| Blackout Modeling in Sim Design
by "Smoke." CO, Fighting 189th VFS Six Shooters |
||||
|
I also queried Steve Barter and Bland Smith, two of Lockheed's Test Pilots who have flown numerous air shows where high G's are routine. Both responsed that they rarely see effects such as vision loss if they perform their straining maneuvers properly. During these air shows they will experience constant G's, performing sustained 9-G's, to show the jets cornering capabilities. I then spoke to the Manager of Lockheed's Flight Department at LMTAS, Mr. Joe Sweeney. His comments were from a pilot who doesn’t have the opportunity to fly as often as the other guys, but to stay current he flies the same profiles with the same 9-G requirements. Joe said that a lot depends on how he feels from one day to the next, as well as other circumstances (did he eat lunch or not), as to whether he experiences vision loss or not. Some days he says he reaches 9-G's and his vision turns gray and loses textures and starts tunneling, other days he can pull high Gs till the cows come home!
 He also added that they would do special preparation when he was flying as a Naval aviator. When they knew they were going to be mixing it up with other aircraft they would warm up by pulling high G's prior to an engagement. So the real key turns out to be very simple - conditioning, preparation and pay attention and you will not experience those devastating blackouts. So why do we see them in modern sims like Falcon 4? |
 Before I close I'll relate to you my experience with high G's the first time I flew in the back seat of an F 16. During sustained 6 to 7-G pulls, I noticed a slight fuzziness at the extreme edges of the peripheral field. However, the 9G maneuvers which we sustained for twelve seconds was, for me, quite debilitating. It was not so much the vision loss, which reduced my field of view to approximately the size of a basketball (at arms length), but the intense feeling of weighing nine times my body weight that bothered me. You've heard the saying "it ain't over till the fat lady sings." During these exercises she was sitting on me and I wanted it to be over! I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, but the reality is that I am not a conditioned F 16 driver, and by the time I pulled those 9-G's I was already worn out by doing everything imaginable in an F-16 (not to mention two minutes of dry heaves, glad I bypassed lunch.) I want to make one point clear. It's obvious that G loads affect people differently, and that high G's do have an impact on our body. That's why conditioning and training are paramount to every successful fighter pilot. And yes, after a while, even Tom Cruise would probably have to say "uncle." But as blackouts relate to Falcon 4.0 our quest for realism drives us to ask this question: is it more realistic with them on or with them off? What I'm trying to say is that if you want to experience the F-16 flying F4 as if you are PeeWee Herman all the time, then by all means, turn blackouts on. But if you want to experience it like a seasoned veteran of the skies, turn them off. You'll enjoy it even more! Until next time, check 6!
SMOKE
C/O Fighting 189th VFS Photos courtesy of Lockheed-Martin. Join a discussion forum on this article by clicking HERE.
|
|||
|
Copyright © 1997 - 2000 COMBATSIM.COM, INC. All Rights Reserved. Last Updated May 4th, 1999 |
||||