The flight characteristics simulation or FDE (Flight Dynamics Engine) of this add-on is the result of many years of development by Bookmark Simulations, with the active participation and help of a number of former Draken pilots, mechanics and engineers.
As there are endless possible combinations of hardware and program settings out there the FDE will always be a compromise, and you probably need to customize the flight dynamics by editing the aircraft.cfg file to suit your own particular hardware setup.
There are a number of museums and event companies in Sweden that are using real Draken cockpits in their simulators with modified FDE files and special software. If you are planning to start your own cockpit project (non-profit or commercial), please contact Bookmark for further information about customization, licensing, and technical support.
Draken is an excellent aerobatics performer provided that you understand the limitations of the design.
The double delta wing has good characteristics throughout the speed range, but it creates an exceptional amount of drag at high angles of attack. At AOA >15 the aircraft will typically not accelerate even with the afterburner engaged.
The use of combined elevators and ailerons - elevons - also means that maximum lateral (roll) authority is only available when the stick is pitch center, and vice versa.
In the transsonic speed range (M ~0.95–1.05) control response will be sluggish because of the high dynamic pressure on the large elevons. At low altitude you may be unable to pull more than 3 G.
To regain control response, reduce or increase your speed to get out of the transonic range.
Do not manoeuver close to the ground at transsonic speed.
Do not attempt split-S maneuvers above M 0.9 or 700 kmh. You may not be able to achieve enough angle of attack to recover from the dive.
Flying inverted or with negative G is restricted to max 15 seconds to prevent fuel flow problems. Draken has buffer fuel tanks that will aid in keeping the fuel flow uninterrupted, but prolonged inverted flight may cause flameout. See also Fuel system.
Draken can go from stationary to supersonic in less than a minute. On the downside, speed bleeds off just as fast with rising angle of attack. When AOA approaches 15 you will lose speed and gain alpha at an alarming rate and may eventually end up in a deep stall/spin condition called Superstall.
Deep stall means an unrecoverable condition where all lifting surfaces on the aircraft have stalled (lost lift). Superstall is basically a deep stall with a spin component.
A delta wing does not stall gradually, like a straight wing does. At a certain angle of attack the whole wing area will lose lift without much warning. Delta winged aircraft therefore have a stall warning system that will alert the pilot before the critical AOA is reached.
When the stall warning is heard, pitch down immediately to reduce AOA and prevent superstall.
Superstall is not realistically simulated in this simulation due to limitations of the Prepar3D flight model, it is more a sort of tumbling spin. But close enough.
Copyright © 2001–2024 Bookmark AB