Viper Mini-Update
Hey everyone, Viper update day!
As most of you have probably already discovered, this week we released the first cinematic trailer for the Viper. Cato did a fantastic job as always, and the trailer brings across the just how fun this aircraft will be. Flying the DCS: F-16C Viper is great on a 2D monitor, but it really shines in VR.
https://youtu.be/8QfANpD0GHY
In August I will start the Viper academic videos, with the first being a cockpit tour (like what I did for the Hornet). After that will come navigation and then takeoff / VFR pattern landing.
Much of the work is centered on tuning the flight model and FLCS, programing the Stores Manager System (SMS), and initial weapons. “Viper Team” is making fast progress and it is coming together at the fastest rate I have ever seen a module develop. On the art side, most of the focus is now on the landing gear (animations and texturing), and after that he will overhaul the external textures (we have a placeholder currently).
In addition to open source documents and Subject Mater Experts (SMEs), another very helpful resource is visiting Viper squadrons to talk with pilots and get seat time in the real simulators. I was earlier at Luke AFB, but it was largely a bust due to Lockheed Martin. However, this week I was down at the 192nd FW in Tucson with T-Day and I got over an hour in a Block 42 simulator. While not Block 50 and using a different OFP than our planned Viper, there was a huge amount of commonality. There were many “light bulb moments” in understanding the operation and how to properly fly the Viper. It is a very, very different bird than flying the Hornet, and it took me a bit to stop trying to fly it like a Hornet (particularly how you land it). Fun fact: When T-Day was flying our Viper in VR, he fractured the metal attachment between the stick and the base due to the amount of force he is used to applying. The force sensitive stick took awhile to get used to (much greater pounds of force per G than I expected), but it was very much like the Realsimulator FSSB base. It is also an incredibly easy aircraft to get up and running. Assuming the ground crew set up the cockpit, it’s a much, much easier aircraft to cold start than the A-10C and Hornet.
It was also an ideal time for me to be down at the 162nd FW because a buddy of mine, “Frodo”, graduated the F-16 Basic School (B-School) and I was able to attend his gradation ceremony. Frodo is also a big DCS fan and it’s great to see that some of the products I worked on over the years perhaps played a small part in his great accomplishment (he also won the AA and AG awards for his class).
Onward an upwards,
Wags
As most of you have probably already discovered, this week we released the first cinematic trailer for the Viper. Cato did a fantastic job as always, and the trailer brings across the just how fun this aircraft will be. Flying the DCS: F-16C Viper is great on a 2D monitor, but it really shines in VR.
https://youtu.be/8QfANpD0GHY
In August I will start the Viper academic videos, with the first being a cockpit tour (like what I did for the Hornet). After that will come navigation and then takeoff / VFR pattern landing.
Much of the work is centered on tuning the flight model and FLCS, programing the Stores Manager System (SMS), and initial weapons. “Viper Team” is making fast progress and it is coming together at the fastest rate I have ever seen a module develop. On the art side, most of the focus is now on the landing gear (animations and texturing), and after that he will overhaul the external textures (we have a placeholder currently).
In addition to open source documents and Subject Mater Experts (SMEs), another very helpful resource is visiting Viper squadrons to talk with pilots and get seat time in the real simulators. I was earlier at Luke AFB, but it was largely a bust due to Lockheed Martin. However, this week I was down at the 192nd FW in Tucson with T-Day and I got over an hour in a Block 42 simulator. While not Block 50 and using a different OFP than our planned Viper, there was a huge amount of commonality. There were many “light bulb moments” in understanding the operation and how to properly fly the Viper. It is a very, very different bird than flying the Hornet, and it took me a bit to stop trying to fly it like a Hornet (particularly how you land it). Fun fact: When T-Day was flying our Viper in VR, he fractured the metal attachment between the stick and the base due to the amount of force he is used to applying. The force sensitive stick took awhile to get used to (much greater pounds of force per G than I expected), but it was very much like the Realsimulator FSSB base. It is also an incredibly easy aircraft to get up and running. Assuming the ground crew set up the cockpit, it’s a much, much easier aircraft to cold start than the A-10C and Hornet.
It was also an ideal time for me to be down at the 162nd FW because a buddy of mine, “Frodo”, graduated the F-16 Basic School (B-School) and I was able to attend his gradation ceremony. Frodo is also a big DCS fan and it’s great to see that some of the products I worked on over the years perhaps played a small part in his great accomplishment (he also won the AA and AG awards for his class).
Onward an upwards,
Wags