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Aircraft Review : Lockheed Martin F22A Raptor by AOA Simulations


Stephen

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Aircraft Review : Lockheed Martin F22A Raptor by AOA Simulations

 

The USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, was a demonstration and validation program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to counter emerging worldwide threats, including Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters that were under development in the 1980s. Lockheed and Northrop were selected in 1986 to develop the YF-22 and the YF-23 technology demonstrator aircraft. These aircraft were evaluated in 1991 and the Lockheed YF-22 was selected and later developed into the F-22 Raptor. Personally I thought the sensational Northrop YF-23 was the better aircraft (certainly the most arresting visually), the final selection however was the Lockheed Martin YF-22, which looked bland against the YF-23.

 

The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. It is a 5th Generation single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft. The aircraft F22A was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but it is also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities. 195 (8 test and 187 operational aircraft) were built between 1996–2011.

 

The Raptor aircraft produced here for the X-Plane Simulator is by AOA (Angle of Attack) Simulations in conjunction with another, in the T-7A Red Hawk in the same T-X program procurement requirements, I thoroughly liked the AOA T-7A as it was a very clever aircraft and very interesting to fly, and so was excited in the release of the F22A Raptor.

 

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The AOA F22A Raptor Package comes with three variants; A2A, A2G and an EFT

 

A2A - MISSILE (A2A) MODE - (6) AIM-120 radar guided missile/(2) AIM-9X short range missiles

 

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A2G - BOMB (A2G) MODE - (2) GBU-32 1000-pound GPS guided bomb/(4) AIM-120 radar guided missile/(2) AIM-9X short range missiles

 

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EFT - EXTERNAL FUEL TANKS (8,000 lbs) - (6) AIM-120 radar guided missile/(2) AIM-9X short range missiles

 

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On every variant there is also a M61 20 mm rotary cannon placed high right above the engine intake.

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First impression are that AOA has got the look and feel of the stealth fighter very well. There is a nice sheen to the composite panels that makes the aircraft look authentic.

 

The chiselled eagle style beak looks excellent, but on closer inspection the modeling is not as curved or as sharp as it should be, you have to look for the details, but at this level you do expect almost perfect curved lines of where it counts.

 

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Worse is that the fuselage and wing detail is quite Lo-Res, the textures are 4096x4096, but not Hi-Res by the poor jaggies that are easily seen not only on the aircraft but also on the texture file. I am quite disappointed here as the early T-7A had the same Lo-Res feel and AOA updated the textures in the v1.1 update, so why do it again in this their most important product to date?

 

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That said the modeling is quite creative in areas like the forward engine inlets, and overall fuselage and wing shape is very good. The upper fuselage vanes can also be manually opened and controlled.

 

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The movable engine exhaust (vector) vanes are well done as are the twin-engine exhaust outlets...   The main undercarriage is also really well modeled and detailed, with nice strut supports with detailed information labels...

 

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...   the internal wheel-bay images are very (really) good, but again are quite fuzzy in detail close up, but at a distance do the job. The tyres and wheel hubs are also not super detailed, certainly there is no high detailed realism here in like say a real rubber feel to the tyres.

 

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I like the tinted colour of the glass canopy, but the glass itself is quite average. It has no depth or wear detail, and even in the complex curve of the glass there are line peaks that can easily be seen?

 

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At this level you can have the quality and the detail, and as an example here is the canopy of the JustFlight Bae T/1A Hawk

 

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Do you see the point?

 

Open side missile bays show off the excellent AIM-9X short range missile

 

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Menu

The Raptor's menu is a dropdown from the X-Plane/Plugins/AOA Simulations F-22 Raptor menu

 

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Top is; Previous Livery/Next Livery - Enable/ Disable R2c - Enable/ Disable GCAS - Next Weapon Mode/Previous Weapon Mode - Toggle 2D/3D Cockpit - Toggle Ground Equipment - Toggle Glass Reflections - Open/Close IFR Receptacle - Open/Close Wep(weapon) Bay Doors - Flight Control Test - About

 

Ground Equipment

For some strange reason I got both a Red and then a Yellow ladder with the same AOA aircraft? so which one is the default I don't know?

 

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The "Remove Before Flight Tags" are all very nice and move around in the wind. Chocks and F22/US Airforce branded engine inlet/outlet covers are also really nice.

 

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Quirky is the fact that to have the static elements shown, you also have to have the canopy open, that is fine, but you also then have to have the canopy powered on...  turn off the aircraft's power and you can't use the static elements? The ladder needs to be separated from the other static elements to have both (the pilot needs to disappear as well).

 

The IFR Receptacle (In Flight Refueling) is set centre on the top of the fuselage, the menu option opens or closes it.

 

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Most of the other important Menu options will be covered later on in the review. Inside the cockpit there is a well modeled pilot, his head is fully animated as well and moves to all your stick movements.

 

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Cockpit

First of all it is quite tight in there, and the pilot here feels like an option, and not the focus of the aircraft... it is also the Tesla sort of approach to instrumentation, the less you have the better it is, this stark almost empty cockpit is nothing at all like a Cold-War era clockwork environment.

 

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There is a note that this cockpit layout is not an authentic F22 cockpit. That aspect is still a Military secret(s), unless you are a Russian or Chinese spy...  so AOA has had to a point create a sort of fictional layout of the Raptor. But in seen available (images) areas the duplication is very good. But overall "Minimalistic" would be the word to describe the cockpit.

 

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Left side panel has (Top to Bottom)...   Hook (UP/DN), Landing Lights and Landing Gear lever. Start Switches (1&2), Fire Extinguishers (1&2), A/B (Afterburner) Generators (1&2) and the APU Panel.

 

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The twin throttle levers are short and stubby...   and very nice. To their left is the De-Ice switch and the ECS (Environmental Control System) switch. Four switches cover Flaps, LG (Landing Gear), GCAS (Ground Collision Avoidance System) and Speedbrake functions that toggle between their "Manual" and "Automatic" settings. Finally there is the Fuel (Engine Cutoff) switches and the "Fuel Dump" button.

 

Right side panel (Top to Bottom)...  Parking Brake, Canopy (Open/Closed), IFR (Open Closed) and Helmet - Noise Cancel.

 

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Right of the really nicely modeled Joystick is the NAV/COM panel, with the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) set behind. Final switches cover the lighting panel for Navigation and Strobe lights and the internal "FLOOD" light adjustment.

 

Overall you should be able to easily adjust to this more simple switchgear layout quite quickly.

 

Instrument Panel

The main instrument panel has Four large military style MFD (Multi Function Displays) lower and two smaller MFDs set higher in the eyesight line, centre top is the UFC, or a large "Up Front Control panel".

 

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Each MFD has two view options - LP1 /LP2 or RP1/RP2 or lower P1/P2...  the centre MFD is the X-Plane G1000 moving MAP and options.

 

(Left) LP1 MFD has; Engine N2 % output, Auto System Options and APU condition. LP2 has NAV and TACAN modes.

 

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(Right) RP1 has four modes; Checklist, FCS test, low speed and high speed modes. Shown above is the Low Speed Mode...  High Speed Mode only works when the aircraft's speed is TAS 400 knts or more. Shown below is (left) Checklist and right the FCS.

 

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RP2 is noted as the "Radar Situation Display" but basically it is your Heading dial.

 

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Deep down lower is a third MFD that covers the engine and fuel readouts, again there are two page selections in P1 or P2...

 

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...  P2 is the weapons system outline of stores and fuel, this is the same display that is shown also in the right upper MFD as the " High Speed Mode" page.

 

Eyesight level on the instrument panel are two two smaller MFDs set out outward of the centre UFC - "Up Front Control panel".

 

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Left MFD of the UFC is the Navigation/Communication Panel, and TACAN X and Y codes are built in. Built in also is the Aircraft System Status (ASS) display that shows the status of 20 Systems....   Now I do actually have a sense of humor, but I certainly hate things like this in a professional cockpit, The ASS will say things like "Dude Wake UP!", "Good To GO" or "WOW" on the brake selection (The WOW actually is correct, as it stands for "Weight On Wheels"). Overall it is only silly, but also not in keeping of the sense of being a serious pilot, and in reality is simply not funny either and down grades the product to a bit of a joke.

 

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The MFD to the right of the UFC is the Backup Attitude Display panel, or simply a backup Artificial Horizon, Heading, Altitude and Speed Tapes...  You can switch the barometric pressure display from inches to millibars, and with the change the font style also changes in the UFC.

 

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The UFC - "Up Front Control panel" is basically the "Autopilot" panel with other functional buttons. The Right side of the UFC is the autopilot selection and readout screens. Top to bottom; HDG (Heading), SPD (Speed), ALT (Altitude), VS (Vertical Speed) and TF or Terrain Following...  the opposite knob is the selection tuning knob...

 

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...   top row of selection buttons covers; Timer, AP (Autopilot), Servos (activate AP), LOC/VOR, G/S (GlideSlope) and FX. The FX setting is basically like the menu setting of turning on or off the reflection settings.

 

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Many of the other selections are simply X-Plane features that pop-up; ATC, CHK LST (Checklist), LOG (Logbook), MAP (Local map) are all default X-Plane. GND Crew is simply the static elements, Bay Doors opens all the armament compartments, AVI Tab opens up the AviTab tablet and the TST (Test) button highlights all the instrument functions...

 

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...   Two more buttons are for functions in QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) that does a quick auto start of the auxiliary power unit (APU) and engines. Another is the R2C or "Roll to See". Either side of the UFC are the panel and HUD brightness adjustment wheels...  but odd is that the right side MFD (and centre MAP) brightness is controlled from the left lower wheel?

 

HUD

The Raptor uses a Head Up Display (HUD) to visually communicate the aircraft's performance and navigation information, the HUD is switched on via the left UFC switch.

 

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Magenta letters above the box are compass cardinal headings (N=North, NE=North East and so on), next GPS destination, in nautical miles is also shown. In the center of the HUD is the GPS destination steering "tad pole;" a circle with a pointy stick protruding from it. The stick rotates around the ball and always points toward the GPS destination. Indicated Air Speed (IAS) is displayed in a box on the left of the HUD, altitude in a box on the right. Rate of climb and Rate of Descent (V/S) are also visible.

On an ILS approach the outer, middle and inner marked beacon lights will display at the tip of the airspeed box arrow as you pass over the top of each beacon. Angle of attack (AOA, G force (G), AGL terrain elevation (TE) and Engine throttle % is also shown.

 

Flying the F22A Raptor

A LOT on this aircraft is simply automatic, but that is not to say in using the manual options is not the best way to fly the machine. The auto settings are fun at first, but if you are like me and want control, then you will usually and very quickly return the settings to manual.

 

There are a few annoyances, one is the APU that seems to have a life of it's own...  you can have to have the engines switched on and the canopy even closed before you can turn it on, but it has a habit of switching itself off constantly and running down the batteries... try and restart it and it won't work? If you do get it running, then both the Generator switches have to be off to get the APU power to work?

 

The APU start up sounds however are very good...  but it is seriously annoying to use.

 

Problem is you can't start the engines until it is running...  so you fighting with the aircraft just to actually start it?  There is a method here in the madness, but I won't go there.

 

That done and the APU (finally) running and powering the systems then starting the F22A is a doddle, make sure the Fuel Switches are on and up the engine start switch... but you have to hold the switch until the N2 passes the 60% mark before the engine lights. And again the FMOD engine startup sounds are very good.

 

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A fun feature is the FCS or Flight Control System test, that when you activate the FCS switch (engines have to be running) the aircraft will go through a series of checks of all the flying surfaces...   and yes it is fun to watch, but you have to turn the FCS switch off again to stop the procedure. The procedures are shown on the right MFD RP1.

 

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Second major annoyance is the R2C or "Roll to See" feature...  it is a visual control of your view of where you point the controls, nothing new of course as every movement tool (plugin) has one like the XPRealistic "Head Movements"...  but here it is just plain visually annoying on the ground or when trying to either taxi or takeoff the aircraft...  the problem is not the movement or change of view, but the sudden jerky movements of the R2C, that was switched off very quickly. That is not to say a lot of the punters may love it, but I don't as I want to focus or adjust on the instrument panel.

 

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Once in the taxi, the F22A sets itself up for takeoff automatically (unless you turn it off). Flap is set at 100%, which to me seems like a lot of drag? AOA recommends taking the off the aircraft fully fueled, I do to as the operational radius is not very wide.

 

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Afterburner logic is set to "Off" as default, so if you want the system to protect the aircraft, then you have to switch it to "Auto".

 

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When you push up the throttles below the afterburner threshold and the F22A will now reset the flap 88%, but hold the aircraft on the brakes as the thrust builds up and the pitch vectoring engine nozzles adjust......   then let it go...

 

Yipes! the Raptor simply leaps forward like a bullet coming fast out of a barrel, all at once the speed is already building, then you push the throttles to the full forward and the afterburner mode and you get another large hard push in the back...

 

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...  takeoff is only 120 knts + 10, but I am already at 140 knts plus before I can react and pull back the stick, but not to sharply.

 

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The F22A will slingshot itself into the air and immediately the gear will go up and the flaps will again readjust. But be careful here... it is a know fact that several F22s have come back to earth, belly gear up by not having enough speed to fly...  so make sure the fighter is actually biting the air before rotating the aircraft and it automatically folding in the gear.

 

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The F22 is already at m.81 and climbing at 10,000 fpm (yes that is Feet Per Minute) and this is nothing as the Raptor can climb at an astounding 62,000km/min rate of climb or straight up...  on full afterburner of course!

 

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You are already pulling 1.6g's but 9g's is known, so climbing even to 55,000ft takes only minutes. You can't keep up these theatrics going for very long as your fuel is being gulped down like an Saturn 5 first stage booster as the fuel flow is in overdrive, so it is soon time to level off and throttle back. Full Service ceiling is 65,000 ft (20,000 m) but the F22A feels like it could easily fly all the way up to the moon.

 

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Performance as you could expect is astounding;

  • Maximum speed: Mach 2.25 (1,500 mph, 2,414 km/h) at altitude
    • Mach 1.21, 800 knots (921 mph; 1,482 km/h) at sea level
    • Mach 1.82 (1,220 mph, 1,963 km/h) supercruise at altitude
  • Range: 1,600 nmi (1,800 mi, 3,000 km) or more with 2 external fuel tanks

 

To be fair, Angle of Attack Simulations have got a lot of the performance and flying feel of their F22A totally correct, the F22A is a monster of a machine...   So what does it sound like? Well brilliant actually, as there is a full pro FMOD sound package by SimAcoustics, with very nice and believable audible high lift wing rumble and pilot anti G strain sounds when pulling high G's, accurate doppler sounds, distance attenuation and flyby effects. And there is also an active Noise Canceling feature for pilot's helmet.

 

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...  and up here it is brilliant experience. At this speed m.1.20 if you want to turn then expect a long wide turn, the Raptor takes ages to do even a 90º heading change, but hey, look at that view...

 

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There is the need to program a four-way hat switch or 2 two-position toggle switches to cycle through the five available weapon (X-Plane) modes.  The available modes are:

 

  • Navigation (NAV) mode. This is basically the default "no weapons selected" start point shared by every model in the simulator. I just call it "NAV" mode to establish is as our starting point.
  • Gun mode
  • Target Track (TRG TRK) mode
  • Missile (A2A) mode
  • Bomb (A2G) mode

 

It takes a fair while to work out how first select and then to rotate to the next weapon and fire it, the manual does explain, but it does not either? Weapon Bay doors open and the the Raptor is ready for the kill.

 

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Chaff and Flares are very good, but distribute forward of the aircraft and not behind?

 

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Coming down is a little bit more tricky than going up? For one you are restricted to a negative vertical speed of -5000 fpm in AP mode, so it can take a little time to do so, yes you can do a dive bomb return back to earth, but that is not a reasonable way to fly the aircraft.

 

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The Raptor will do it for you anyway, but I wanted to control the speed, first at 250 knts, then down to 160 knts for the approach.

 

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I found that the AP would not allow me to drop the speed under 200 knts? (The AOA T-7A did the same annoying thing). So I had to abort the auto ILS landing and go to manual to get the Raptor ready for a 160 knt approach.

 

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So using the speedbrakes manually is very effective, looks brilliant on display as well as the flying surfaces all fan out...  the normal minimum fuel when arriving back at the airfield is 4,000 lbs. However if you have too much fuel on board the Raptor's fuel jettison system will automatically dump the fuel, then stops dumping fuel when it gets down to 4,000 lbs as the backup displays blue fuel quantity status bar turns yellow with just 4,000 lbs. remaining. The display turns red when the 2,000 landing minimum is finally reached.

 

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...  even when I had slowed to my approach speed and closed up the speedbrakes, the F22A now automatically set the aircraft up for landing with flap set at 20% and then at 60%. I now also personally took control of the landing gear as well...  did I still not trust the aircraft?

 

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It is very, very easy to do a very high angle of attack on approach in this aircraft, still the official AOA angle is still 12 degrees, still very high and the nose can blot out the runway. So you have to use a bit of skill and even some guesswork to get it perfect. But still even after a few practise runs I was still at an 15º nose higher than I should be at the required 12º  Note the position of the speedbrakes in the HUD

 

So speed control is critical to get right on landing, my approach speed of 150 knts felt slightly too slow (160 knts to 165 knts should be better) and the touch down speed of 135 knts should be around 140 knts, say even a higher 145 knts to get it right.

 

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Once the wheels touched I have finally a 10º pitch and that feels better, there are no reverse thrusters for you to use, so to rub off the speed you use the aerodynamic aids and the brakes, but I found with a first touch of the brakes is that they were not effective, it took a few repeated pulls before they started to work and slowed down the aircraft...

 

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...   and by the time your are leaving the runway the Raptor is now already all automatically cleaned up!

 

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Lighting

The Raptor's internal lighting is pretty basic, instrument lighting on, then the only other adjustment is for the cockpit overall lighting. The side panels are both always illuminated. A note that at full dome brightness I got this red glow around the canopy.

 

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Externally the lighting is very basic, with just navigation and strobe lights, but there is some very nice military ‘Slime Lights’ with the green formation markers. There are also twin landing lights on the front nosegear.

 

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Liveries

There are five liveries in the package (on all aircraft variants); 199 FS Mytai Fighters, 525 FS Bulldogs, Pre-production and Raptor 01 and the FF 094 as default. And they are all pretty similar to each other.

 

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Summary

Coming out of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program. The winner was a 5th generation air superiority fighter, but it is also a ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence aircraft, and this aircraft is the Lockheed Martin F22A Raptor.

 

There is no doubting the awesome capabilities of the F22A machine. It can climb, turn and out manouvover pretty well anything out there flying, plus it is also a stealth based machine with most armament stores held inside the fuselage.

 

I particularly liked AOA (Angle of Attack) Simulation's earlier T-7A Red Hawk, The aircraft showed a nice forward step of development and here in the F22A Raptor I did expect another step forward of an even more formidable aircraft.

 

There are three versions included in this F22 Raptor package, the A2A - Missile, A2G - Bomb(er) and the EFT - External Fuel Tank variants.

 

As the Raptor is priced above the AOA T-7A (US$35), at US$40, it comes within the same price range as other aircraft including the JustFlight Bae T/1A Hawk (US$44.00) and the X-Trident Panavia Tornado (US$38.95), and both aircraft have considerable more quality and features... so the first question is then, does the AOA F22A Raptor compete at this level, and the honest answer is no.

 

In areas close up the modeling is good, and even in areas very good, but not in this league, canopy glass is average, textures are jaggy Lo-Res, and curves are pointed...  at a distance however the well done composite textures does look sensational, as these review images show, with a lovely semi-matt feel about the aircraft. The cockpit is very stark modern, but the six MFD (Multi Function Displays) and a centre UFC (Up Front Control panel), the layouts are all very good, but do not come with the high system depth you would expect on this 5th Gen fighter.

 

There are some nice features; There are great sounds in every area with a FMOD sound package by SimAcoustics, The fun Flight Control System test with excellent unique flight control actions, plenty of built in armaments, great afterburner effects and the aircraft's auto mode for Flaps, Landing Gear, Speedbrakes and landing fuel dump system are interesting and in areas exciting to use.

 

There are still a few early bugs and quirks. The APU has a mind of it's own, Some flying quirks are hard to see around (AP speed limited to 200 knts and so on, and see the above APU), and the aircraft can not be secured with static elements unless you have the power on and the canopy open? and the R2C or "Roll to See" feature is something you can love or hate (I am in the latter).

 

Overall though the one major significant aspect is that this a real something of an aircraft to fly. The Raptor's incredible performance and it is well replicated here is simply phenomenal, and the major automatic aids are also very clever in that meaning simply anyone can fly the F22A like a Pro Pilot, and that means anyone can experience or access the machine.

 

As noted I really loved AOA's T-7A Red Hawk, and looking back at the T-7A's release review I see an awful lot of similarities between the design and quirks of both aircraft, however the Raptor as good as it is, does not feel the next step up of which following the very nice T-7A...   however the Raptor can or could easily be, and that is the overall question about the AOA F22A aircraft...   taking that next step.

_______________________________

 

X-Plane Store logo sm.jpg

 

Yes! the Lockheed Martin F22A Raptor by AOA Simulations is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : 

 

F-22A Raptor

Price is US$40.00

 

Features:
High quality 3D model
  • 3 models: Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground and EFT (External Fuel Tanks)
  • Highly accurate 3D exterior model
  • Every door and control surface animated
  • All F-22 unique flight control actions accurately reproduced
  • Every switch and control in the detailed 3D cockpit works
  • Ground equipment
  • 4K PBR textures
  • Beautiful 4K liveries out of the box
  • Smooth and VR-friendly cockpit control manipulators
High quality sounds
  • Professional FMOD sound package by SimAcoustics
  • Audible high lift wing rumble and pilot anti G strain sounds when pulling G's
  • Accurate doppler, distance attenuation and flyby effects
  • Active Noise Canceling feature for pilot's helmet
Flight model
  • Extremely maneuverable
  • Pitch vectoring engine nozzles
  • Carefree handling to any AOA (Angle Of Attack)
  • Super cruise to Mach 1.8+ without afterburner
AOA Simulations “standard” features
  • SASL plug in controls all cockpit displays and aircraft systems
  • Ground, "virtual" and "AI" in-flight refueling capability without having to use drop down menus, load special situations or interrupt your current flight
  • "Roll-to-see" dynamic pilot head camera plug-in
  • "Target Track" plug-in locks pilot camera on AI planes for easy formation flying
  • Functioning Auto GCAS (Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System)
  • Approach Power Compensation autopilot auto-throttle mode
  • All automatic aircraft systems can be disabled with cockpit switches
  • Basic Helmet Mounted Target displays in addition to the F-22 Raptor HUD
Other
  • Audible engine start checklist
  • Automated in-flight engine re-start checklist
  • AviTab tablet compatibility
  • 90+ pages flight manual

Requirements

X-Plane 11
4 GB VRAM Video Card Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended
Download Size: 436 MB
Current and Review version: v1.0 (April 10th 2021) 

___________________________________

 

Installation and documents:  download for the Raptor is 416Mb and the aircraft is deposited in the "Fighter/Military" X-Plane folder.

 

Full Installation is 466Mb

 

Documents supplied are:

  • F-22A Custom Sliders.xls
  • F-22A Convention Paper.pdf
  • F-22A Flight Manual 1.0.pdf

 

Manual is excellent at 94 pages, with excellent aircraft, instrument and setup details including HOTAS setup and IFF Codes. Custom Slider settings (Excel) and overview of the F-22 Flight Test Program.

 

"AviTab" VR-compatible tablet is required, download is free, and installation is in to your X-Plane/Plugins Folder.

 

Support forum for the F22-Raptor

___________________________________

 

Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 

14th April 2021

Copyright©2021 : X-Plane Reviews 

  

(Disclaimer. All images and text in this preview are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All rights reserved

 

Review System Specifications: 

Computer System: Windows  - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1TB SSD 

Software:   - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.53

Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90

Scenery or Aircraft

- Seattle - Boeing Country 10.5 by Tom Curtis (Sorry not now available)

 

Logo Header X-PlaneReviews 200px.jpg

 

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Hi Stephen,

 

Some of your comments surprise me. Thanks for allowing feedback on this forum.

 

I like the red and yellow ladders.  Why do you need to know which is default?

 

You refer to the right MFD RP2 as basically your heading dial.  Huh?  It is much more than that.  Check out the Flight Manual beginning on page 3-54 and also the weapon system page 5-76.

 

WOW is not a humorous reference.  It stands for Weight On Wheels and is listed in the glossary.

 

I don't understand your comments on the APU having a mind of it's own.  Are you using the checklists to startup?  I don't see these issues you are having?

 

Flaps are NOT set at 100% for takeoff, you might be confusing the HUD N1 indication with flap position. Flaps are set to 60%.

Your comment about flaps going to 88% on throttle up is also incorrect.  I think you are looking at HUD N1 indication.  Check out page 3-24 of the manual.  N1 may reduce due to the x-plane FADEC control.

 

You mention that the Raptor "takes ages" to make a turn at M 1.20.  Really?  Do you mean in auto pilot?

 

On approach you say you want control so that you can approach at 250 kts then down to 160 knots.  Why not fly within the systems settings?  You don't need to approach at 160 kts until the gear and flaps are down and altitude is low.  The airplane isn't going to fly well the way you want.  It's only going to fly the way it was designed.  Check out the approach visual aid in the .org support forum.  And, try using APC on approach-why not?

 

Are you saying that the Raptor AUTOMATICALLY dumps fuel?  Nah!

 

As for Roll 2 See.......I like it for taxi.  It is initially looking down but the view comes up as ground speed increases a bit.  In the air, it is, as you say, a love it or hate it kind of thing.

 

Thanks again for the opportunity to provide feedback.  I do enjoy reading your reviews.  I had to sign up just to comment on this one.

 

Blue skies!

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