Decent F/A-18 simulator?
 

Hi all,
Does anyone know where to get a decent F/A-18 simulator? The only reason I ask is I plan on joining the Air Force, and I want some sort of idea what I might be flying.

uhhhhh, if you're joining the Air Force, you're not gonna be flying F/A-18s :dead:

Your best bet is Jane's F-18. It's dated by now but it is quite a detailed one otherwise. However, if combat is not your primary interest, you might want to get the VRS Superbug for FSX: http://www.vrsimulations.com/

Well, down here in Oz, the Super Hornets would still be around in 5-6 years, about the time I'd be able to get there. With Jane's F/A-18, is it possible to mod it with, say, 3D cockpit, revised textures etc. Also the VRS one, slight problem, my FSX won't install. Apparently a 1TB doesn't have the space :hmmm::damn:

Ah, silly of me to assume you were talking about the US, especially since our own Air Force here also has the CF-118 as the main combat aircraft. Aren't they just called F-18 (rather than F/A-18) in Australian service?

Anyway, there are mods for Janes F-18. They certainly don't go that far along compared to something like Falcon, and you will run into a lot of technical limitations of the game, but it's still the latest and best you'll get as far as an F-18 combat sim unfortunately. It does have a basic 3D cockpit from the start though, and it does a pretty darn good job of modeling the plane's systems and weapons.

Speaking of Falcon 4.0, some major mods for it (including FreeFalcon and the latest BMS) do have F-18 cockpits available, but they're still not totally accurate and functional to the real F-18. You still end up something that has the systems of an F-16 pretending to be an F-18. You should really consider fixing up your FSX issue (maybe your install disc is just bad) - the Superbug is probably your only option if you want a modern 3D cockpit, nice textures, etc. etc. Otherwise there just isn't anything out there, and the best hope right now is that DCS will eventually feature the plane as one of their next titles.

Yes, In Oz they are called F/A-18s. There is one other option; use Wings over Vietnam, and use the ADF (Australian Defence Force) mod and just tweak that.


Note:- all mods for this game here: http://combatace.com/files/category/...-by-thirdwire/

Well, sure, though the Strike Fighters series is very "light" on the simulation aspect - you're not gonna get a very detailed or accurate model of the plane's systems at all. Not that it makes it less fun, but it's not a study sim.

FSXs Superbug is probably the best detailed look at the F-18, well, the US version anyway, I assume the Oz version is similar in terms of user interface.
In terms of combat, well the Airforce will teach you the details in more depth than most simulators can, because modern weapons systems are too classified for simulators to be a hundred percent accurate.

^This.
Forget about strike fighters if you want a descend sim. It's a game not a simulation.

Okay, thanks everyone for the input, I think if I wait a little, I have two alternatives.
1. get FSX fixed up
2. wait, and get Seven-G, which is 80% finished

I tried to install FSX again, but about halfway through the second disk, an error happened. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a way to fix this?

What's the error? :hmmm: Always helps to know.

about halfway through the second disk, I get (from the very first time I tried to install 'til now) an error message saying that one of the .cab files are corrupt. Each time I've installed, its a different number:hmmm:

Sounds like you just have a bad disk to be honest - not really something that's unusual sadly. CDs aren't the most reliable medium and they can and do go bad or get scratched. Fortunately it's easy to get FSX again these days and it's not expensive.

After a quick scout around teh interwebz a lot of this type of error seems to be pointing to DVD drives - without spending much more time I'd recommend trying an alternative DVD drive or maybe even try to install on a friends PC just to see... :hmmm:

Good luck.

Well, I got it off a friend who didn't want it, I told him about this happening, and he had the same error first time round, but his installed the second time. Odd?