Plane nerd F/A-18 question

[darrylcn]

Hello, hoping someone might be able to help out a non aircrew member of the site who is generally wise enough to just read. Usually anyway..

I've recently heard that the F/A-18 has a two stage trigger on the stick. On the A-10 I "fly" in the game I play, DCS World, there's a 2 stage trigger for stabilizing the A/C on a gun pass before and during a strafing run. They're releasing a Hornet at some point for DCS and I'm sort of geeking out cause I'm a Naval Aviation freak. Heard the Hornet (Not sure if Super, Legacy or both) has the same 2 stage, can anyone confirm and explain why if so? Thanks in advance.

 

[wlawr005]

Depending on what you're doing, the switch can have various functions.

Generally, the first detent starts recording whatever displays you have selected (i.e., the HUD)...the second detent fires the selected weapon.

 

[darrylcn]

Thanks a lot wlawr! Wasn't having much luck searching anywhere else so I tried here. Appreciate the reply.

 

[BigBadBoJenkins]

Doesn't squeezing the trigger just record the HUD? Like if you have other displays being recorded, squeezing the trigger halfway shows the HUD in the tapes later for five seconds, which reveals just how close you were to shooting that bogey during a training flight. Not that I would know.

 

[wlawr005]

Maybe in your fancy super duper Hornet. I'm not an expert...it's got a lot to do with what weapon you're using and whether you're in AUTO mode. I think we have a switch that can make it record the LDDI if we wanted to. Something different happens if you've got the FLIR working.

Who knows? I'm still in FAMs.

 

[pilot_man]

I'm pretty sure it does the same for both the Chuck and the Rhino but there is no way I'm going to dig into the Gold / Grey books to figure it out. There is no actual use for the detent and I hate seeing guys that use the half trigger squeeze. Yes it will switch your tapes to the HUD but you should already be recording the correct displays anyways.

 

[sevenhelmet]

The trigger works the same for both platforms. First detent = recorder to HUD (if not already), second detent = event marker, and simulated or actual weapons fire, depending on system setup. Most, if not all, simply pull to the second detent which provides both functions simultaneously.

Also FYSA, current Navy jets (i.e. Hornet/Rhino) use the trigger for all air-to-air ordnance including missiles, and the red "pickle" button for air-to-surface ordnance except the gun (which is always the trigger). Air Force aircraft use the trigger for guns only and pickle for everything else, which makes it a little weird when you go back and forth.

 

[ryan1234]

Also...The pickle button is hot A/G MM in the rear seat in the F-15E.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Also...The pickle button is hot A/G MM in the rear seat in the F-15E.

Wait so in the AF your WSOs can release ordnance?

 

[pilot_man]

In your Navy WSOs can release ordnance too, just maybe not your WSOs. It's just generally frowned upon and often works out to a FNAB when it does happen.

 

[sevenhelmet]

^True. My earlier statement was regarding front cockpit HOTAS only. WSOs have a lot of capability from the back, especially in ACS (newer) jets.

 

[Swanee]

In your Navy WSOs can release ordnance too, just maybe not your WSOs. It's just generally frowned upon and often works out to a FNAB when it does happen.

My RAG class had the back beat bombers whom ended up getting FNAEB'd. Come to find out the latest Rhino software doesn't allow for dumb bombs to be released from the back seat. However, they didn't know that, some passes were really weird, lies were told in the debrief... Bad days were had by all.

 

[darrylcn]

Thanks very much for the info folks, this thread went further than I'd hoped when I asked. As a civilian plane geek it's fantastic learning all the little details you can pick up here.

 

[MIDNJAC]

In your Navy WSOs can release ordnance too, just maybe not your WSOs. It's just generally frowned upon and often works out to a FNAB when it does happen.

Oh duh, I forgot about that whole story. I stand corrected

 

[Hopeful Hoya]

So what, the front-seater flies the plane while the WSO sets up the TGP/LASE, selects the weapons profile, etc, and then turns it over to the pilot for actual ingress and release?