Aerodynamics

Air Density

Air density with altitude is simulated. At a higher altitude, air gets thinner. Engines have a harder time producing thrust as they get choked for air, and there is less drag. Overall, this leads to a balance where aircraft are be able to fly faster at a high altitude with the same throttle setting than at sea level. Wings produce less lift in thinner air, requiring greater speed and/or angle of attack to maintain altitude.

Angle of Attack

Aerodynamic angle of attack (also known as AOA, "alpha", and displayed on the HUD as α) is simulated. AOA is measured as the difference in the angle of the aircraft's wings versus the oncoming air. Increasing AOA results in greater lift, up to the critical angle of attack where it produces maxixmum lift. Beyond this critical AOA, the lift coefficient decreases dramatically and leads to an aerodynamic stall.

One example of AOA being exploited is during aircraft carrier landings, where a slight nose-up attitude during descent allows the landing hook to better catch the arresting cables on the deck. Certain maneuvers such as Pugachev's Cobra require extremely high AOA to perform, allowing for some supermaneuverablility in exchange for massive airspeed and energy loss from aerodynamic drag.

Supersonic Flight

Any aircraft that reaches a speed of Mach 1 will have a vapor cone effect applied to it. This signifies that an aircraft is flying at supersonic speeds. Sonic boom effects are also simulated in VTOL VR, which can be heard when flying past the camera in certain S-CAM configurations.

Thrust-to-Weight Ratio (TWR)

The thrust to weight ratio of an aircraft is critical for understanding its overall maneuverability. It is a measurement of the amount of thrust provided by the engines compared to the amount of combined mass or weight of the aircraft that the thrust has to push. This factors in every aspect of an aircraft's payload, mostly aircraft weight and fuel storage. If your TWR is over 1.0, this means that your aircraft will be able to climb vertically, as the thrust is greater than the mass.

A TWR of 1.5 means that your engines can push 1.5 times your current combined aircraft mass. The .5 difference is what will make you accelerate straight up. An aircraft with less than 1.0 will need wing lift to maintain altitude and cannot go vertical. When operating VTOL aircraft like the AV-42C, the TWR must be greater than 1.0 for vertical take-off and landing. If it is not, the Kestrel has to be used in a traditional aircraft mode and use lift from air under the wings to take off and land. TWR constantly changes as fuel depletes and weapons are fired. Jettison any unnecessary equipment, fuel tanks, or weapon racks to increase your TWR. It also plays into horizontal acceleration and turn radius. Higher TWR values are essential for air-to-air combat and missile evasion.

Other Unsimulated Effects

• Ground effect
• Turbulence
• There is optional experimental wind
• Fuel burn variation at altitude