love to see a simulated
>   hydraulic hand pump :-)
>
>I don't think we need radios until we see network-multi-player
>version ;-).

Would it really have been that hard to include a simple com radio that
gave messages like "Carrier Intrepid under attack!" or "VF6, you're
off course." or "VF6, watch for Zeros at bearing 330." ? More than
once I've returned to the carrier to find it half-sunk, because I
never knew the thing was under attack. You think they'd mention that
on the com radio before I burned my fuel to get back to the carrier.

Heck, MS Flight Sim and Falcon already have these enhancements, and
they're much less sophisticated generally than Hellcats.

>  Elevator trim would be real nice; cannot agree more
>about that.  You can lose your hydraulic system if you are hit,
>even if you have no damage to your engine or anything else.
>After combat, you should always check if your gears come down
>before landing.

You can lose your landing gear or your flaps, but not your hydraulics
generally. Which is wierd, since the hydraulics control flaps,
ailerons, elevator, rudder, gear, etc. etc.
-- 
#      Rick Russell | TAMU Meteorology | wrr3118@tamsun.tamu.edu       # 
#     "I want to Krazy Glue my head to the bottom of a BIIIG           #
#      steel girder!" - Weird Al Yankovic                              #
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