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Virtavia Pty Ltd F-111 Aardvark Manual Version 1.0
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Introduction
The F-111 was an extremely advanced design using the "swing wing" or
variable geometry airfoil. Powered by fuel-efficient turbofan engines, the
aircraft went through a long and varied evolutionary process, emerging
as perhaps the finest long-range interdictor of the 1980s. It served in
many roles, flying thousands of combat sorties, and carried a vast array
of weaponry, including nuclear payloads, missiles, and bombs. It could
also pack a Vulcan cannon. Total stores amounted to 31,500 pounds for
any one mission, plus fuel and crew. This Virtavia product for Flight
Simulator X covers five versions of the F-111 in US service, as well as
the two variants used by the Royal Australian Air Force until the type's
retirement in 2011.
Virtavia Pty Ltd F-111 Aardvark Manual Version 1.0
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Installation
An easy installation is provided by way of an auto-installer, the F-111 will
be installed to the default FSX directory.
Extras such as this manual will be installed into the root FSX
directory/Virtavia. A start menu entry will also be made, with an
uninstaller should you ever wish to remove the product.
A paint kit (Adobe PhotoShop only) is available for download using the
URL below :
http://www.easyfly.co.nz/Freeware/index.php
Credits
Flight Dynamics - J McDaniel, Mitch London
Radar Gauges - Karol Chlebowski
Sounds - Turbine Sound Studios
Testing - the Virtavia Team : F Safranek, M London, N Gorn
Support
Should you experience difficulties or require extra information about the
Virtavia F-111, please use the tech support e-mail :
Copyright Information
These files are a commercial product and should NOT be treated as
freeware.
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These files may not be copied (other than for backup purposes),
transmitted or passed to third parties or altered in any way without the
prior permission of the publisher.
The source code for this product is closed. No modifications or reverse
engineering may be carried out without prior consent from Virtavia Pty
Ltd.
All rights reserved – copyright Virtavia Pty Ltd 2012
Virtavia Pty Ltd F-111 Aardvark Manual Version 1.0
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Table of Contents
Page
5 Quickstart - get flying now ! Autopilot basics
10 Package Contents
11 Exterior Model Animations
12 Exterior Lighting
13 Alternate Viewpoints
16 External and Internal Stores
21 Main Flying Instruments
25 Main Panel Left Side
27 Centre Pedestal 29 Heads-Up Display (HUD) 35 Angle of Attack Indexer, Radar Altimeter 36 Centre Panel (engine and fuel gauges) 39 Radios 42 Nav Computers 43 Left Side Console 46 Lighting Panel 47 Radars 62 Miscellaneous Functions (RRU, MFD's Fuel Dump)
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Quickstart
This section is s brief 9-step tutorial on how to get airborne and fly on autopilot. It assumes you are already on the runway with the engines running. 1 - Set the Wings, Flaps and Take-Off Trim This is easy - the wings will automatically sweep fully forwards when you load in the model, all you need to do it set the flaps, slats and pitch trim. The F-111 does all this itself when you press and hold the TTO button (to the right and below of the main altimeter) until the green TTO light (above the button) comes on, then release. This will set the flaps one notch, slats out and set the pitch trim to 3.8 deg. nose-up. It also lowers the wing spoilers (if you had them up) and centres the roll and yaw trim, in case you had previously adjusted those.
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2 - Set Altitude With the TTO out of the way, now it's time to set up the Autopilot. In this tutorial, there are just 3 things to set - desired Altitude, desired Speed and desired Heading. There's no need to fiddle with radios, this is just a Quick Start tutorial after all. In the image above, you can see the altimeter has a numerical field box which you can adjust by using the mouse, so enter an altitude in there - we are using 11,000ft in the example, here at Salt Lake City. Use the mousewheel to roughly adjust the number, then left-click to make small adjustments. 3 - Set Airspeed As with the Altitude setting, use the mouse to enter a suitable speed on the Airspeed gauge, the instrument to the left of the Artificial Horizon. Keep the speed low, under 500 knots for now. It can always be increased once the aircraft is airborne and on course. We are entering 350 kts for now. 4 - Set Heading Use the mousewheel on the Heading Select Knob on the HSI (the compass unit below the Artificial Horizon). You will see the white marker or 'bug' rotate with your input. Set it to somewhere at right angles to your present runway so we can get a nice turn going after take-off.
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5 - Set Autopilot HDG Mode
We need to have the Autopilot ready to engage our Heading which we have already set in the HSI in the previous step. So click the AP Mode Set knob until it points to 'NAV HDG'. Leave the adjacent on/off knob on OFF for now. 6 - Set HUD
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Turn the HUD on with a single click on the HUD Mode Select knob shown in the above image. The Flight Path Vector reticle should be uncaged by clicking the uncage knob as shown. 7 - Take Off Now the HUD's working, we can get airborne. Take the Parking Brake off (press the brakes) and go to full throttle. The AB's will engage (hear the rumble kick in !) and you will start accelerating very quickly. When the Airspeed gauge shows 150 kts, pull back on the stick to rotate, take-off will follow very soon once the nose is up. 8 - Climb Out As soon as you are climbing, get the gear up ! The F-111 accelerates rapidly and you will soon exceed the gear-down limit of 250 kts if you are not prompt with the gear lever. Now back off the throttle until the AB's go off, this is important as you will also go supersonic very soon if those burners stay on much longer. You will know they are off when hear the AB rumble subside and you also see a small forwards movement of the viewpoint to depict the sudden reduction in acceleration. No sooner you have throttled back you have to sweep the wing back, so press F6 on the keyboard a few times to get the wings back (or click and drag on the wingsweep lever), you will see the Wingsweep gauge bottom left of your panel react to your inputs with the selected position indicator bug moving first, then the actual position needle following up behind. You do not need to go fully swept as we are going to settle out at a lowish speed, so put them at the 50% setting. If you were a bit slow getting out of the afterburners and have already exceeded your desired autopilot speed, you can extend the speedbrakes to slow down again. The AP can still get you down to a speed, but it's quicker to use the brakes. Important - Speed Hold and Afterburners DO NOT engage the Autopilot with AB on - if you do the Speed Hold system will not respond and you will just keep on increasing speed with the throttles locked at maximum. You can use the AB's to get up to a set speed quickly if you wish, but drop out of AB before you select the Speed Hold again.
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9 - Autopilot On
Remember those AP settings we dialled in ? Well now it's time to hand over control. Underneath each numerical field box there is a grey switch, clicking each of those will engage the AP for SPD and ALT. A red lamp will come on to show they are now ON, as shown in the image above. Now click the Autopilot on/off button (marked 'Pitch Steer' on the panel) and your previously dialled-in Heading will become active (make sure the adjacent AP Mode Selector is still pointing to NAV HDG). The aircraft will start to bank to the selected Heading. In the example image, you can see the HDG bug is set to West (270 deg.) and the aircraft has started its turn. Now sit back and enjoy the view as the Autopilot takes over your flight ! You can continue to adjust the ALT, SPD and HDG values as you fly.
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Package Contents
The Virtavia F-111 package contains five basic model variants (the F
exterior is shared by the E) with five unique virtual cockpits, and eleven
texture schemes. The Australian C variant uses both the F and G
cockpits types to cover the early and later eras.
US AIR FORCE : FB-111A
69-6510, 'Sleepy Time Gal', 380th BW, SAC, Plattsburgh AFB
69-6509, 'Spirit of the Seacoast', 380th BW, SAC, Plattsburgh AFB
US AIR FORCE : F-111E
68-005, 77th TFS, RAF Upper Heyford, UK
US AIR FORCE : F-111F
70-2390 'Miss Lyberty II', 48th TFW, RAF Lakenheath, UK
70-396, 524th FS 'Hounds', Cannon AFB
US AIR FORCE : F-111G
68-244, 428th FS, 'Buccaneers', Cannon AFB
US AIR FORCE : EF-111A Raven
66-019, 430th ECS, Cannon AFB
Royal Australian Air Force : ;F-111C
A8-138, 1 Sqn., RAAF Amberley, Brisbane
A8-125, '2007 Anniversary', 6 Sqn., RAAF Amberley, Brisbane
A8-125, '2011 Anniversary', 6 Sqn., RAAF Amberley, Brisbane
Royal Australian Air Force : ;F-111G
A8-272, 'Boneyard Wrangler', 6 Sqn., RAAF Amberley, Brisbane
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Exterior Model Animations
The exterior model has all the usual aircraft animations such as landing
gear, flaps/slats and rudder, as well as several custom ones - wing
sweep, spoilerons and elevons. In addition there are several special
keypress-driven animations :
Pilot Canopy: shift-E Bay Doors/Rotate Pavetack: shift-E+3
Copilot Canopy: shift-E+2 Refuelling Receptacle: shift-E+4
Tail Hook: Tail Hook command Beacon Lights (L)
The shift-E+n keypress can be awkward if you have not used it before,
here's how it works : Hold down the shift key and then tap the 'e' key
once. Release the shift key and tap the relevant number key once (don't
delay).
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Exterior Lighting
Pressing the L key will turn on all lights. You may however wish to turn
them on using the appropriate switches in the cockpit, as the L key also
puts the landing and taxi lights on, which should ideally be switched
separately.
Shift-L will toggle the nav lights and the cockpit lights.
Crtl-L will toggle the landing lights.
The recognition or 'slime' lights have their own switch and will not come
on when the L key is pressed.
The red rotating beacon lights also have their own switch, but these will
also illuminate when the L key is pressed. Note, they are normally flush
with the aircraft skin and will extend out when switched on.
Please refer to the cockpit section of this manual for information
regarding light switch location.
Note that external lights may appear misaligned when panning the
viewpoint around the aircraft. This is a known issue with FSX and there
is presently no fix for it.
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Alternative Viewpoints
There are several different ways of looking at the aircraft and the
cockpit, select these alternative views by right-clicking in an empty area
and picking the 'Aircraft' menu for external views and the 'Cockpit' menu
for views inside the cabin.
Right Side View
Left Side View
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Refueller's View
Tail View
Pilot's View (zoomed out)
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Copilot's view
Attack Radar (FBA, E, F)
Attack Radar (G & Raven - Raven shown)
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External and Internal Stores
The F-111 can carry an amazing amount and variety of weapons and
other stores such as jamming and datalink pods, ejector racks and fuel
tanks, many of which are featured on the models in this package. The
loadouts cannot however be randomly chosen as they belong to
whichever model they are present on, although they can be toggled
on/off using the weapons jettison button on the left side of the cockpit
main panel. Toggling off will not affect the payload weight or CG
position, it is merely a visual feature.
GBU-10, GBU-12 and AIM-9P
The GBU-10 Paveway II is the 2,000 lb Mk.84 general purpose iron bomb with a laser seeker head and guidance fins added. This turns the 'dumb' bomb into a 'smart' bomb which is guided to its target by airborne or ground-based laser target designation. This is the larger of the bombs shown in the foreground in the above picture. The GBU-12 Paveway II is the smaller, 500 lb Mk.82 GP bomb, fitted with the Paveway II kit as described above. The AIM-9P is an advanced version of the Sidewinder infra-red air-to-air homing missile. The horizontal ejector racks added to the outer pylons give the F-111 self defence capability.
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Mk.82 500 lb bombs
The Mk.82 is an unguided, free-fall bomb, usually carried on the F-111's Multiple Ejector Rack in two groups of three per rack. Two racks per wing are often carried, providing a devastating fusillade of explosives onto the target. Mk.82 Snakeyes
The Snakeye is a normal Mk.82 500 pounder, but with a high-drag tailfin unit which automatically deploys when the bomb is released. This retards the speed of the bomb, allowing the aircraft more time to pass over the target before detonation, which allows delivery of the bombs at a much lower altitude than normal Mk.82's.
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GBU-15 and AXQ-14 Datalink Pod
The GBU-15 is a 2,000 lb Mk-84 free-fall iron bomb with forward and aft steering fins and TV or infra-red guidance system on the nose. Signals are sent to the bomb from the AXQ-14 Datalink Pod, which is usually mounted aft ventrally on the F-111. The system enables the bomb to glide to its target, either as fire-and-forget with automatic guidance once the target has been set, or guided manually by the copilot.
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AN-ALQ 131V ECM Unit
This electronic countermeasures pod provides the F-111 with the ability to jam and disrupt enemy ground and airborne radars. First used in the 1970's, it remains one of the most successful ECM systems ever made. AGM-84 Harpoon
This versatile radar-guided anti-shipping cruise missile can be used by aircraft, ships, submarines and land batteries. The F-111 can carry four at a time and they are fully fire-and-forget, skimming the sea at 537 knots for at least 67 miles.
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B61 Free-Fall Nuclear bomb Developed during the early 1960's, the B61 is a multiple yield weapon (0.3 to 340 kiloton) which can be carried externally at supersonic speeds. The F-111 can carry the bombs both on wing pylons and in its bomb bay. The weapon is still in the inventory today as the B61 MOD 11, a nuclear 'bunker buster'.
AGM-69 Nuclear Stand-Off Missile (SRAM)
Entering service in 1972, this missile was available in 17 and 210 kiloton versions and could be launched directly at the target or in a semi-ballistic 'toss' manoeuvre. In both cases the missile's own inertial navigation system would guide the single warhead to its target, with a maximum range of 110 nautical miles.
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Virtual Cockpit Functions
Main Flying Instruments
1) Total Temperature Indicator. Indicates aerodynamic heating, ie. the
temperature of the air passing over the skin of the aircraft. As speed
increases, the skin temperature climbs and can reach critical limits at
high Mach. The critical range begins at 153 deg. C and goes up to 214
deg. C (between the yellow and red markers on the gauge rim). A
caution lamp on the Main Caution panel will light once the yellow marker
is passed. The digital display at the top of the gauge is a time counter,
once the yellow marker is passed, the timer will count down to zero, this
gives an indication of the amount of time the aircraft can safely be at that
speed. When zero is reached, the red Reduce Speed Warning will flash
and the pilot must slow down so the aircraft can cool off. The warning is
also triggered when the red marker is passed, regardless of the state of
the timer. All lamps will go off and the timer will reset once the
temperature drops below the yellow marker.
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2) Wingsweep/Flaps Indicator.
A - Flap Position Indicator
B - Slat Indicator bug - turns white when slat deployed
C - Wing Position Indicator - Wing sweep angle.
D - Lever Position Indicator - Position of sweep lever.
3) Sim Icons. The familiar window shortcuts. Included is a custom icon
which toggles the control stick parts to enable a clearer view of the
controls on the centre pedestal.
4) Landing Gear Indicator Lamps.
5) Combined Vertical Speed/Mach/Indicated Airspeed Gauge.
6) Autopilot Mach Hold Toggle. Adjust the Mach setting by clicking
directly on the Mach display above the switch.
7) ) Autopilot Airspeed Hold Toggle. Adjust the IAS setting by clicking
directly on the IAS display above the switch.
8) Artificial Horizon. Includes bars for ILS/Flight Director.
9) Turn & Slip Indicator.
10) Horizon Bar Offset Knob. Use left & right mouseclick.
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11) Horizontal Situation Indicator.
A - Range to NAV1 DME
B - Rotating magnetic compass ring
C - Selected course (see knob 'L')
D - NAV2 OFF flag - appears if no NAV2 signal or battery off. If
signal is detected, changes to gray 'NAV2' flag
E - Pointer 1 - indicates NAV1 or NAV2 direction, depending on
HSI Select Buttons setting (see (15) below)
F - Pointer 2 - indicates NAV2 or ADF direction, depending on
HSI Mode Select Buttons setting (see (15) below)
G - NAV1 OFF flag. Appears if NAV1 signal not available
H - Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) Needle
I - Glide Slope Indicator bug
J - Glide Slope OFF flag. Self explanatory.
K - Set Heading knob
L - Set Course knob
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Not shown in image :
TO/FROM flags. These appear in the centre disc aperture when a VOR
station is being received and indicate direction towards or away from the
station.
GYRO OFF Flag. This red flag appears when the unit is not active, ie.
when the master battery is off.
12) Combined AoA/Altitude Gauge.
13) Barometric Pressure Set Knob.
14) Autopilot Altitude Hold Toggle. Adjust the altitude setting by clicking
directly on the altitude display above the switch.
15) Autopilot Panel. The AP panel consists of a selector knob and an
on/off switch. The on/off switch is OFF by default and no AP function will
be available until it is switched on. This includes the MACH/IAS and ALT
hold switches on the main flying instruments, these not have any
function unless the AP on/off is set ON (white line vertical). The text
'PITCH STEER' may seem misleading, this is however the correct text
for the panel, we used the pitch steer knob for convenience. The same is
true for the 'IFF' text on the AP Selector OFF setting.
A - OFF - no AP modes are set.
B - Approach Hold (APR)
C - Backcourse Hold (BC)
D - Nav Hold (NAV)
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E - Heading Hold (HDG)
F - On/off toggle
16) Clock (position of clock varies in the 4 cockpits). The knob lower left
toggles Local/Zulu Time.
17) Trim To Takeoff Button (position of TTO varies in the 4 cockpits).
Before take-off, pressing the button will automatically set the following :
Set pitch trim to + 3.8 degrees for take-off.
Set flaps to full down.
Set slats to full extended.
Check spoilerons and lower if necessary.
To use the TTO, press and hold the button until the green lamp next to it
illuminates, then release. The lamp will extinguish. Pitch trim will need to
be manually dialled out once airborne, similarly the flaps and slats will
need to be retracted manually using either the keyboard/controller or
clicking the mouse hotspots on the Wingsweep gauge or the Wingsweep
handle on the left side of the cockpit.
Main Panel - left side
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1) Canopy Latch Mechanism. Click to open left side canopy. If canopy is
opened whilst moving, the red canopy warning will flash and the Master
Caution Lamp will illuminate.
2) Fire Extinguisher Agent Enable and Lamps Test Switch. In order to
operate the Fire Extinguishers (see below), the agent bottles must first
be set active. Use right-click to move the switch up to set the bottles
active. The extinguishers will not work unless the this is done first. Using
left mouse click will test the lamps. After testing, right-click to return the
switch to a neutral position.
3) Fire Extinguishers - the push buttons will illuminate and will shut down
the appropriate engine and extinguish the fire when clicked. First, set the
Agent Discharge bottles active by right-clicking the switch (see (2)
above). Next, press the appropriate red Fire Extinguisher button. This
will release the agent, the fire will soon go out and the engine will stop.
The buttons can actually be pressed at any time, but without the Agent
Discharge switch active, the agent will not be released and the engine
will continue to run. A fire can be set in the FSX Failures section to test
their operation.
4) Stores Jettison. This button is a simple toggle which turns off the
display of any weapons on the wing pylons or in the bomb bay. It can be
used to simulate returning from a mission after releasing the payload.
The weapons will just disappear, there is no animation or adjustment to
flight characteristics. Clicking a second time will make the payload
reappear. External fuel tanks are not affected by this function.
5) Tail Hook Deploy Handle.
6) Parking Brake Deploy Handle.
7) Landing Gear Handle.
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Centre Pedestal
The actual panels on the centre pedestal will vary across the four
cockpits included in the model.
1) Lower Warning Lights Panel. These are cautionary lamps only and
will illuminate with yellow text. The Master Caution Lamp (centre of main
panel) will illuminate also, this can be cancelled by clicking the lamp
once the cautionary warning has been acknowledged or rectified. The
EF-111A Raven has a slightly different Warning Lights Panel layout, split
into two parts.
2) Bombing Timer Panel. Not supported.
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3) Control Surfaces Position Indicator. Note - NOT a trim gauge.
A - Indicates if wing-mounted spoilerons are up or down.
B - Aileron position indicator. Shows if L or R wing is down.
C - Elevator Position Indicator.
D - Rudder Position Indicator.
Anti Ice Panel: (location of the panel varies across the 4 cockpits)
4) Anti-Ice switch.
5) Pitot Heater Switch.
Flight Director Control Panel: (location of the panel varies across the 4
cockpits)
6) Flight Director Switch. Toggles the FD. Will turn ON automatically
when autopilot is engaged.
7) NAV-GPS Switch. Toggles autopilot NAV function to follow the CRS
setting in the HSI, or the current GPS flightpath.
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Electrics Panel: (location of the panel varies across the 4 cockpits)
8) and 9) Engine Starter/Shutdown Switches. To start engine, a single
left-click moves the switch to the START position and engine will
commence spool-up. Once engine has started, switch can be returned to
the neutral RUN position with a right-click of the mouse. To shut down
an engine, use right-click to move the switch to the OFF/RESET
position.
10) Master Battery Switch.
Heads Up Display
1) Control Panel.
A - Autopilot Vertical Speed. Can be adjusted but is non-functional
due to issues when autopilot uses the afterburner function.
B - Autopilot Indicated Airspeed. Can be used in the same way as
the set-IAS function of the main Airspeed Gauge. The knob can be left-
click and dragged, but responds best to the mousewheel.
C - Test Switch. Will place HUD in default display mode. Switch is
spring loaded, so release left click and it will return to centre.
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D - Cage FPV Reticle Knob. The small circular Flight Path Vector
reticle is caged (locked in the centre) by default. Left-clicking the knob
uncages the reticle and allows it to function. This is the normal setting for
flight. The AZ (Azimuth) setting allows the reticle to function only in the
vertical axis. Right-clicking the knob will return it to its previous position.
E - HUD Mode Selector Knob. There are three HUD modes,
Default, ILS and Declutter :
1) HUD Mode 1 (ON). This is the default mode which is used when the
HUD is turned on. It is the normal HUD mode for flying.
A - Current Autopilot Airspeed Setting. Will display 'KN' if IAS Hold
is in use, or 'M" if Mach Hold is used.
B - Current Autothrottle Percentage. This value is dynamically
controlled by the Autopilot and is not settable.
C - Current Autopilot Altitude Hold Setting.
D - Roll Indicator. The increments are at 15 degrees, the lower
triangle will point to the present angle of roll.
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E - Pitch Bars. These show the pitch angle of the aircraft and are
labelled in 10 degree increments. The dotted bars indicate negative
pitch.
F Indicated Airspeed.
G - Altitude.
H - Vertical Speed.
I - Horizon Bar. Shows position of Earth horizon at all roll angles.
J - Flight Director Bars. The vertical bar indicates the current
course set using the CRS setting knob of the HSI. When NAV Hold is
not in use, the bar will automatically centre itself. The bar also functions
as the Localiser Indicator when an ILS signal is tuned into NAV1. The
horizontal bar functions as the Glideslope Indicator when the ILS is
used. When the FD is turned off on the FD panel, the FD bars will not be
visible (see Centre Pedestal section, item 6).
K - Mach Indicator.
L - Current Autopilot Heading Hold Setting.
M - Heading Bug. The bug will sit at the current Autopilot Heading
Hold setting.
N - Compass Rose. Displays heading in degrees.
O - Accelerometer. Displays current g.
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2) HUD Mode 2 (ILS). The ILS mode declutters the display, leaving only
information essential to a landing approach. The image below shows the
display for a NAV approach.
A - Glideslope scale.
B - Glideslope Indicator Bug.
C - Airport ID and DME readout.
D - Localiser Scale.
E - Localiser Indicator Bug.
F - Radar Altitude.
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This next image shows how the display changes when GPS-drives-NAV
is selected (NAV-GPS toggle switch is on the Flight Director Panel). All
flight direction information is removed in this mode. The default FSX
GPS unit can be displayed by clicking its SimIcon on the panel or by
pressing shift-2 on the keyboard.
A - Airport ID and DME readout.
B - 'GPS' text to indicate selected NAV-GPS state.
C - Radar Altitude.
D - Marker Beacon Status. Will display 'O', 'M' or 'I' when
appropriate marker beacon signal is received.
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3) HUD Mode 3 (DECL). The DECL mode fully declutters the display,
leaving only an Airspeed and an Indicated Altitude scale. This mode
would be used for low-level VFR flying.
4) HUD Warnings. The following warning messages are displayed in the
centre of the HUD under certain conditions :
OVERSPEED - triggered by FSX overspeed warning.
STALL - triggered by FSX stall warning. SINKRATE - triggered by function of vertical speed and radio radar
altitude. Does not display in Mode 3.
TERRAIN - triggered when radar altitude is less than 1000ft AND
landing gear is NOT extended. Displays in Mode 1 only.
SPDBRK - triggered by speed brake extension.
LOW FUEL - triggered when total fuel is less than 500 US gallons.
LOW ALT - specific to Mode 3 only. Triggered when radar altitude reads
under 100ft.
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Angle of Attack Indexer
The AOA indexer is comprised of three lights. The light indications are a
green chevron ( v ) showing 'too high AOA' at the top, a yellow doughnut
( O ) showing proper AOA in the centre, and a red chevron ( ^ ) showing
'too low AOA' at the bottom.
Radar Altimeter
A GREEN chevron indicates that the nose must be lowered and the throttle manipulated to suit. An AMBER doughnut indicates that AOA is optimum for the approach. A RED chevron indicates that the nose must be raised and the throttle manipulated to suit. At intermediate stages the AOA indexer may also display
two symbols at a time. For example, a doughnut and a
green chevron would indicate that the aircraft is nearing
optimum AOA, providing the nose is lowered further. A
doughnut and a red chevron would indicate the
opposite.
A - Warning level bug.
B - Low level warning lamp.
C - Warning level set knob. Use
mousewheel to set.
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Centre Panel
Image shows F-111F layout, other cockpits' layout vary.
1) RPM gauges. Display Corrected N2 RPM.
2) Turbine Inlet Temperature gauges. The F-111 uses these in
preference to the more traditional EGT gauges.
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3) Fuel Flow Gauges. These display the rate of fuel flow in both
analogue and digital format.
4) Nozzle Position Gauges. The exhaust nozzles position in percent is
indicated by these gauges. Nozzle position is determined by N1 RPM.
5) Engine Pressure Ratio Gauges. The EPR setting can be adjusted
using the mousewheel or left-right-clicking on the knob in the lower right
corner of the gauge. The selected value is displayed in both analogue
and digital formats. The EPR gauges are for visual effect only and will
not affect the performance in any way.
6) Hydraulic Pressure Gauges. Display the system pressure for the
Primary and Utility systems. Although FSX provides the variables for
these gauges, they will not normally alter their readings.
7) Engine Oil Pressure Gauges.
8) Engine Oil Quantity Gauge Test Button. Press and hold and the
needles are driven to the 5 Qts marker to check operation.
9) Engine Oil Quantity Gauge. Displays oil quantity in US quarts.
10) Standby Airspeed Indicator.
11) Standby Vertical Speed Indicator.
12) Clock. The knob lower left toggles Local/Zulu Time.
13) Fuel Quantity Gauge. The needle indicates the total fuel in
whichever tank is selected by the Fuel Tank Selector Knob (see (16)
below). The digital display shows the total fuel quantity currently on
board the aircraft, including all external tanks. NOTE - the centre pylon
external tanks are enabled by default, irrespective of whether they are
visually present. If desired these can be commented out of the
Aircraft.cfg [Fuel] section, as have already the inner and outer external
tank positions.
14) Fuel Gauge Test Button. Press and hold and both the fuel gauges'
needles will all be driven to the zero marker to test functionality. Note -
the spelling on the panel text 'Gage' is depicted correctly and is not an
error. This is the alternate US spelling of the word.
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15) Fuselage Fuel Tank Quantity Gauge. The instrument has two
needles, marked F and A for the Forward and Aft fuselage fuel tanks.
16) Fuel Tank Selector Knob. Left and right-clicking on the knob will
select the various fuel tanks depicted in turn. Note the fuselage tanks
are excluded as they have their own gauge. In addition to the two wing
tanks, there are three external fuel tank position on each wing, these are
depicted as LI/RI (inner pylons), LC/RC (centre pylons) and LO/RO
(outer pylons). Currently only the centre pylons are enabled. The other
positions (excluding the weapons bay tank option) are available if
required by editing the Aircraft.cfg [Fuel] section, which has already
been laid out in a self-explanatory manner. The corresponding station
loads have not been added to the [weight_and_balance] section of the
Aircraft.cfg as FSX does not support the dynamic weight effects caused
by the swing-wing configuration.
17) Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI). This analogue-style gauge shows
the aircraft bearing using the compass ring scale background, as well as
indicating the direction of the selected NAV2 and ADF beacon (if in
range). The digital readout shows the range in miles to the selected
NAV2 DME. The knob at the bottom right of the gauge will set the
position of the triangular Indexer Bug, which is used for reference only
and will not affect any other systems. A red OFF flag will appear top right
if the gauge receives no power.
18) True Airspeed Indicator.
19) COM1 Radio. Refer to the Radios section of this manual for details.
20) NAV1 Radio. Refer to the Radios section of this manual for details.
21) Standby Artificial Horizon. The knob lower right will adjust the
vertical position of the central wings in the gauge.
22) Radio Call Plaque. Can be clicked to switch the ATC ID to the ATC
flight number, which is by default 'F111' for all variants.
23) Standby Altimeter. The knob at the lower right is the barometric
setting knob. It cannot be operated independently of the main barometric
setting on the main altimeter gauge.
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Radios
The various F-111 cockpits in this package each have 4 radio types,
NAV, COM, ADF and TRN (transponder). The locations of the radios
varies from on the main panel centre, the centre console and the
copilot's centre pedestal. An alternative to using these radios is to click
the Radios SimIcon on the main panel, or press shift-3 and use the
default FSX radios 2D popup panel.
NAV1 Radio
A - Set MHz 100's. Use mousewheel or left drag.
B - Swap active/standby frequencies.
C - Set MHz fraction. Use mousewheel or left drag.
D - Toggle NAV1 audio.
E - Display Mode Selector knob. The default is OFF, the first
position will display the Active NAV1 frequency. The next position will
cause the display to show the NAV1 Standby frequency. In this position,
the two Set Frequency knobs can be used to adjust the frequency
shown. The mousewheel is the best way to adjust the knobs. Once the
desired frequency is shown, return the selector knob to Active by right-
clicking it, then click the swap switch (B) to punch in the Standby in to
the Active.
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COM1 Radio
A - Toggle COM1 audio.
B - On/Off Switch. The Freq. Set Sliders will be inactive when Off.
C - Frequency Set Slider, MHz 100's. Use left or right click.
D - Frequency Set Slider, MHz fractions. Use left or right click.
ADF Radio
A - Set KHz 100's. Use mousewheel or left drag.
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B - Swap active/standby frequencies. Note that unlike the NAV1
radio, both Active and Standby frequencies can be adjusted at any time.
This is because ADF has no flight path control via the autopilot.
C - Set KHz fraction. Use mousewheel or left drag.
D - Toggle ADF audio.
E - On/Off Switch.
Transponder Radio
The four right-side thumbwheels (under 'Mode 3/A') can be rotated using
the mousewheel to set the transponder. If difficulties are experienced
doing this, especially on the right-side pedestal-mounted transponder
panel, then use the popup 2D radio stack by clicking the radios SimIcon
on the main panel.
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Nav Computers
The NAV computers (the larger lower one shown above is only in the
EF-111A) display a range of information such as aircraft position and
GPS waypoint data. Both can be switched off using the on/off toggle,
indicated by the yellow arrow in the images above.
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Left Side Console
Each of the F-111 variants has slight differences in the layout of the left
side console, particularly the forward Misc and Aux Panels.
FB-111A
F-111F
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F-111G
EF-111A
A - Seat Height Adjustment Switch. Use left/right click.
B - Yaw Trim Adjustment Switch. Use left/right click.
C - Wing Sweep Setting Lever. Use left click and drag.
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D - Flaps Setting Switch. Use left click and drag. Note - wing
sweep is a flaps animation and the physical flaps on the model cannot
be lowered until the wings are fully swept forward. This is also true for
the leading edge slats, these are lowered just prior to flaps extension.
Slats do not have a separate switch.
E - Left and Right Throttle Levers.
F - Speed Brake Lever. Use left click and drag.
G - Anti-Skid Brakes Switch. Switch on to prevent wheel lock up
when braking hard. A caution light will illuminate on the main Caution
Panel when switch is on the On position..
H - Combined Landing and Taxi Lights Switch. A single left-click
advances the switch to the Landing Lights ON position. A right-click at
this point returns it to the centre neutral position, lights OFF. From the
centre position, a right-click will put the Taxi Light on. Left click will return
it to neutral and lights off again. When the landing lights are on, the three
small lamps on the switch will light up. NOTE - using the L key to turn all
lights on will not animate the switch so the sequence will be lost, and
also the three lights will be on right away, so press ctrl-L to turn the three
little lights off if they are on when they should not be.
I - Test Switch for Oil/Oxy Quantity Gauges (FB-111A only). Left-
clicking on the switch will drive the needles in the adjacent Oil Quantity
Gauge to the 5 Quart marker to test its function. The switch is the 'spring
loaded' type so do not release when left-clicking, click and hold. Release
and the switch returns to the centre neutral position. Right-click it and
the Oxygen Quantity Gauge will also be tested, in the FB-111A this
gauge is located to the left of the NAV computer, on the right side of the
main panel.
J - Cabin Pressure Altitude Gauge.
K - Engine Oil Quantity Gauge. In this position only in the FB-
111A, other variants have it on the main panel.
L - Oxygen Quantity Gauge.
M - Oxygen Quantity Gauge Test Button.
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N - Flight Director On/Off Switch (here in EF-111A only).
O - Autopilot Nav-GPS Toggle (here in EF-111A only).
Lighting Panel
The landing and taxi light switch is on the Misc Panel on the left side of
the cockpit, refer to the previous section 'Left Side Console', item H for a
description of how this works. The other light switches are located on a
panel at the rear of the cockpit, between the seats and facing forwards.
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A - Cabin Lights switch
B - Instrument Lights switch
C - Beacon Lights switch
D - Navigation Lights switches
E - Formation Lights Switch ('slime lights')
Radars
There are four radar types used in the various cockpits, each is derives
its functionality from the FSX GPS variables and as such is limited to
display of terrain, airports, aircraft and other facilities. It is not possible to
'lock on' to a ground target or perform any other combat-related
functions. Only the Terrain-Following Radar has a custom non-GPS
derived function and simulates the real F-111 display in its appearance.
Terrain-Following Radar (TFR)
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A - On/Off Switch. Radar shown ON in image.
B - Airport Symbology Selector. Default is NO symbols. Left-click
to display runway symbols, note green digit adjacent to switch changes
to a 1. A second mouse click will also display the airport labels. Digit
changes to a 2. Use right-click to return the switch to previous positions.
C - Show/Hide Terrain. Toggles terrain/water to plain green.
D - Mode Selector Knob. The default mode (shown in the image
above) is 'GM'. Clicking the knob puts the radar in 'SIT' mode which is
represented by a green quadrant overlaying the screen. The dotted
appearance is due to the GPS resolution not being able to display
proper curved lines. The Terrain Show/Hide (knob B) function can be
used here also to provide a plain green background. The SIT mode has
no real function in the model other than to represent the real TFR radar.
The image below shows the radar in SIT mode.
A second click on the Mode Selector Knob put the radar into
Terrain-Following (TF) mode. The display now shows the graph-like TFR
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data. The image below shows the display when there is no terrain being
picked up by the radar.
This next image shows the aircraft approaching terrain. The
stationary curve represents the aircraft, the moving fuzzy curve is the
terrain, this will move leftwards the closer the aircraft is to the ground. If
they meet then the aircraft has impacted the terrain.
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E - Range Setting Knob. Left-click the knob to zoom out to
maximum range. There are four settings, indicated by the white digit
adjacent to the knob (showing '20' in the first TFR image above).
RHAW Radar
This radar unit simulates the F-111's main threat indication system. It
has several levels of ground data which can be displayed and can also
show aircraft symbols, both on the ground and in the air.
A - On/off Pushbutton.
B - Aircraft Display Mode Selector. Default is Off (no aircraft
symbols displayed), position 'N' is airborne aircraft only, position 'A' is all
aircraft, both in the air and on the ground.
C - Dimmer Switch. Click once to dim the display.
D - Airport Symbology Selector. Default is NO symbols. Left-click
to display runway symbols. A second mouse click will also display the
airport labels. Use right-click to return the switch to previous positions.
E - Toggle Intersection Symbols.
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F - Toggle NDB Symbols.
G - Toggle VOR Symbols.
H - Range Setting Knob. Left-click the knob to zoom out to
maximum range. There are four settings, indicated by the white digit at
the bottom right of the display (showing '5' in the image above).
RHAW Radar (EF-111A version)
A smaller version of the RHAW radar is used only on the EF-111A.
A - On/off Switch.
B - Select Target Display Mode - Ground, Air or All.
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C - Toggle Dimmer.
D - Range Selector. 4 levels of zoom, use left/right click.
Attack Radar
This is a simple simulation of the radar and has limited functionality,
allowing only range adjustment. Airport symbols are displayed by
default. This first image shows the Attack Radar in the F-111G right-seat
view :
A - On/off Switch. Radar defaults to ON.
B - Range Setting Knob. Left-click the knob to zoom out to
maximum range. There are four settings, indicated by the white digit at
the top right of the display (showing '20' in the image above). Right-click
to return to previous zoom settings.
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Here is the Attack Radar in the EF-111A :
A - On/off Switch. Radar defaults to ON.
B - Range Setting Knob. Left-click the knob to zoom out to
maximum range. There are four settings, indicated by the white digit at
the top right of the display (showing '38' in the image above). Right-click
to return to previous zoom settings.
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This is the same radar in the F-111F :
A - On/off Switch. Radar defaults to ON.
B - Range Setting Knob. Left-click the knob to zoom out to
maximum range. There are four settings, indicated by the white digit at
the top right of the display (showing '5' in the image above). Right-click
to return to previous zoom settings.
C - Antenna Tilt Adjuster. The knob can be left or right-clicked, or
the mousewheel used, this will move the Antenna Tilt Gauge. This is
presently for visual effect only, although it is hoped a future version
update could add some functionality to the radars via this knob.
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EF-111A Special Radar
This radar unit is specific to the EF-111A Raven variant. It is not
intended to be a simulation of the actual radar used in the real aircraft
(which is classified), but it does have a much wider range of functions
compared to the other radars used in this model, and as such is meant
to represent the very different type of mission carried out by this
Electronic Jamming platform. The 'MFD' style is of course not authentic
with its arrays of buttons, but this does have the benefit of providing a
simple user interface, without having to adjust the viewpoint to use 3D
switches and knobs, most of which would not match the radar's functions
anyway.
A custom interior view is provided to access the radar scope. Right-click
on the screen to access the Views menu and select 'Cockpit - Attack
Radar: G and Raven only'. This aligns the view to the right side, looking
down the rubber scope boot. Note the view is the same for the F-111G
and the EF-111A, but only the EF-111A has the Special Radar, shown
below.
Radar Buttons Functionality:
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RSE - toggles compass rose at top of screen
APT - toggles two levels of airport information
AIR/GRD/ALL - switches between air and ground targets.
ILS - toggles ILS symbols, where available.
TAG - toggles aircraft name and ID info.
VLC - toggles Horizon Bars and Velocity Vector.
GAIN - the oblong button bottom left serves as an on/off switch.
Image below shows ILS, VLC, VOR, NDB and INT enabled.
TER - clears the map contours leaving a dark background.
LEG - displays data relevant to the current leg of a flight plan if one is
loaded and active (FPL- displays it graphically).
ASP - toggles the GPS Restricted Airspace graphics.
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AA - toggles the information text for the selected target. To select an
aircraft, left-click anywhere on the screen and the radar will cycle
through all the AI. It may take some time before the desired aircraft is
selected (it will turn red, as below).
The AA button will show the target info for selected aircraft in the top half
of the screen (shown above, BRG, GS, DST, CLS, ALT and HDG). The
green text at the bottom of the screen will read 'TGT ON' or 'TGT OFF'
depending on the status of the AA button. This is because no target
information will be displayed if there are no AI aircraft in range.
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MDE - display mode selection. The Mode function provides various
alternative terrain graphics options, covering elevations from sea level to
17,000ft. Carefully-selected colours are employed to enhance the
elevations in the terrain and offer a great improvement over the default
FSX terrain shading. These improvements are best enjoyed in
mountainous and rugged terrain. Due to technical limitations however,
there is little can be done to improve the terrain graphics over 17,000ft.
The images below show a simple summary of the various Modes :
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Mode 5 is a detailed display of the topoghraphy in a pictorial format.
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Mode 7 is a flight plan listing , if no flight plan exists then it is blank, the
display will accomodate flight plans of any length, when the number of
legs exceeds the capacity of the page the scroll bar becomes active ,
a simple click and drag of the on screen scroll bar scans the listing.
Mode 7 has 3 sub modes which can be accessed by cycling the square
button below the scroll bar , the sub modes provide flight plan Latitudes
and Longitudes and a variety other data.
The final mode in the sequence, Mode 8, will appear as a blank blue
screen unless there is an active -
(1) Flight Plan, or
(2) GPS Direct To Flight Plan
If one of these exists, the Mode 7 screen will show relevant waypoint
information. It is irrelevant to the display where the next WPT is
geographically , it can be on the other side of the world , it will still be
displayed. The display is fixed, centred at the point of the aircraft icon on
the screen. Mode 7 differs from the other Modes in that it does not
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reflect aircraft movement by changes in the on-screen topography. If
however the aircraft is turned through 180 degrees, the Mode 7 view
rotates to reflect the new heading.
OPS - displays the current flight data of your aircraft. The image below
shows the OPS data in two columns at the top of the display. Note also
that the ASP button is on, showing the nearby restricted airspace areas.
FPL - displays information relating to the current active flight plan.
VOR - display VOR symbols
NDB - display NDB symbols
INT - display Intersection symbols
ZI / ZO - zoom in or out.
SYM - the oblong button bottom right toggles the button text.
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Miscellaneous Functions
RRU Unit (F-111G only)
Located just above the engine gauges, this small display acts as a
repeater display for the radios. The frequencies cannot be altered on the
RRU display, the corresponding radio must be used.
A - NAV1 frequency.
B - ADF frequency.
C - COM1 frequency.
D - 2-stage dimmer (use left/right click).
MFD screens (F-111G only)
Both screens are identical in function but can be operated independently
of each other.
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The active buttons each have a short text description which is self-
explanatory, each displays various data according to the selected
function. The larger BRT button at the bottom left is a dimmer, use
left/right click to toggle the dimmer.
Fuel Dump
The fuel dump switch is a simple toggle, when clicked it will commence
the dumping of fuel from the rear nozzle between the engines. A visible
stream of fuel will be emitted from the exterior model.
'Dump and Burn'
Pressing the i-key on the keyboard will switch on the fuel burn effect
behind the aircraft. The effect is purely visual and does not deplete fuel.
For added realism, the Fuel Dump can be activated first as described in
the section above, although this is not strictly necessary.