Following our latest F-35 update, a number of users reported fly-by-wire
issues - but we cannot replicate their problems. In general, however, it seems
that the SDK is a little short on information on this system so here is a
summary of the issues we are having (of course we assume fly_by_wire = 1 in
the following examples):
a) fly_by_wire_from_flaps=1 change of control law conditions → it is
not clear if the flight control laws are supposed to change when the pilot
deploys the flaps or they also change if flaps are automatically deployed or
are maneuvering flaps b) fly_by_wire_from_flaps=0 loss of control → loss
of control reported by some users just before touchdown (when flight control
laws change) c) fly by wire aileron not centered after some maneuvers →
after tight aerobatic maneuvers, it may happen that after the pilot recovers
level attitude, the fly-by-wire remains “skewed” to a bank (either left or
right). This can be recovered after maneuvering. d) autotrim not working for
some users → this is a mistery for me. We can cause autotrim to lock by
manually operating flaps on the ground on the F-35. When this happens it seems
impossible to recover. However for some users the fbw autotrim simply does not
work. e) loss of control at high speeds → some users are reporting loss
of control/pitch down at high Ma number. We have seen this happening on the
stock F/A-18 but could not replicate the issue. f) reduced pitch authority
at high speed → some users are reporting reduced pitch authority above 0.80
- 0.90 Mach - with aircraft unable to pull more than 4 Gs. g) extremely low
pitch authority → some users are repoting sluggish pitch behavior Help to
clarify these points will be appreciated as it is extremely important to
simulate modern high performance military aircrafts.