F-22A Flight Manual 1.0

VERSION 1.
0
INTRODUCTION 1-7
COCKPIT
2-12
FAMILIARIZATION
FLIGHT MANUAL
DETAILED
3-23
DESCRIPTION
F-22A
RAPTOR FLIGHT 4-58
WEAPONS 5-71
ABNORMAL
6-85
PROCEDURES
SUPPORT 6-90
GLOSSARY 6-91
APRIL 2021
AOA SIMULATIONS F-22A FLIGHT MANUAL
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1-7
1.1 WHAT IS THE F-22A RAPTOR AND WHAT CAN IT DO? .................................... 1-7
1.2 INSTALLATION ........................................................................................................ 1-10
1.3 SIMULATOR SETUP ................................................................................................ 1-10
1.4 HOTAS SETUP .......................................................................................................... 1-11
CHAPTER 2 - COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION ........................................................... 2-12
2.1 HUD [1]....................................................................................................................... 2-13
2.2 HELMET MOUNTED DISPLAY (NOT SHOWN) .................................................. 2-13
2.3 MASTER WARNING AND MASTER CAUTION LIGHTS [2].............................. 2-13
2.4 NAV/COM [3] ............................................................................................................ 2-13
2.5 UP FRONT CONTROL [4] ........................................................................................ 2-13
2.6 BACKUP DISPLAY [5] ............................................................................................. 2-13
2.7 MULTI FUNCTION DISPLAYS [6-9] ...................................................................... 2-13
2.8 SWITCHES ................................................................................................................. 2-14
2.8.1 ELECTRICAL PANEL ....................................................................................... 2-14
2.8.2 FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM TEST ................................................................ 2-15
2.8.3 FUEL SHUTOFF SWITCHES ............................................................................ 2-15
2.8.4 FUEL DUMP BUTTON ...................................................................................... 2-16
2.8.5 AUTO SYSTEMS LOGIC SWITCHES ............................................................. 2-16
2.8.6 FLAPS.................................................................................................................. 2-17
2.8.7 LANDING GEAR ............................................................................................... 2-17
2.8.8 SPEED BRAKES................................................................................................. 2-18
2.8.9 AUTO GROUND COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM ................................. 2-18
2.8.10 APU START PANEL .......................................................................................... 2-19
2.8.11 ENGINE START SWITCH PANEL ................................................................... 2-19
2.8.12 AB LOGIC ........................................................................................................... 2-20
2.8.13 BRAKE WITH STICK ........................................................................................ 2-20
2.8.14 DOORS & HELMET PANEL ............................................................................. 2-21
2.8.15 IFF ........................................................................................................................ 2-21
CHAPTER 3 - DETAILED DESCRIPTIONs .............................................................. 3-23
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3.1 HUD ............................................................................................................................ 3-23

3.2 UP FRONT CONTROL .............................................................................................. 3-25
3.2.1 BUTTONS, ANIMATED OR STATIC? ............................................................ 3-25
3.2.2 NAVIGATION SOURCE SELECT .................................................................... 3-26
3.2.3 QUICK ACCESS BUTTONS ............................................................................. 3-26
3.2.4 ATC (AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL) ...................................................................... 3-26
3.2.5 GRND CREW (GROUND CREW) .................................................................... 3-27
3.2.6 IAS/MACH .......................................................................................................... 3-27
3.2.7 CHK LST (CHECKLIST) ................................................................................... 3-27
3.2.8 QRA (QUICK REACTION ALERT) .................................................................. 3-27
3.2.9 BAY DRS (BAY DOORS).................................................................................. 3-27
3.2.10 AVI TAB ............................................................................................................. 3-27
3.2.11 LOG ..................................................................................................................... 3-28
3.2.12 MAP ..................................................................................................................... 3-28
3.2.13 R2C ...................................................................................................................... 3-28
3.2.14 2D/3D................................................................................................................... 3-29
3.2.15 TST (TEST) ......................................................................................................... 3-29
3.2.16 FX ........................................................................................................................ 3-29
3.2.17 THUMB WHEELS .............................................................................................. 3-29
3.2.18 NAVIGATION SOURCE SELECT KNOB ....................................................... 3-30
3.3 AUTOPILOT .............................................................................................................. 3-31
3.3.1 AP BUTTON ....................................................................................................... 3-31
3.3.2 SRVO BUTTON .................................................................................................. 3-31
3.3.3 LOC/VOR BUTTON ........................................................................................... 3-31
3.3.4 G/S BUTTON ...................................................................................................... 3-32
3.3.5 AUTOPILOT COMMANDS............................................................................... 3-33
3.3.6 SPEED (SPD) ...................................................................................................... 3-33
3.3.7 APPROACH POWER COMPENSATION (APC) SPD SUB MODE................ 3-35
3.3.8 ALTITUDE (ALT) .............................................................................................. 3-35
3.3.9 VERTICAL SPEED (VS) .................................................................................... 3-35
3.3.10 TERRAIN FOLLOWING ................................................................................... 3-36
3.3.11 TERRAIN AVOIDANCE SUB MODE .............................................................. 3-37
3.4 NAV / COM SELECT PANEL .................................................................................. 3-38
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3.4.1 SOFT KEYS ........................................................................................................ 3-38

3.4.2 TACAN ................................................................................................................ 3-39
3.4.3 AIRCRAFT SYSTEM STATUS DISPLAY ....................................................... 3-39
3.5 LEFT MULTI FUNCTION DISPLAY (MFD) .......................................................... 3-43
3.5.1 START YOUR ENGINES .................................................................................. 3-45
3.5.2 T/W RAT ............................................................................................................. 3-45
3.6 CENTER COLOR MOVING MAP ............................................................................ 3-49
3.7 RIGHT MULTIFUNCTION DISPLAY ..................................................................... 3-50
3.7.1 FIRST PAGE ....................................................................................................... 3-50
3.7.2 CHECKLIST MODE ........................................................................................... 3-50
3.7.3 BATTERY CHARGE STATUS.......................................................................... 3-51
3.7.4 FCS TEST MODE ............................................................................................... 3-51
3.7.5 LOW SPEED DISPLAY MODE......................................................................... 3-52
3.7.6 HIGH SPEED MODE.......................................................................................... 3-53
3.7.7 SECOND PAGE .................................................................................................. 3-54
3.8 BOTTOM CENTER MFD .......................................................................................... 3-56
CHAPTER 4 - FLIGHT ............................................................................................... 4-58
4.1 PRE-FLIGHT AND ENGINE START ....................................................................... 4-58
4.2 TAKEOFF ................................................................................................................... 4-62
4.3 FLIGHT BELOW 12K................................................................................................ 4-64
4.4 FLIGHT ABOVE 50K ................................................................................................ 4-65
4.4.1 MANEUVERING ................................................................................................ 4-66
CHAPTER 5 - WEAPONS ......................................................................................... 5-71
5.1 HOW TO CONFIGURE YOUR CONTROLS ........................................................... 5-75
5.2 GUN MODE ............................................................................................................... 5-77
5.3 TARGET TRACK MODE .......................................................................................... 5-78
5.4 MISSILE (A2A) MODE ............................................................................................. 5-79
5.5 BOMB (A2G) MODE ................................................................................................. 5-79
5.5.1 CHAFF AND FLARES ....................................................................................... 5-81
5.6 REFUELING ............................................................................................................... 5-82
5.6.1 GROUND REFUELING (GFR) .......................................................................... 5-82
5.6.2 "VIRTUAL" IN-FLIGHT REFUELING ............................................................. 5-82
5.6.3 IN-FLIGHT REFUELING FROM AI PLANES ................................................. 5-83
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CHAPTER 6 - ABNORMAL PROCEDURES ............................................................. 6-85

6.1 IN-FLIGHT ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND RESTART ............................................ 6-85
6.1.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................ 6-85
6.1.2 R2C PLUG-IN LOGIC WITH IN-FLIGHT ENGINE SHUTDOWN ................ 6-85
6.2 AUTO GCAS FLIGHT TEST .................................................................................... 6-86
6.2.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................ 6-86
6.2.2 TEST THE SYSTEM TO BUILD CONFIDENCE............................................. 6-86
6.3 APPROACH AND LANDING ................................................................................... 6-88
6.3.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................ 6-88
6.3.2 APPROACH POWER COMPENSATION MODE ............................................ 6-89
APPENDIX 1 - GLOSSARY ....................................................................................... 6-91
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F-22A RAPTOR
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
1.1 WHAT IS THE F-22A RAPTOR AND WHAT CAN IT DO?
The F-22 Raptor is the US Air Force's premier fighter jet with flight performance that surpasses
all others. It was designed from the start to "super cruise", which the Air Force defines as
cruising without the use of afterburners at supersonic speeds of at least Mach 1.5 or more. The
Raptor can cruise faster than Mach 1.5 above 12,000 ft without using afterburners.
Raptor pilots describe the jet as a "spaceship". It routinely cruises above 45,000 ft the way other
fast jets operate at 30,000 ft. On average the Raptor climbs 50% faster, flies 50% higher and
cruises 50% faster than other "fast" jets, all without using its afterburners. The jet achieves this
performance by carrying all its fuel and weapons internally. While other jets have to carry
external fuel tanks and have wing pylons to carry their missiles and bombs a combat loaded
Raptor always has a clean exterior.
The Raptor is big and heavy; it weights 43,000 pounds empty and carries 18,500 pounds of fuel
internally but it also has a huge wing and two very powerful engines. With 6 radar guided
missiles and 2 infrared guided missiles carried out of sight in four separate internal weapon bays
it has a normal takeoff weight of around 64,000 pounds. While that seems like a lot, ~ 30% more
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than a similarly armed F-15 Eagle, The F-22 has a very large wing with 840 square feet of
surface area. Divide 64,000 by 840 and you get a wing loading of 76 pounds per square foot. The
F-15's wing loading is ~ 80 lbs./ft sq. At combat weight, with 50% fuel remaining the
corresponding wing loadings are 65 for the Raptor and 66 for the Eagle.
What about power? The Raptor's two Pratt & Whitney F-119 engines produce 26,000 pounds of
non-afterburning thrust, each. Non-afterburner thrust is referred to as "dry" trust. When the
afterburners are engaged thrust is referred to as "wet." This goes back to the days when water
was injected into a reciprocating engine's carburetor to increase air density and power, but only
while the water supply lasted. Today's afterburners are rarely time limited.
The F-119 engine is referred to as a "35,000 pound thrust class" engine. Observed flight
performance at air shows would suggest more thrust with afterburner than just 70,000 pounds
total from the Raptor two engines. Other low by-pass turbofan fighter engines produce ~ 50%
more thrust in afterburner than the engine produces without the afterburner engaged. By applying
the normal 50% increase from afterburner (AB) use to the F-119s dry thrust rating I have set this
model's total thrust with AB at 39,000 pounds per engine. The F-15 Eagle's engines each produce
just 16,000 lbs. dry and ~ 24,000 lbs. wet thrust, so the Raptor's engine produces more dry thrust
than an Eagle's engine in full AB.
OK, so the Raptor is powerful and fast, but how does it do on a gallon of gas?
A low-bypass ratio fighter turbofan engine is nothing like the high-bypass turbofan engines
found on commercial airliners. Only about 10 to 20% of the air that enters a fighter engine
bypasses the core and gets remixed with the accelerated core jet stream at the back of the engine
before exiting the exhaust nozzle. That 80-90% of the air entering the engine core is what gets
mixed with fuel and burned.
By comparison, a commercial high-bypass ratio engine's extra-large fan pushes 5 to 6 times as

much air past the core as enters into the core to be mixed with fuel and burned. That huge
amount of bypass air gets remixed with the relatively small amount of accelerated core stream at
the back of the engine, cooling and quieting the resulting mixture so that commercial fan jet
engines are quiet by comparison to military fighters.
I like the noise though. I prefer the noise. On this model you get the noise. The sound comes
from burning lots and lots of jet fuel and a professionally developed FMOD sound package. This
is the first time we have sprung for a professional sound package but we thought the Raptor
deserved it. So do you. SimAcoustics (www.simacoustics.com) developed the package for us and
we think you will enjoy the noise. If you have ever watched a YouTube video of the Raptor
doing an air show routine you will hear all those unique sounds with this model, from the Stored
Energy System (SES) snort, shush sound to start the APU to the turbine screech when initial
throttle is added, from the rushing sound of airflow over the wings when you put G's on the jet to
your crazy G strain grunting as try to remain conscious pulling nine sustained G's. It's all here in
the dynamic SimAcoustics HD FMOD sound package.
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The Raptor's twin engines burn literally "tons" of jet fuel, around .861 pounds of fuel for every
pound of non-afterburning thrust produced and 1.29 pounds in afterburner. Multiply those
numbers by 26,000 and 39,000 and you get 22,386 and 50,310 pounds of fuel burned per hour,
PER ENGINE! Thank God for in-flight refueling. That percentage of fuel burned per pound of
thrust produced is called "specific fuel consumption" or SFC.
I display all the Raptor's fuel quantity and consumption rate information on the left MFD.
Knowing those numbers in real time helps you decide whether to economize or say "to heck with
it" and burn whatever you've got while you've got it and either land and get more fuel or, better
yet, stay in the air and refuel in-flight. In later sections of this Flight Manual, I will tell you all
about the cockpit displays and in-flight refueling options. For now, I just want to enthuse about
the jet!
The Raptor cruises up high. FL55 is the highest you can fly on autopilot. You can fly higher but
only with the autopilot altitude hold turned off. Expect to burn ~ 10 thousand pounds of fuel per
hour up there and cruise at Mach 1.5+ for about an hour on internal fuel. Indicated airspeed will
only be around 300 knots but true air speed; the rate at which you are actually traveling through
the air is more like 850 knots! That is how far you will travel before you need more gas. By the
way, 300 knots indicated airspeed is the slowest airspeed you should fly the Raptor unless you
are on approach to landing, with gear and flaps down.
You can see a lot of the country in the US from FL55 ft at 850 knots. In some parts of the world,
you will travel across several countries. Don't worry though; no one will know you are there. No
one can see you on radar and you are too high up for anyone to see you with the naked eye. All
airline traffic is well below you. Only a few business jets are certified to fly up to FL51. Above
FL50 the Raptor is cleared to fly Mach 2 on autopilot. Maximum speed is Mach 2.25, but you
have to disengage the auto throttle because it will not allow that speed under autopilot control.
Getting down from that altitude can take a long time if you use the autopilot. The maximum
vertical climb and decent rate on autopilot is limited to 5,000 feet per minute. That is 10 minutes
to get down FL55. That is too long for me! I am impatient. A better way to get down is to enter
5,000 ft AGL into the Up Front Control terrain following clearance height window and press in
the AP, SRVO and TF buttons. The jet will descend like a rock and automatically level off at
5,000 ft above whatever terrain is below you at the bottom of the dive. If you are really brave, try
setting an even lower AGL altitude in the display window and get the thrill of your life.
The Raptor is fast down low too. Below 12,000 ft MSL the jet is limited to Mach 1.20 but that is
pretty fast. You do not need to use the afterburners to maintain that speed. In fact, the jet is likely
to feel slow to you at anything less than supersonic speed. It does to me.
It is always amazing to me how quickly you get used to high speeds and high altitudes once you
start flying the Raptor. It is simply an amazing aircraft.
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1.2 INSTALLATION
The installation is fairly simple, as is any aircraft for X-Plane.
• Locate the Aircraft folder inside your X-Plane installation folder.
• Create a new AOA Simulations folder inside the Aircraft folder.
• Extract your downloaded file and copy the F-22A Raptor 1.0 folder to your X-Plane
Aircraft/AOA Simulations folder.
1.3 SIMULATOR SETUP

In General tab, flight models per frame, we recommend 4 or more for smooth handling in flight.
In Joystick tab, control sensitivity, move all control response sliders all the way to the right for
maximum fine grain control near controls center. Stability augmentation sliders ~ 20%
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We also recommend the installation of the AviTab plugin:
https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/44825-avitab-vr-compatible-tablet-with-pdf-viewer-
moving-maps-and-more
1.4 HOTAS SETUP

This F-22A simulation works best with a Hands On Stick and Throttle (HOTAS) system. Please
assign the following commands to your joystick buttons. The actual buttons shown are only
suggestions:
1. Pitch (UP/DN)
Aileron trim (LT/RT)
2. Rudder controls if no rudder
pedals available
3. Fire selected weapon
4. Next / previous weapon mode
(UP/DN)
Next / previous target (LT/RT)
5. Drop chaff
Drop flares
6. Target camera pointer in GPS
7. Fire gun
8. Toggle between 2D and 3D
cockpit
9. Pause simulation
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CHAPTER 2 - COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION
The Raptor cockpit is a top-secret place and no one who actually knows what everything really
looks like is going to tell us, or you. So we did our best to figure out for ourselves a logical
function for each display screen and cockpit switch.
The Raptor cockpit was developed during a transition period between the F-15 / F-16 era of
round dials, mechanical flight and engine instruments and individual radar and radar warning
displays and the latest generation, all glass cockpit with very few switches found in the current
F-35 Lightning II. For a quick familiarization refer to the picture above as you read the brief
descriptions of the main panel features on the next few pages.
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2.1 HUD [1]

The Raptor has a Head UP Display like the "teen" series fighters instead of the advanced Helmet
Mounted Display (HMD) like the F-35.
2.2 HELMET MOUNTED DISPLAY (NOT SHOWN)

A target cueing only helmet display (no flight data or horizon line) is currently being integrated
into the real Raptor fleet so we added that to this model.
2.3 MASTER WARNING AND MASTER CAUTION LIGHTS [2]

On either side of the HUD are two large Master Warning and Master Caution lights. The red
warning will light up for major issues like an engine fire while the yellow master caution alerts
you to relatively minor issues like autopilot disconnect, low fuel caution, generator not on or the
ejection seat not armed
2.4 NAV/COM [3]

The upper left display presents navigation and communication radio frequencies and allows you
to select the various radios using touch screen activation buttons. The status of various aircraft
systems is presented on the lower half of the Nav/Com display.
2.5 UP FRONT CONTROL [4]

The central Up Front Control (UFC) panel has autopilot setting and control buttons and a group
of 12 quick access buttons to help you quickly interact with the jet's systems. A clock/timer is
also part of the UFC.
2.6 BACKUP DISPLAY [5]

A backup display with flight data, artificial horizon and fuel quantity information occupies the
upper right corner of the forward panel.
2.7 MULTI FUNCTION DISPLAYS [6-9]

The left MFD has 2 pages with aircraft information on page 1 and navigation on page 2.
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The central display is an embedded G1000 color-moving map with several quick access buttons
available through the surrounding soft keys so that you do not have to pop-up or out the display
to access those functions.
The right MFD also has two pages. The first page has four modes: checklist, FCS test, low speed
and high speed. Page 2 on the right MFD is a radar situation display. It shows you a 360 view of
the AI planes you have loaded in the simulator and highlights which one you are tracking at the
moment.
The final cockpit display is a two page MFD located between your knees. It has dedicated engine
and fuel quantity information as well as a repeat of the right MFD high-speed page for when the
upper left and right MFD are set to their respective page twos.
This Flight Manual will go through each of these displays in more detail. This was just a brief
overview.
2.8 SWITCHES
There are a lot of switches in the Raptor cockpit compared to the F-35 but not as many as in an
F-15, F-16 or F/A-18. One of our primary goals in cockpit creation at AOA Simulations is to
have EVERY switch and control have an actual function in the simulator. There are NO dummy
switches there to "fill out" the cockpit and make it appear sophisticated. If it made it into the
model it has a function, you just have to learn what it is, hopefully before making a video and
sharing it online. If you don't know what a switch or control does, first read this Flight Manual. If
you don't find an answer here then ask a question on our AOA Simulations F-22 Raptor support
forum.
The next section will briefly cover each switch in the cockpit. I am going to move through the
cockpit from the left rear, going forward along the left side, across the cockpit to the forward
right and then back to the right rear corner. If you don't have access to the simulator and the
model I'll show you some close up screen shots of the switches so you at least know what they
look like. If you do have access to the simulator and model it would be the best initial training if
you would jump in the seat now and follow along. Real Raptor student pilots will have already
trained in the T-6A Texan II and T-38C Talon, then gone through several hundred hours of F-22
cockpit and system class room training before hopping in to a real jet, so consider yourself lucky
here and put just a little bit of effort in before you go fly. OK?
2.8.1 ELECTRICAL PANEL
We start by locating the electrical panel battery and avionics toggle switches near your left hip,
consistent with our other fast jets (the AOA Simulations F-35A, F-35B and T-7A). The electrical
panel is show below.
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With just the battery switch ON only the Nav / Com and Backup displays will come on.
With both the battery and avionics switches ON all the cockpit displays come on and a short
checklist appears on the left MFD to remind you of a few further switch decisions you have to
make before your flight. I will get to those in a minute thought. Carry on reading.
2.8.2 Flight Control System test
An FCS (Flight Control System) test switch is located next to the battery and avionics switches.
When switched ON the flight controls are put through a fully automated 90-second test routine to
verify the jet's readiness for flight. I will go into this more fully a little later after we start the jet's
engines.
2.8.3 Fuel Shutoff Switches
There are two fuel shutoff toggle switches, one for each engine, just forward of the battery,
avionics and FCS test switches. Red guards cover the switches. To access the switches you have
to lift the guard covers first. Once the engines are started flip the covers down to protect the
switches from being accidentally flipped OFF in-flight and shutting down your engines. A
picture of the switches is shown below.
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2.8.4 Fuel dump Button
The fuel dump/jettison button is used to reduce the aircraft's weight, if necessary, before landing.
That might be because of an engine failure right after a heavy weight takeoff requiring an
immediate emergency landing. Press the button in to start jetting fuel overboard from the fuel
jettison port under the left wing. When pressed in to activate the jetting process other things can
sometimes distract you and cause you to forget to stop the process. Fuel system logic
automatically stops the process for you when the fuel load gets down to 4,000 lbs.
2.8.5 Auto Systems Logic Switches
Four switches located outboard of the fuel switches control 4 of the 6 automated systems on this
jet. The systems are flaps, landing gear, speed brakes and the automatic ground collision
avoidance system. The four switches are show in the next screenshot.
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2.8.6 FLAPS
Raptor flaps are control by systems logic. This is how the Lockheed F-16 flaps operate and it
was continued on the F-22. Lockheed's F-35's are the same. There is no dedicated flap switch in
a Viper, Raptor or Lightning II cockpit. Some customers do not like this though and for them we
have added override switches.
Auto flaps logic switch is OFF by default so you have to toggle the switch to AUTO if you want
the logic to manage your flaps like on the real jet.
A flap mode status code (white FLAP = Flaps Auto system OFF, green ON) is located on the
Nav/Com display. This indicates flap logic, not flap operation. Flap operation is displayed in the
lower left side of the HUD.
2.8.7 Landing Gear
Raptor's landing gear can also be managed by systems logic on this model. If only this were so
on the real jet. Two Raptors have slid down runways on their bellies, one at Tyndall AFB and the
other at Fallon NAS, because their pilot's retracted the gear before establishing a positive rate of
climb.
The pilot at Tyndall AFB pulled the jet off the ground with aft stick after a touch and go landing
but didn't add power, so the jet settled onto the runway and slid several thousand feet to a stop.
(Now they are saying it was a chaffed wire that caused the crash?)
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The pilot at NAS Fallon did not heed Takeoff and Landing Data (TOLD) for the 4,000 foot MSL
airfield elevation and therefore did not correct his takeoff rotation and liftoff speeds. He rotated
early as well; even for a sea level takeoff and that compounded the problem. The jet was NOT
ready to fly, and didn't. It settled down on the runway and slid to a stop while the pilot shut down
the engines. Embarrassing.
The auto gear logic is OFF by default so you have to toggle the switch to AUTO if you want the
logic to keep you out of trouble with taxpayers.
2.8.8 Speed Brakes
The Raptor has flight control logic that deploys the aircrafts flight controls opposite each other to
act as speed brakes. The jet also has speed restrictions; some based on altitude and others
absolute limits. You can study the User Guide to learn what all these restrictions are, and commit
them to memory for later recall during your flight OR, you can flip a toggle switch one time,
now, and allow the system logic to keep you out of trouble. The logic will monitor your speed
and altitude and open and close the speed brakes to keep you from exceeding the limits.
The auto speed brake logic is OFF by default so you have to toggle the switch to AUTO if you
want the logic to help keep you within the published limits
2.8.9 Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System
The Raptor also has an Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS). This
software is always operating in the back ground, monitoring your speed, radar altitude, gross
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weight, pitch and roll attitudes and rate of descent. When the math determines you are
approaching a dangerously high descent rate near the ground, green warning chevrons will begin
to converge to form an X in the HUD. A "time to ground impact" digital count down will also
display in the HUD. To override these warnings, pull back on the stick.
The auto GCAS logic is OFF by default so you have to toggle the switch ON if you want it to
help keep you from flying into the ground when you are distracted.
If the Auto GCAS system is left OFF it will say so in the HUD when otherwise the system would
be issuing warnings to pull up.
2.8.10 APU START panel
The APU start panel is forward and outboard of the throttles on the left side panel.
2.8.11 Engine Start switch panel
The engine start switches are forward of the throttles. The generator switches are back and
inboard from the engine start switches. Make a note of these locations so you are not searching
for them with the engine running. Two red cover guarded fire extinguisher buttons are located
here also. The guards work just like the fuel switch guards. Lift the guard to activate an
extinguisher to put out an engine fire.
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2.8.12 AB Logic
Afterburner logic works like the auto speed brake logic described earlier. It automatically shuts
off the after burners if the jet exceeds its speed limits, turning them back on again automatically
once you slow down below those limits.
The auto afterburner logic is OFF by default so you have to toggle the switch to AUTO if you
want the logic to help you avoid melting the engines or whatever happens when you exceed the
posted limits.
If you are not totally reckless and pay even moderate attention to what you are doing you will
hardly notice this logic because you won’t be busting the limits anyway, will you.
2.8.13 Brake with Stick
Decide whether or not you want to use our Brake with Stick (BWS) plug-in.
BWS releases the wheel brakes when you pull back on the control stick and reapplies the brakes
when you push forward on the stick. It is a convenient way of controlling brakes if you do not
have hardware rudder pedals and do not want to hunt for the right keyboard key while taxiing
around on a busy ramp. With BWS on and at ground speeds below 2 knots, pushing forward on
the stick applies the parking brake. Between 2 and 50 knots moderate to heavy anti-skid braking
is applied. Above 50 knots light anti-skid braking is applied. Anti-skid logic is part of the BWS
logic. If you turn BWS off you lose the anti-skid feature.
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The Brake With Stick plug-in is OFF by default so you have to toggle the switch to STICK if you
want the logic to help you during taxi and landing rollout by enabling anti-skid braking.
BWS is displayed in white text on the Nav/Com display when off. The text turns green when the
system is active. The BWS switch is show in the screen shot below.
2.8.14 DOORS & HELMET Panel
Canopy and IFR door switches are located on the DOORS panel. An automatic noise-canceling
switch for the pilot’s helmet is located outboard on the HELMET side of the panel. The panel is
shown below along with a glimpse of the BWS switch.
2.8.15 IFF
The Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system is a special kind of military transponder. It works
just like a civilian transponder but also has its own special features. I wont go into those here
though. For our purposes just treat it like a normal X-Plane transponder. Turn the system ON
with the rotary select knob located aft of the control stick on the right side panel.
There are four positions: Off, Standby, ON and Test. When turned ON a Luneberg lense "beer
can" device will appear below the jets belly. This device enhances the radar signature of the jet
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and allows air traffic control radars to see you on their radar screens. To remain stealthy keep the
system turned OFF. A picture of the panel is shown below.
Some IFF codes and their meanings are listed in the chart below.
This ends your basic familiarization with the location of cockpit displays and switches. A more
detailed description of the cockpit and all its displays and features follows in chapter 3 below.
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CHAPTER 3 - DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS
3.1 HUD
The Raptor's cockpit is equipped with a large Head Up Display (HUD) to present aircraft
performance and navigation information. At top center is a box displaying the aircraft's magnetic
heading.
Magenta letters above the box are compass cardinal headings (N=North, NE=North East, etc).
The small number below the box is the 180-degree reverse heading.
If you have any wing speed/direction set in the simulator it will display in the upper right corner
of the HUD, otherwise that area is blank. At the top left is the distance to the next GPS
destination, in nautical miles. GPS distance is always displayed in the HUD.
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. A Jet's wings only “understand” IAS. Remember that. I will explain later.
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.
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Angle of attack (AOA) and G force (G) are displayed directly above the IAS box.
Above .50 mach speed is display directly below the IAS box. Otherwise flap and landing gear
status is shown.
Rate of climb and rate of descent are displayed directly above and below the Altitude box on the
right side of the HUD. Climb and descent rates are in feet per minute.
On the ground or in the air above 2,500 feet AGL terrain elevation (TE) is displayed in the
bottom right corner of the HUD. Use this to set your standby altimeter to match the departure
airfield altitude before you takeoff.
In the center of the HUD is a little "w" that represents exactly where the aircrafts nose is
pointing. This little symbol and the flight path marker (FPM) clearly show you the difference
between where the jet's nose is pointing and the path through the air the jet is actually flying =
flight path. The difference is called Angle of Attack (AOA).
The Raptor is going to teach you a lesson or two about angle of attack.
The HUD can be turned OFF and the jet flown using only the cockpit displays.
Engine throttle % is shown on the bottom left when > 50%.
ATH is displayed below throttle % when Auto Throttle is engaged.
APC is displayed in place of ATH when the jet is below 1,000 AGL with the autopilot SPD hold
mode engaged.
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3.2 UP FRONT CONTROL

Directly below the HUD is a large Up Front Control panel.
The UFC is designed to give you quick access to information and model features without going
through the default X-Plane drop down menus. Use of drop down menus in the simulator detracts
from the sense of being "in the plane."
The HUD on/off toggle switch is at the top left corner of this panel.
The next buttons arrayed across the top of the UFC, from left to right, are mode select buttons for
the clock/timer, autopilot power, autopilot servos actuators, localizer and glide slope arming.
The FX button removes glare effects from the HUD and cockpit MFD glass surfaces.
3.2.1 Buttons, animated or static?
When you push on a button to activate a function some buttons stay in to show that the function
is activate. Autopilot buttons do this once you are airborne to help you see which autopilot mode
you are in. To deactivate the function you push on the button again and it pops out.
Other UFC buttons open or close a pop up panel so the button isn't animated because you can see
right away what it did and what will happen if you push on it again.
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3.2.2 Navigation Source Select
A navigation source select rotary knob is at the far right side of the top row of buttons.
Autopilot navigation source options are VOR stations tuned into the Nav1 radio, TACAN
stations selected on the TACAN radio or GPS destinations coded into the GPS receiver.
3.2.3 Quick Access Buttons
Twelve quick access buttons fill the lower left portion of the UFC. They are:
3.2.4 ATC (Air Traffic Control)
Before engine start, before taxi, before accessing the runway for takeoff, etc. you will need to
contact Air Traffic Control.
If you know the proper frequencies you can enter them yourself via the Nav/Com panel to the
left of the UFC. Select Com 1 or 2, enter a standby frequency and then "flip" it to the active
display field and you are set to communicate with whomever will listen to you.
Otherwise push the ATC button to bring up the X-Plane Air Traffic Control pop up panel and
auto tune the COM radio frequency by selecting from the available options.
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3.2.5 GRND CREW (Ground Crew)
Before you start engines, close the canopy or release brakes to taxi you need to ask your ground
crew to remove the boarding ladder, chalks and support equipment from around the jet. Use the
GRND CREW button to do the asking.
3.2.6 IAS/MACH
A toggle button for the autopilot airspeed display window
3.2.7 CHK LST (Checklist)
Accesses the default X-Plane checklist reader. She is a theatrically trained enunciation expert
who will read aloud the checklist items to you in perfectly pronounced spoken English. That is
what she told me anyway.
Click "Load New Checklist" will direct you to the F-22A Raptor root folder. Once there, open
the checklist subfolder. Double click on a checklist text file and it will load into the reader
control panel.
Click on the > button to hear the nice lady read aloud the first checklist item to you then, after
completing the checklist item click > again to hear the next item spoken out load to you. You
can figure out the rest.
Press CHK LST again to close the checklist reader.
3.2.8 QRA (Quick Reaction Alert)
Auto starts the auxiliary power unit (APU) and engines.
3.2.9 BAY DRS (Bay Doors)
Opens and closes the weapons bays doors independently of any weapons mode selection made
by your HOTAS switch.
3.2.10 AVI TAB
Pops up the AVI TAB plug-in tablet. You have to download the freeware AVI TAB plug-in and
install it yourself for this feature to work.
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3.2.11 LOG
Brings up the default X-Plane logbook for you to review you flight.
3.2.12 MAP
Brings up the default X-Plane sectional map. You can auto tune navigation radios (Except
TACAN codes) directly from the map by clicking on the various symbols.
3.2.13 R2C
R2c is our "roll to see" plug-in which moves the pilot POV camera to look into turns during taxi.
In-flight the camera looks into turns when you roll the wings and looks behind the jet when you
pull the nose up higher than 30 degrees above the horizon.
If you do not have a Track IR device or VR headset this plug-in turns the pilot's head camera in
the direction of turns while you taxi your jet to the runway, giving you a more dynamic feel and
helping you see where you are going. It works like the steerable headlights on some cars.
If you do have a Track IR device or VR headset our plug-in is automatically disabled.
Both our plug-in and your devices require command over the pilot camera data refs so you can
have one or the other but not both. You can understand that, right?
You have to be in the simulator's 3D cockpit mode for our plug-in to function. That's the cockpit
mode where you can pan the pilot's head camera around the 3D cockpit.
You also have to have a joystick for our plug-in to work. Flying with the mouse only, trying to
control the jet, flip cockpit switches and pan you view around is hard enough without our plug-in
shifting the camera view about on you.
The R2c plug-in is OFF by default so you have to push the switch IN if you want the logic to help
you during taxi.
R2c is display in white text on the Nav/Com display when off. The text turns green when the
system is active.
R2c look back view is shown in the screen shot below.
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3.2.14 2D/3D
This button toggles you between the static 2D cockpit and dynamic 3D cockpit modes IF you
have not already programmed a HOTAS stick or throttle button to do that. We highly
recommended you do the latter.
3.2.15 TST (Test)
Illuminates all the cockpit-warning messages momentarily so you can confirm they work before
you taxi the jet away from maintenance support.
3.2.16 FX
Not an autopilot button, the FX button is the last button on the top row of the UFC.
The FX button removes the glare effects from the HUD and MFD glass surfaces to improve their
clarity in certain difficult lighting conditions.
3.2.17 Thumb Wheels
There are four thumb wheels, two on each side of the UFC. The top pair, either side adjusts HUD
brightness. The lower left one adjusts MFD brightness while the lower right one adjusts cockpit
flood lighting.
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3.2.18 Navigation Source Select knob
Navigation radio beacon (VOR), TACAN radio beacon or GPS are your options.
NAV/VOR and TACAN were covered above under LOC.
Global Positioning System navigation is the way to go for simplicity and clarity.
Enter a GPS destination code into the system via pop up G1000 interface or do what I do; I use
the freeware GpsFPLInput plug-in [Windows only] by Gtagentleman. Get it from the X-Plane.org
freeware download manager.
Once a GPS destination is entered in the system turn the Nav source rotary knob to GPS.
In GPS mode OBS bearing info will disappear from the radar map but Nav DME info will
remain.
Pressing both the SRVO and the LOC buttons IN to engage the GPS track mode.
The green heading hold mode numbers remains green to indicate the mode is active but the
autopilot will now turn to capture a direct line to your GPS destination.
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3.3 AUTOPILOT
3.3.1 AP button
The AP button turns the autopilot ON to power the auto throttles but NOT the flight control
servo actuators.
With the autopilot ON the only autopilot mode button active is the SPD button.
With AP and SPD both pressed in you can hand fly the jet while the auto throttle does its job of
maintaining airspeed. This is a nice way to fly without worrying about exceeding airframe speed
limits.
3.3.2 SRVO button
The SRVO button powers the flight control servo actuators which allow the autopilot to actually
fly the jet based on the commands you enter into the various displays: heading, altitude, vertical
climb / descent rate and terrain following.
3.3.3 LOC/VOR button
With the servo actuators ON, a VOR station tuned in on the Navigation radio and the NAV
Source rotary knob (upper right corner of UFC) set to NAV, press in the LOC/VOR button and
the autopilot will track the bearing to (or from) the station.
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Use the OBS rotary control knob located at the upper left corner of the left Multi Function
Display, page 2 to rotate the bearing and fly either TO or away FROM the VOR station.
A solid blue line on the left MFD radar map shows direction to the VOR as well as all the other
navigation direction pointers for TACAN (dashed blue line), both ADFs (solid and dashed
yellow lines) and the GPS destination (solid green line).
TACAN OBS rotary control knob is located on the right side of the MFD.
TACAN is like a VOR. They are found at military airbases in X-Plane.
3.3.4 G/S button
Instrument Landing System (ILS) Glide Slope mode is activated with this button.
With an ILS frequency set in the Nav radio and the autopilot servo actuators engaged pressing
this button will "Arm" the glide slope until it "Captures" the glide slope signal.
"Armed" and "Capture" modes are reflected by color changes in the HDG (for LOC) and ALT
(for GS) display windows. "Armed" status is yellow, "Captured" is green.
Remember, Glide slopes in the simulator HAVE TO BE CAPTURED FROM BELOW.
You cannot "dive down" on them from above. The autopilot will NOT capture and hold if you do
that. Instead, start your instrument approach from a fixed level altitude and fly into the bottom
side of the downward slope from a level flight path. The autopilot will "capture" the slope angle
and hold you on it until 100 ft before touchdown, then hand control of the jet back to you to
complete the landing or go around.
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3.3.5 Autopilot Commands
The autopilot commands the aircraft's heading, speed, altitude and climb/descent rate.
Down a vertical line on the UFC starting from the AP button a row of rotary control knobs are
used to enter commands into the autopilot. From top to bottom the axis controlled are:
3.3.5.1 Heading (HDG) button

The magenta color heading number in the display window is the current autopilot heading set by
this rotary knob. This heading matches the magenta heading number on the radar-moving map in
the Left MFD, page 2.
The white heading number in the center is always the aircrafts current heading and matches the
heading displayed at the top center of the HUD and at the top center of the radar-moving map.
The purpose of having both the current autopilot heading and aircraft heading displayed side by
side here on the UFC is to offer the pilot an instant recognition of the differences or similarities
between the actual heading and the heading to set in the autopilot.
Pressing both the SRVO and the HDG buttons IN to engage the heading hold mode.
The white heading numbers and HDG turn green to indicate the mode is active.
The jet will bank and turn until the green heading display matches the magenta autopilot
heading. The rate of turn is determined by airspeed. At high speeds the turn radius will be large.
For tighter turns slow the jet down.
You can turn the jet at any time while in this mode by rotating the rotary knob located just to the
left of the heading display window.
You can also sync the magenta autopilot heading with the jet's current magnetic heading by
pressing the top center soft keys on either the left or right MFDs.
3.3.6 Speed (SPD)
Autopilot speed can be displayed in either knots or as a fraction of Mach in decimal form. The
default is knots (KT).
To toggle between knots and Mach click the IAS/MACH button directly to the left of the SPD
rotary knob.
Autopilot control over the aircrafts speed can be independent of autopilot control of the jets
flight control servo actuators. This mode allows you to hand fly the jet while the autopilot
controls the throttles and maintains the airspeed you have set.
To enable auto throttle only first select whether you want knots or Mach speed control.
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Next, dial in the desired speed with the rotary knob.
Now press the SPD button located to the right of the speed display window. This will "lock" the
throttles to the autopilot.
Finally, click the AP button to turn the autopilot ON. The throttles will advance or retard
depending on whether you are currently slower of faster than the speed set into the speed
command display window.
Once a speed is "captured" by the auto throttle smooth maneuvers will allow the auto throttle
logic to keep up with changing thrust requirements.
Aggressive maneuvering will demand larger throttle commands and the afterburners may engage
at times. This is normal.
Clicking the AP button again, turning the autopilot OFF will leave the throttles still locked to the
autopilot expecting orders. "RELEASE SPD BTN" will appear in the display window to remind
you to also click the SPD button OFF.
The Raptor is not just a fast jet; it is a very fast jet. It has so much power that it can easily fly
faster than the speed limits both Lockheed and the US Air Force put in place.
In terms of indicated air speed (IAS) the absolute limit is 800 knots at any altitude.
Use of the autopilot auto throttle, alone while hand flying the jet (autopilot ON) or with the flight
control servo actuators (autopilot SRVO) allows those speed limits to be adhered to by system
logic and relieves the pilot (you) of this burden.
For instance, the ejection seat has a "safe" limit of 600 knots IAS. Above that speed your
chances of serious injury go up greatly if you eject from the aircraft. Under autopilot auto throttle
control the maximum speed you can enter into the speed display window is 600 knots when
below 12,000 feet mean seal level (MSL).
Mach limits vary with altitude above sea level.
Below 12,000 feet MSL the limit is Mach 1.20, while above 12,000 all the way up to 35,000 feet
the limit is 1.5 Mach.
Above 35,000 feet the limit goes up to Mach 1.80. These limits are observed by the autopilot
speed logic so you cannot exceed those limits while under autopilot control.
There is also a minimum speed limit allowed by the autopilot of 200 knots.
Of course, you can always turn the autopilot OFF and fly the jet as fast or as slow as you as you
want, or dare. That is up to you.
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3.3.7 Approach Power Compensation (APC) SPD sub mode
With the auto throttle speed set to 200-210 knots, while descending below 1,000 feet AGL the
autopilot auto throttle will switch to APC mode. The system logic will look at current aircraft
gross weight, AOA, and bank angle and automatically adjust the autopilot speed setting to the
correct approach speed for a 12 AOA approach.
3.3.8 Altitude (ALT)
In the autopilot altitude display window white AP and MSL indicate the autopilot is OFF while
green FD and yellow ARM indicate the autopilot is ON and the altitude hold (HLD) mode is
waiting for you to climb up to or descend to the altitude set in the display.
If the autopilot is just ON to enable you to use the auto throttles while hand flying the jet the
altitude capture and hold feature will notify you that you have past through the altitude set in the
display window by changing color from yellow to green, but will not capture and hold. For that
to happen the autopilot SRVO button must also be pushed in to enable the flight control servo
actuators to do their job.
3.3.9 Vertical Speed (VS)
Rate of climb or descent in feet per minute, maximum 5,000 up or down is available under
autopilot control. The SRVO button must be pushed in for VS to work.
Under VS control while climbing or descending you should have an altitude already set in the
altitude display window.
When the jet reaches the set altitude the autopilot will capture and hold it, switching modes
automatically from green VS in the vertical speed display window to green HLD in the altitude
display window.
The altitude display color will also change from white to green to signal the altitude capture and
mode change from vertical speed hold to altitude hold.
Now you are free to enter a new altitude in the altitude display window, if you like, in
preparation for a further climb or descent.
The autopilot will hold you at your current altitude even while you dial a new altitude into the
display window.
To get to the new altitude press the VS button in and use the rotary knob to dial in a climb or
descent rate.
The mode will switch from altitude HLD to VS and the jet will leave the current altitude and
climb or descend to the new altitude, capture and hold.
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3.3.10 Terrain Following
There is not much need for this in a real Raptor but it is fun and educational in the simulator to
experience flying low level on automatic control, especially with low clouds over hilly terrain.
Start from any altitude with the autopilot in AUTO mode, HDG, SPD and altitude HLD engaged.
Enter an above ground level (AGL) altitude in the TF display window using the decision height
(DH) rotary knob on the left.
Now for the exciting part, prepare yourself and don't say I didn't warn you.
Click the TF button to change from altitude hold mode to terrain following mode.
The jet will start to descend. The descent rate can be quite alarming if you start at high altitude,
far exceeding the - 5,000 FPM maximum decent rate available under VS mode control.
As you approach the level off altitude the jets nose will start to come up. You will probably see
the Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System (AUTO GCAS) warning chevrons start to
converge from the outer edges of the HUD and TERRAIN warnings appear in the center of the
HUD. That is normal.
Keep your hands OFF the controls. Let the autopilot do its thing. You are here to watch and learn
to trust the system. Trust will not happen if lose your nerve and intervene at what you expect to
be your last moment alive.
Trust me, I have done this hundreds of times while testing the autopilot TF logic and my own
Auto GCAS logic code.
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You will test the Auto GCAS system a little later. In those tests you will be supersonic AND
upside down when you approach the earth at greater than - 30,000 fpm. Now THAT is exciting!
3.3.11 Terrain Avoidance sub mode
A sub mode of the terrain following logic protects you from flying into raising terrain while on
autopilot.
The altitude displayed in the UFC window is always safe if the numbers displayed there are
white when the autopilot is turned OFF (or when it is ON, but has not captured its set altitude
yet) or green, when the AP is ON and has captured the altitude.
If the numbers are red it means the altitude you have set is too low, lower than the terrain below
the jet + any additional altitude you have added with the DH rotary knob.
This logic also works to prevent you from descending into the ground while on autopilot in the
event you enter an altitude below ground level into the altitude display window.
Even if you are cruising along level at a "safe" altitude (say 6,000 ft?) and the radar altimeter
detects that you are within 2,000 ft of the ground (approaching the base of a 10,000 ft mountain)
the logic will automatically switch the autopilot from altitude hold to terrain following mode
with 2,000 ft ground clearance. The jet will "climb the slope" up one side of the mountain, fly
you over the top and bring you down the backside again.
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3.4 NAV / COM SELECT PANEL

To the left of the Up Front Control is the Navigation Communication radios select display.
Navigation radio 1, both Com radios and two Automatic Direction Finder (ADFs) radios can all
be selected and tuned with a mouse at the touch screen control points.
STANDBY frequencies are tuned in first and then "flipped" to the ACTIVE window by clicking
on the left facing white arrow.
The STANDBY then becomes the ACTIVE and the ACTIVE becomes the STANDBY.
Frequencies displayed in the ACTIVE window drive the navigation display needles on the left
MFD, page 2 radar map.
ACTIVE frequencies are selected for use by the autopilot either by turning the Nav Source
Select knob on the UFC or by Soft Key (SK) short cuts around the outer edge of the left MFD.
3.4.1 Soft Keys
Soft keys are the white buttons you see arranged around the cockpit MFDs.
The Nav / Com panel has three soft keys along the bottom of the display.
SK1 and 2 are unassigned at the moment.
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SK3 toggle the OAT from Fahrenheit to Celsius.
3.4.2 TACAN
On this model the second Navigation radio is reserved for tuning in TACAN X and Y codes.
Select TACAN on the Nav/Com radio DISPLAY panel
TACAN codes can only be SET using the TACAN scroll knob on Nav/Com frequency select sub
panel
The sub panel is located on the right side of the cockpit, outboard of the control stick.
The Nav/Com sub panel has six scroll knobs, one for each radio.
TACAN codes range from 1X- 128X and 1Y- 128Y and can be found on the default X-Plane
pop up sectional map.
Bring the map up and locate a military airbase, then click on the square "VOR" symbol.
Where you would normally "auto tune" the VOR frequency, with TACAN you must take note of
the X or Y code (i.e. 46X) and then scroll to that code using right side panel TACAN scroll
knob.
With the code entered and the station in range a dashed white (meaning TACAN is not selected
as your desired navigation source) or dashed blue line (meaning TACAN is you your nav source)
will display on the left MFD, page 2 radar map.
3.4.3 Aircraft System Status display
The status of 20 key systems or features is displayed on the lower half of the Nav/Com radio
panel. They are, from left to right, top to bottom:
1. Auxiliary Power Unit (STRT, spool rpm, RUN, COOL)
2. Afterburner logic
3. Generator 1 status
4. Generator 2 status
5. Autopilot status/mode
6. Anti-ice/ice detection status (ICE, HEAT)
7. Environmental Control System status
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8. Pilot "felt" altitude (cockpit pressure altitude x 1000). Any number > 12.5 (12,500 ft) will
be red and means you have exceeded the jet's safe operating altitude limit.
9. Roll to See plug-in status
10. Cockpit mode, 2D static or 3D dynamic
11. Automatic Flaps logic mode
12. Automatic Landing Gear logic mode
13. Onboard oxygen quantity
14. Landing light status
15. Brake with Stick plug-in status
16. Ground Collision Avoidance System status
17. Automatic Speed Brake logic status
18. Ejection Seat Arm status (EJA, EJS)
19. Outside Air Temperature
20. Identification Friend or Foe status (STB, IFF)
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BACKUP ATTITUDE DISPLAY
The backup attitude display panel sits directly to the right of the Up Front Control panel.
The backup display provides all the information you need to fly the aircraft safely in the event
the Head Up Display fails or, you decide to turn the HUD off.
If you do decide fly with the backup display and not the HUD, when you turn the HUD switch
off heading will be displayed at the top center and a VVI will appear.
Aircraft pitch and roll attitude are depicted.
The little "w" at the center of the display always represents the aircraft's nose.
When the jet's nose is > 30 degrees above the horizon a number will appear directly above the
"w" to tell your exact pitch attitude in degrees.
Once the jet is airborne a Flight Path Marker (FPM) will appear in the center of the display.
The FPM is crucial in determining where the jet is actually traveling, not just where the nose is
pointing. In a Raptor these can be two very different things.
In the box on the left is indicated airspeed.
In the box on the right is your pressure altitude (below 3 ft and above 2,500 ft AGL) or radar
altitude (between 3 ft and 2,500 ft AGL).
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Pitch trim is displayed in the top right box.
Barometric pressure is displayed in the bottom right box.
To adjust the barometric pressure setting use the adjust knob at the bottom right corner of the
backup display.
To switch from inches to millibars click the soft key directly below the baro number.
Internal fuel quantity is display as a blue bar on the right side of the display.
The bar turns yellow when fuel is down to 4,000 and red when fuel is down to 2,000.
If external tanks are carried their additional fuel is integrated into this fuel quantity display bar.
The numbers up the right side are fuel quantities in pounds x 1,000
While refueling the jet on the ground "GFR" [Ground Re-Fuel] will flash at the top of the fuel
display bar.
In the air "IFR" will flash during in-flight refueling.
When dumping fuel in-flight "JETT" will flash near the bottom of the fuel bar.
There are three soft keys along the bottom of the backup display just like the ones over on the
Nav / Com display pane.
SK1 and 2 are unassigned at the moment.
SK3 toggles the barometric pressure display from inches to millibars. It also changes the OAT
display on the Nav / Com panel from Fahrenheit to Celsius and changes the font on the UFC to a
digital clock style.
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3.5 LEFT MULTI FUNCTION DISPLAY (MFD)

The left MFD is bordered by 20 soft keys; T1 thru 5 across the top, L1 thru 5 down the left side,
R1 thru 5 down the right side and B1 thru 5 across the bottom of the display.
There are currently two page options available. SK B1 and B2 are page select buttons.
At the top of page 1 are displays for the left and right engine N2 rpm percentages in separate
boxes.
Before engine start some text appears on page one. In addition to the BATTERY and
AVIONICS switch status there is a reminder to open the #1 FUEL [or #2] before attempting to
start the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit). APU power is used to start the engine on the Raptor.
The Raptor's APU has a very unique and distinctive start sound. You'll want to start every flight
in the Raptor from what we call "cold & dark"; loading the model in the simulator without
engines running so you can go through the entire start sequence, including the APU start.
Once the APU is running you have a few decisions to make about how you want to operate your
Raptor. This jet was the first of the "smart" all computer software code aircraft developed for the
US Air Force. All systems on this jet are monitor by computers, and the jet, not the pilot, does
many routine housekeeping functions automatically.
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Things like retracting the gear and flaps after takeoff or before landing are done by logic code
and only monitored by the pilot. The jet it fast but it still has speed limits and the computers
automatically shut off the afterburners and open the speed brakes if you exceed those limits.
To prevent a repeat of two crashes where Raptor pilots lost consciousness and dove into the
ground an Auto GCAS (Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System) was added to the
remaining fleet. I have duplicated the Auto-GCAS system on this model.
All these automated features are standard features on the actual F-22A Raptor, but some of our
customers have asked for the option to "turn the automations off," so we've done that.
Four chrome toggle switches are grouped together aft of the throttles on the left cockpit side
panel. There you can disable the auto flaps logic and operate the flaps yourself using a keyboard
or HOTAS switch. The real Raptor cockpit does not have a flap control. You can also disable the
auto landing gear logic and use the manual gear handle to retract and extend the gear. You can
also disable the auto speed brake logic and turn the Auto GCAS system OFF, though the latter is
not possible in the real jet. Further forward on the left side panel, forward and outboard of the
throttles is an "A/B" switch to disable the afterburner auto cutout logic. With this logic system
disabled you can easily exceed Raptor speed limits in flight without the after burners cutting out
to try and limit your recklessness.
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3.5.1 Start your engines
At the top of the page are displays for the left and right engine N2 rpm percentages in separate
boxes. The boxes are white before engine start and turn green after an engine has successfully
started. A view of the right MFD after engine start is show below.
Each engine's fuel flow (FF) displays directly below the boxes. FF is displayed here in pounds of
fuel burned per hour. The aircrafts current gross WEIGHT is displayed next. Gross weight builds
upon the 43,000 lbs. empty weight and adds the internal fuel (up to 18,500 lbs.) + any external
fuel (up to 8,000 lbs. = 4,000 lbs. in each of the two tanks) + any weapons.
The jet does not carry anything aside from weapons so any "payload" you discover in the default
X-Plane weight and balance screen should be promptly zeroed out.
THRUST is the total thrust of both engines combined into one number for comparison with the
jet's gross WEIGHT.
3.5.2 T/W RAT
T/W RAT (thrust to weight ratio) is a continuously updated fraction that tells you how your
engine thrust compares to your current gross weight.
As a rule of thumb thrust to weight ratio should be >/= .10 to keep you going in straight and
level flight. A 60,000 lb. jet wants at least 6,000 lbs. of thrust to keep it going.
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Start pulling G's and more thrust is required because G force multiplies your gross weight while
thrust remains constant under G's.
At 2 G's the 60,000 lb. jet weights 120,000 lbs. and wants at least 12,000 lbs. of thrust. You can
see where this is going, right? At 9 G's the jet weights 540,000 lbs.!
Fortunately, you can monitor all this in real time with the data I am displaying for you.
FUEL starts with internal fuel and + EFTs displays only when external fuel tanks are attached
Load the F-22_EFT.acf in the sim if you want to fly with external fuel tanks.
Do not add EFTs in Plane-Maker to the other ACFs. You will not know into which slots to load
the tank.wps files or how to leave empty spaces for reserved weapons and you WILL mess up
the LUA code supporting the cockpit displays.
You have been warned.
FF / LBS. / MIN is displayed in pounds of fuel burned per minute (PPM) when the jet's landing
gear is down and pounds per hour (PPH) when the gear is retracted.
FF / LBS. / NM is how much fuel you are burned for every nautical mile flown and is balanced
against the number below it: NM / MIN which is how many nautical miles you are covering
every minute at you current speed.
I am basing these "efficiency" numbers on ground speed and not true or indicated airspeeds so
they apply to how much ground you can cover with your remaining fuel. They reflect the
presence and effect of any wind. You can balance these two numbers, trading nautical miles
covered per minute to reduce the fuel burned per nautical mile. You get to decide. Which do you
have more of, fuel or time? What do you care about more, fuel or time? I prefer to fly as fast as I
can in Raptor. I can always get more fuel in the simulator.
END / HRS is your endurance in hours on the fuel remaining in your tanks.
RNG / NM is the absolute range in nautical mile you can fly on your remaining fuel. It is based
on your current ground speed and fuel burn rate. It is constantly updating. Reduce you throttle
setting and this number will increase. With minimum fuel onboard and the afterburners lit you
can see this display go down to single digits!
The calculated number does not consider Raptor operationally required fuel reserves of 4,000
lbs. overhead final destination (yellow fuel quantity bar on backup display) and 2,000 lbs. at
landing touch down (red fuel quantity bar on backup display).
Along the left side of the display is a reminder to ARM the ejection seat. The SEAT ARM
reminder is only displayed when the jet is on the ground.
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At the bottom of the display at SK 1 and 2 are MFD page selections. You can probably figure out
what to do now but before you do a note about page colors.
You have been looking at information pertaining to the jet you are sitting in; operation of the
engines, fuel quantity, fuel burn rates and how far and fast you can fly the jet.
Everything belonging to the jet is displayed in green. When you select the next page, the primary
color will change to blue. Blue refers to everything outside the jet with the exception of GPS.
GPS navigation info is always green.
Select P2. Here you see an overhead view of the jet in the center of the radar moving map
display. Airport symbols (SK L5), Waypoint symbols (SK B5) and Weather (SK R5) will display
here when within range. Adjust the map range with SKs R3 & 4
Nav information is always presented in the upper left corner of this display, TACAN bearing
info in the upper right. There is no DME info yet though, sorry.
Select Nav mode with the NAV SOURCE select knob (or use the SK T1 shortcut). When
selected, Navigation info turns from white to blue.
Select TACAN mode with the NAV SOURCE knob (or SK T5 short cut) and its info turns blue
while the Nav info turns white.
Finally, select GPS mode (either with the NAV SOURCE select knob or SK R1 short cut). Nav
and TACAN info clears (except Nav DME) and you can fly with a slightly cleaner display.
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Across the top of the radar map are three 3-digit numbers below SK 2, 3 and 4.
The magenta number is the autopilot's current heading setting. Turning the heading select knob
on the UFC will change the magenta number up there and down here on the map.
It will also rotate the little magenta pointer around the outer circle on the map. Turn the knob to
bring the pointer to the top of the circle and the autopilot is set to fly you straight ahead when the
heading hold mode is engaged.
The white 3-digit number is the current magnetic heading; the direction you are flying at the
moment. Above this number is a heading sync soft key (SK T3). Clicking this soft key syncs the
autopilot heading (magenta numbers) to the current magnetic heading directly below the SK.
At the bottom of the map, directly above SK B3 is the reverse of the current magnetic heading
number so you always have a quick, sure method to determine reciprocal headings.
The green 3-digit number is the direct heading to your GPS destination. This is the heading you
need to turn to in order to bring the solid green line on the map to point directly up.
The other lines on the map relate to the Nav source selected.
Solid blue is the Nav radio source when selected and solid white when not selected.
Dashed blue is the TACAN when selected and dash white when not selected.
GPS is always solid green, whether selected of not. GPS is special.
Solid yellow is ADF1 and dashed yellow is ADF2. When tuned and in range of an ADF beacon
the ADF line will point toward the station.
When not tuned in or out of range the yellow lines (and the Nav and TACAN lines too, but not
the GPS green line) all "park" themselves point directly to the right.
The Nav and TACAN modes have OBS (Omni Bearing Select) knobs associated with them. The
knobs are on either side of the MFD directly above SK L1 and R1.
Bearing TO or FROM the station(s) is shown in the upper left (Nav) and upper right (TACAN)
of the map display.
TO and FROM arrows are directly below.
An up arrow indicates a bearing pointing TO (toward) the tuned in and within range VOR station
and a down arrow indicates a bearing pointing (away) FROM the tuned in and within range
station.
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Inboard of the bearing selection for either Nav or TACAN is the "relative" bearing. This is the
difference between your current heading and the heading you need to fly to get to the desired
bearing TO or FROM the station.
The mix of traditional Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) information presentation and non-
traditional, color coded Nav, TACAN and GPS pointers should help build and maintain your
situational awareness in the air. That was my intention anyway.
3.6 CENTER COLOR MOVING MAP

The large color-moving map that fills the center display is actually the default X-Plane G1000
Multi Function Display (MFD).
We have enabled direct access on the face of the screen to a few functions but to use all of the
G1000's features you can either "pop-up" or "pop-out" the full screen.
To pop-up the screen click TERRAIN (SK B1). The screen rests on top of our 3D cockpit and
you can access the full range of G1000 functions, including the terrain elevation map function by
clicking the MAP and then the TERR buttons.
To pop-out the screen click POP (SK T1). The screen opens in its own window and you can
move it off your main computer screen and onto another screen.
To learn to use all the other G1000 MFD features read the default G1000 PDF that comes with
the simulator.
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Features available without popping-up or out are, first unlock the map by clicking in the center
of the screen then you can pan up ^, down v, left < or right >.
You can increase + or decrease - the map range scale or de-clutter (DCLTR) the map in stages
just like any other implementation of the G1000 MFD in X-Plane.
3.7 RIGHT MULTIFUNCTION DISPLAY

The right MFD has two pages, selectable using SK B1 & B2.
3.7.1 First Page
The first page has four modes: checklist, FCS test, low speed and high speed.
3.7.2 Checklist mode
The checklist page displays whenever parking brake is set and ground speed is less than one
knot. It reminds you of items to check along the right side of the cockpit before you taxi the jet.
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3.7.3 Battery charge status
There is a Battery [charge] status display on the right MFD. From 100% down the 95% the
display number is green and you have enough battery power to start the APU and engines.
Between 93 and 95% the displayed number is yellow and the engines will be slow to start, and
might not start at all. If you get a hung start (engine will not accelerate more than 48% on start
attempt) then wait with the APU running and APU generator ON for the charge state to increase
above 95%.
If the battery charge state is < 93% the number on the display will be red. In this case you let the
battery drain too long before starting the APU and turning the APU generator ON. Let the
battery charge with the APU running until you have sufficient power to start the engines.
3.7.4 FCS Test mode
The FCS (Flight Control System) test page displays whenever the FCS test switch is ON. That
switch is located next to the battery and avionics switches near your left hip. SK R5 is an
alternate switch.
The Flight Control test runs 45 seconds and tests each pair of control independently, then all
together. You can monitor the test on the right MFD screen or switch to an external view and
watch from outside. Start from behind the jet and move to the front after the speed brake test is
done to observe the leading edge flaps in operation. When the test routine is over then turn the
FCS Test switch OFF.
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3.7.5 Low Speed Display mode
The low speed page displays when the jet's TAS (True Air Speed) is < 400 knots.
The low speed page has dynamic color-coded lines representing the jet's nose pitch attitude,
angle of attack and flight path.
In-flight these lines will graphically show you the relationships between the jet's nose, AOA and
velocity vector.
The colors change to indicate whether the jets nose and or flight path is directed skyward (blue),
close to level (green = safe or within limits) or earthward (red = danger).
If the vector lines angles do not catch your eye the color changes just might.
Along the bottom of the display is a radar altitude display. This is particularly valuable when the
jet's nose is pointing high in the sky while the plane itself has a horizontal or descending flight
path.
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3.7.6 High Speed mode
The high-speed page displays when the jet's TAS is > = 400 knots.
This display shows you an outline of the jet as seen from behind looking forward. The weapons
system status is display above the outline of the jet.
Within the outline are the various weapons currently loaded inside the three weapons bays or, in
the case of external fuel tanks (EFTs) loaded under the aircraft's wings.
EFT's and their pylons can be jettisoned by clicking twice on either SK L2 or R2 or by double
clicking the PUSH TO JETT button on the left console.
The double click is to make sure both tanks clear the jet.
The total weight of weapons is displayed as PAYLOAD within the outline of the jet.
The number of chaff bundles and flares loaded onboard is displayed on the left side of the
display. Chaff and flares are fires by clicking on SK L3 & 4.
To RE-ARM the jet for another go at air-to-air or ground targets click SK L5. This will reload all
missiles and or bombs and refill the chaff & flare launchers.
Alternate Nav and Strobe light switches are available at SK's L1 and R1.
The alternate FCS Test switch is at SK R5.
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3.7.7 Second Page
3.7.7.1 Radar Situation Display

The second page is reached by clicking SK B2. Additional information about symbology is
available in the Weapons Section of this guide.
This is a radar situation display that keeps track of up to ten AI planes in a 360 degrees radius
around your jet.
Each plane tracked by the system is a white circle with a direction pointer sticking out of it. The
pointer indicated the target direction of flight.
I highly recommend that the first AI plane you load in the simulator be an aircraft suitable for in-
flight refueling your Raptor. This display is coded to treat the first AI plane as a "friendly" and
the gun and missile systems displays behave accordingly.
When selected for tracking "friendly" AI plane one's white circle becomes a blue square.
The remaining AI planes, 2 thru 10 should be coded as "enemies" when you load them in the
sim.
Each "enemy" plane tracked by the system is also a white circle with a direction pointer when
NOT selected for tracking. When selected the white circles becomes a red squares.
Along the top of the radar situation display are comparisons of your current true airspeed, now
displayed in place of IAS in the HUD, and your selected targets TAS. These are on the left.
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The TAS display for your selected target takes a few seconds to display after you first select a
target or select a new target. This is because we perform an averaging algorithm on the data
before presenting it in order to smooth out the variations in the raw data.
Directly below your targets TAS is a comparison number between your speed and your selected
targets speed.
If the number is yellow (negative value) it means you are "lagging" (LAG) the target; your speed
is slower so you need to "cut the corner" or increase your speed to close the distance.
If the number is red it means you are "closing on" the target (CLS) and, depending on the rate of
closure you may need to reduce power or open the speed brakes.
The selected target's number is top center of the display.
Your current altitude verses your selected targets altitude on the right.
The current weapons system mode selection is display below your position symbol in the center
of the display.
The range to the currently selected AI target plane is shown at the bottom right of the display.
SK T3 auto syncs the magenta-heading caret to your current magnetic heading, the same as over
on the left MFD page 2 radar map.
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3.8 BOTTOM CENTER MFD

The lower center multi function display has dedicated engine and fuel quantity information on
both pages.
Page select buttons are SK's R3 & 4
SK's L3 & 4 are the Chaff and Flare release switches.
SK's L1 and R1 are alternate Nav and Strobe switches.
SK's L2 and R2 can both jettison the external fuel tanks. Press either one twice in quick
succession to jettison both tanks nearly simultaneously.
SK's L5 & R5 remove the ejections seat pull handle so you can see the bottom screen better,
though we have arranged the information there to try and make this action unnecessary. Without
the handle you cannot eject from the jet! Actually, you still can, by clicking on SK B3. The
ejection seat activation hotspot is still there even when you cannot see the pull handle.
You can also hide the handle with the default X-Plane keyboard letter Y "hide the yoke" key.
That might be the safest way.
Activating the ejection seat will end your current flight in the simulator and you will have to
reload the model.
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When the left MFD is changed to the page 2 Radar Map then refer to this lower center display
for engine and fuel information.
Page 2 of this display presents the same weapons system outline view of your jet as found on the
right MFD, page 1 when TAS > 400 knots (high speed mode).
When the right MFD is set to its' page 2 Radar Situation display, selecting page 2 on this lower
center display will show you everything that was on the right MFD page 1 plus engine and fuel
quantity information.
Basically, if the left and / or right MFDs are set to their respective page 2's then the lower center
display should also be set to its' page 2 and you will have all the information you need to
navigate and fight your jet with the upper two displays and still have engine and fuel quantity
information visible below.
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CHAPTER 4 - FLIGHT
4.1 PRE-FLIGHT AND ENGINE START

Open and follow the verbal checklist as described Up Front Control (UFC) panel section.
Details:
1 Battery switch ON When the battery switch is turned ON the left Nav/Com
and right backup display panels both come on too.
The Nav/Com comes on with battery only so you can

communicate with whomever to need to without having to
start the APU.
The backup display comes on because it is a BACKUP

display and needs to be available if all other power is lost.
You get how that works, right?
A flashing white BATTERY ONLY is displayed on the

Nav/Com display to remind you that you are draining the
battery and don't have all day, so get with it.
2 Avionics switch ON The AVIONICS switch turns on all the remaining cockpit
display screens. This increases the drain on your battery so
the previously flashing white BATTERY ONLY on the
left screen becomes a flashing yellow BATTERY ONLY.
3 Signal crew chief to remove the Use the GRND CREW button on the UFC panel to contact
chalks and ladder the crew chief.
4 Open weapons bay doors See UFC, indication on the right MFD
5 Turn auto systems switches ON
(Flaps, Gear, GCAS and Speed
Brakes) —optional
5 Turn Afterburner logic switch
ON
6 Check fuel status, ground re- Now is a good time to assess you fuel load and add some
fuel jet (if desired) fuel if necessary. Fuel quantity is always displayed
graphically on the right side of the backup display and on
the bottom center MFD between your knees.
Maximum internal fuel capacity is 18,500 lbs. and, with
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two external fuel tanks (EFTs) you will have another 8,000
lbs. for a total of 26,500 before engine start.
For your first flight I would recommend a clean jet,

without EFTs, but load the jet with full internal fuel.
To ground refuel the jet (GFR) first make sure the parking
brake is set. The brake set/release knob is right next to
your left knee. Then find the "IFR" switch on the right side
panel forward of the control stick. With electric power on
the jet, battery or APU, the jet will accept fuel until full.
Cut the power or release the brakes and the refuel stops
7 #1 fuel switch ON
8 APU start switch to START There is no need for a ground power cart to start the
Raptor's engines.
If the APU knob won't turn to START it is probably

because you did NOT turn one of the fuel shutoff valve
switches ON.
If the knob does turn leave it at the start position. This fires
the SES (Stored Energy System) compressed air system to
spin up the APU turbines to 50%.
When the APU spins up > 50% fuel is introduced and the
APU accelerates up to full operating speed. The knob is
spring-loaded and will reset itself to the RUN position.
Do not attempt to turn the knob from START to RUN on

your own with the mouse because you might overshoot the
RUN detent and turn the knob back to OFF by mistake,
shutting down the APU in the middle of the start process.
Let the little spring do its job, OK?
9 APU generator switch ON once Once the APU spins up and reaches 100% the left MFD
APU reaches full operating checklist item will change from APU start to APU ready.
speed
Now turn the APU generator switch ON and make that
flashing BATTERY ONLY warning message go away.
10 Press and hold #1 engine start Set and hold engine one start switch until N2 reaches 60%,
button until engine starts then release the switch. The white GEN1 text on the
Nav/Com panel turns red to tell you the #1 generator is
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OFF.
11 Turn #1 generator ON Turn the generator switch ON. As soon as you flip the
switch to ON the APU generator switch automatically flips
to OFF.
12 Repeat steps 7, 10 and 11 for

#2 engine
13 After both engines started close
the fuel switch guards to
protect the switches in-flight
14 Close canopy Call the ground crew to remove the ladder and wheel
chalks before you close the canopy.
If you forget and hit the canopy close switch anyway the
ground crew is alert to your nonsense and will snatch the
ladder away before you bang the canopy sill down on it.
It is a lot quieter in he cockpit with the canopy closed.
ECS ON & De-Ice ON Now that the canopy is closed turn ON the environmental
control system (ECS). This uses bleed air from the engines
to heat, cool and pressurized the cockpit. The switch is just
outboard of the throttles. While you're there take note of
the location of the anti-ice switch as well. You can turn
that on now too if you want. It won't hurt anything and
might even keep you out of trouble later on during you
flight.
Status of the ECS and Anti-Ice are displayed up on the

Nav/Com system status display.
Shutdown APU Turn the APU off/run/start switch to OFF. The green APU
RUN text on the Nav/Com display will turn to blue COOL
to indicate that the APU is cooling down. A timer will
display on the left MFD and start counting up seconds. The
APU will continue to run for ~ 45 seconds before shutting
down. Spin down will take about another 15-20 second
before the APU comes to a complete stop.
You can taxi the jet and even takeoff with the APU
running. You won't hurt anything; it's just not necessary.
Anyway, at > 300 knots the APU will shut down on it’s
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own.
It is a lot quieter in he cockpit with the APU off.
15 R2c plug-in ON
16 Turn Nav and Strobe lights ON Whit any type of jet fuel burning engine in operation on
the flight line guys (and gals) in the tower like to be kept
aware, so it is normal procedure to turn on some exterior
lights. They look out and see lights on a jet they know an
engine is running.
17 Turn IFF ON
18 Arm the ejection seat
19 Turn FCS Test switch ON Observe 45 second test routine, either on the right MFD
screen or from outside the jet
Turn test switch OFF when FCS routine complete
22 Close Weapons Bay Doors
Turn brake with stick (BWS)

plug-in ON —optional
23 Release brakes and increases
power to taxi.
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4.2 TAKEOFF
Raptors always launch with full internal fuel. Taxi out onto the active runway, lineup and set the
brakes.
When cleared for takeoff start the timer on the UFC, push both throttles forward just short of
engaging the afterburners, then release the brakes. Once the jet is rolling push the throttles all the
way forward to engage full afterburner on both engines and continue the takeoff.
Auto flap logic (optional) will lower the flaps to 60% if you start the takeoff roll with flaps up.
Auto flaps logic will then retract the flaps on schedule up to ~ 280 knots IAS where the flaps will
be fully retracted. Auto flaps will lower the flaps again on approach to landing. There is NO
flaps switch in the Raptor cockpit.
Auto gear logic (optional) will retract the gear for you automatically after takeoff and lower is
again on approach to landing. Gear down limit speed is 300 knots IAS if you decide to manage
the gear yourself. The auto logic won't lower the gear on approach until you descend below
2,000 ft AGL. Even with the auto logic turned ON you can retract the gear before 300 knots and
lower it above 2,000 ft AGL. The logic is there to back you up.
Takeoff rotation speed is NOT LESS than 120 knots IAS at sea level. Add 1 knot for every
thousand feet of airport altitude above sea level and 1 knot for every 5 degrees above 60 degrees
F. Therefore, a takeoff rotation from NAS Fallon (4,000 ft MSL) on a 75 deg F day would be
120 + 4 + 3 = 127 knots IAS.
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Rotate the Raptor's nose to 10 degrees above the horizon and wait for the jet to liftoff on its own.
Do not over rotate or jerk the jet into the air. Liftoff will occur ~ 15 knots after rotation if you
hold the pitch steady at 10 degrees nose up.
Confirm positive rate of climb with both of the following two methods; increasing positive
number on vertical velocity display and flight path marker remaining above the horizon line in
HUD or on backup display.
Note: on AOA Simulations aircraft models with Head Up Displays positive rate of climb
numbers always display above the altitude box in the HUD. Negative (decent) numbers always
display below the altitude box.
Once the jet lifts off climb to 100 ft and level off above the runway. Get the gear up right away
and accelerate to 400 knots. At the end of the runway pull the nose up to 60 degrees and climb to
30,000 ft.
At 30,000 ft roll the jet on its back, pull the nose down to the horizon and roll upright.
Accelerate to Mach 1.5 and pull the throttle out of afterburner. Keep pulling the throttles back to
maintain Mach one point five. You will be surprised how far you have to pull the power back to
keep the jet from continuing to accelerate. Raptor test pilots were very surprised in fact. They
couldn't believe how fast the jet was once they were actually flying the real jet and not the
simulator.
The performance and handling of this flight simulation model is based on those test pilot's
reports.
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4.3 FLIGHT BELOW 12K

Raptor's cruise at a variety of speeds and altitudes. Below 12,000 ft the jet is restricted to no
more than Mach 1.2.
Above 12,000 all the way up to 35,000 Mach 1.5 is the limit, while above 35 up to 50,000 the
limit is 1.8 Mach. Above 50K you can fly up to Mach 2.
No matter what altitude you fly at this jet is restricted by the manufacturer (Lockheed) and the
US Air Force to 800 knots Indicated Air Speed (IAS) at all altitudes, while the ejections seat is
limited to 600 knots for a safe ejection.
All these speed limits are observed by the autopilot in auto throttle mode. With the autopilot
disengaged you can fly as fast as you dare. In those cases though, the auto speed brakes and
afterburner logic will try to keep you within the limits.
Auto speed brakes will deploy if you exceed 800 knots IAS and the afterburners will cut out too
at that same speed. At > Mach 1.25 below 12,000 ft or > Mach 2.25 above 12,000 the
afterburners will cut out as well. You have to deactivate those specific protective logic systems
with their switches.
I tend to fly with just the autopilot auto throttle engaged, only occasionally engaging the other
autopilot modes. Optimum cruise is ~ .95 Mach at 40,000 ft MSL.
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4.4 FLIGHT ABOVE 50K

You have to be supersonic above 50K though and the jet is not very maneuverable up there. If
you plan to pull any G's engage the afterburners before you start pulling and plan to trade altitude
for airspeed after the first hard turn.
I've taken the jet up to 65,000 ft on many occasions but to get to there you will need full
afterburner all the time and accelerate to at least Mach 2 before leaving 50K for 65.
Those very high altitudes are more about approaching your adversary so high and fast they don't
have any way of reacting to you.
You're not there, then you're there, then you're gone. That's the Raptor way of fighting.
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4.4.1 MANEUVERING
The Raptor is very, very maneuverable thanks to its big wing, relatively low wing loading, lots of
power, large area flight controls, fly-by-wire flight control system, "relaxed" stability and finally, the
unique thrust vectoring engine exhaust nozzles.
The nozzles only work in pitch, and only in unison. They never move opposite each other to apply
rolling motion to the jet. According to test pilot reports the Raptor is still a very maneuverable jet
even apart from the thrust vectoring system.
Another unique addition to the Raptors bag of maneuvering tricks it its use of its leading edge flaps
for pitch control. The large leading edge flaps are pitched down while the horizontal stabilizers
appear frozen in place during extremely high pitch rate maneuvers. This creates generous amounts of
lift forward of the jet's center of gravity. This is sort of like the canard on a Euro-fighter Typhoon,
French Rafael or Swedish Gripper; only it is built into the flight control system and looks like a
conventional jet. It is not conventional. It just looks like it.
The jet is stressed for 9 + positive G's and minus 3 negative G's. The plus after the 9 means it can
pull more than nine.
The ability to put additional positive gravity forces on the jet is a function of airspeed and pitch rate.
At low speeds the jet relies on the thrust vector system to generate higher pitch rates than would be
possible with just aerodynamic flight controls, that is why the US Air Force specified the thrust
vectoring system for Raptor.
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At higher speeds the flight controls and, as mentioned above, the leading edge flaps come more into
play to generate the high pitch rates and the nozzles not so much. The two systems are blended
seamlessly into each other as the Raptor speed changes.
Pitch rate comes in two flavors. Instantaneous turn rate and sustained turn rate. The Raptor can
achieve an instantaneous rate of up to 30 degrees a second for about a second and a half (according to
flight test reports). Air-show demonstration videos show the Raptor turning at ~ 45 degrees in a very
short period of time, like a snap roll, only limited to the pitch axis.
Sometimes the Raptor shows off this capability with a pitch up from level flight into a sort of nose
high, belly to the wind, speed killing maneuver, thereafter climbing vertically on raw power only to
do it again a thousand or two thousand feet higher and end up on its back, very slow, almost
suspended in mid air. These max pitch rate maneuvers bleed off airspeed rapidly. Once on your back
the trick is to pull and hold the stick all the way back, pitching the jet another 180 degrees to put the
canopy up right again and the jet falling like a leaf, belly to the ground with almost no forward
airspeed. Stepping fully on the left or right rudder pedal while holding the nose on the horizon is one
of the most unique experiences you are going to have in the model.
Other times the Raptor is rolled 90 degrees before pulling the maximum pitch rate for 45 degrees of
turn before backing off to a sustained rate of ~ 20 to 30 degrees a second. Remember though, rapid
pitch rates bleed airspeed, fast, so have plenty of speed going into such maneuvers and plan to have
full power on the engines during such maneuvers.
The Raptor can sustain 9 G's for quite some time at lower altitudes and higher speeds using full AB;
what is known as the lower right corner of the performance chart.
Performance charts normally display altitude along the vertical axis from zero at the bottom up to x
altitude above sea level at the top, and airspeed along the bottom axis, from zero on the right to x the
left. For the Raptor such a chart, if it were available publicly might go from zero to 65,000 altitudes
along the left side and zero to 800 knots indicated air speed along the bottom. Raptors best turn rates
and highest sustained G capabilities are going to be below 20,000 ft altitude and at around 500 or
more knots IAS. Raptors turn rate and sustained G performance does not fall off at supersonic speed
like other jets. It gets even better at some altitudes thanks to the thrust vector nozzles.
In other corners of the performance chart the turn rates are quite different. At the upper right corner
where both speed and altitude are high the instantaneous rate is still quite good, thanks to thrust
vectoring but the sustained rate suffers due to the high speed bleed off rate and relatively lower thrust
available at high altitudes. At the upper left corner, low speed at high altitude everything suffers from
a lack of momentum. Your best course of action to stay in the game if you find yourself high and
slow is to apply full AB power to the engines and point the nose of the jet at the ground, trading
altitude for acceleration. Finally, in the lower left corner, low and slow, the Raptor has lots of power,
the thrust vectoring system and those large flight control surfaces. It maneuvers like a much smaller
and lighter jet because size doesn't really matter after all. What does matter is wing loading and thrust
to weight ratio.
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Here the Raptors power and large wing make it more than competitive with other fast jets, and the
flight control system allows you to point the nose of the jet just about anywhere you want and retain
full control for recovery.
Pulling G's produces a condensation cloud above the wings of the jet, as seen in the screen shot
above. You should also tighten your stomach muscles to assist your G-suite in preventing the blood
from rushing to you lower body, causing you to blackout. The FMOD sound package provides the
sound effects for both these events. Pretty cool.
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HIGH ANGLE OF ATTACK
The Raptor can achieve very high angles of attack but that is not the trick any more, lots of jets can
do that now. What the Raptor brings to the game is not just high AOA but absolute control and
immediate recovery from virtually any angle of attack situation you can put it in.
Nose high tail slides, back flips, falling leaf rudder turns, "cobra" maneuvers, rapid pitch ups
followed by just as rapidly pitching the nose back down again are all standard operating features of
Raptor air-show routines. Just watch any online video of the Raptor performing and you can do the
exact same maneuvers in this X-Plane model.
I designed a special display for the right MFD page 1 screen. It is visible when the jet's true air speed
is < 400 knots.
Three color-coded dynamic vector lines display the jet's nose position relative to the horizon (top
line), AOA (middle line) and flight path (lower line, velocity vector of your jet through the air).
The colors change to highlight the nature of each line. Basically, blue is sky, green is earth, yellow is
caution and red is danger.
The top line is blue if the jets nose is pointing up to the sky, green if it pointing down at the earth. It
never turns yellow or red because it just reports nose up or nose down.
The AOA line is neutral white from any negative AOA number up to plus 20 degrees AOA.
0 to 20 degrees AOA is the normal best performance range for the Raptor. The best low drag
acceleration, sustained pitch rate and turning performance are attained when AOA is between 0 and
20 degrees.
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Above 20 degrees the line turns red to signal you are in the high AOA flight regime.
Between 20 and 30 degrees the additional lift gained from higher AOA is overcome by the additional
drag of exposing more wing and fuselage surface area to the oncoming airflow.
Above 30 degrees AOA you are basically pointing the nose to show off or perform a particularly
spectacular maneuver like the "cobra" or falling leaf rudder turn.
The lower line is blue when your flight path is above the horizon, green when between 0 and -5
degrees (normal approach path slope), yellow between -5 and - 10 degrees (caution, steep approach
path) and red when less than -10 degrees (danger).
Numbers to the left of the lines are color matched to the lines themselves and report the degree angle
of each line.
Along the bottom of the display is an easy to read radar altitude display. This is useful when flying
the air-show standard nose high slow speed level pass low past a crowd of spectators.
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CHAPTER 5 - WEAPONS
The Raptor is a military fighter equipped primarily to dominate other fighters in air-to-air combat. It
has a secondary air to surface strike capability as well.
It carries all its offensive weapons internally in five weapon bays that use opening doors to allow the
weapons to fire or drop from the bay when used. The bay doors then close to reestablish the jets
stealth properties and clean exterior appearance.
The Raptor uses missile first then, if necessary, the internal gun to down its adversaries.
The first missile is the medium range (out to ~ 50 nm) AIM-120 radar guided missile. The Raptor
carries up to six of these exclusively in the belly weapons bays.
There are two side-by-side bays beneath the Raptor. A single bi-fold door covers each bay. The doors
open outboard exposing the entire width of the bay so the weapons, missiles or bombs can drop
cleanly down through the opening.
Maintaining 1 positive G on the aircraft during weapons launch is important, so that the relative
position of the jet stays fixed and the weapons can fall free without contacting any part of the jet on
the way out of the bay.
If six radar guided missiles are not enough to down all your targets at medium range then the
remaining two infrared guided AIM-9X short range missiles will have to do.
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These are carried in dedicated missile bays outboard of the engine air intakes. The missiles, one per
bay are attached to launch rails that extend to place the missile partly outside the fuselage for launch.
This enables the missiles seeker to acquire the target before launch.
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The final air-to-air option available to Raptor pilots is the M61 20 mm rotary cannon. It is fed from a
500 round magazine box that spans the width of the center fuselage. The gun fires through an open
door above the right fuselage just aft and inboard of the right wings leading edge. The door opens
when you select the gun mode and closes if you select another weapon mode, like missiles or bombs.
A known issue with the gun in X-Plane is that it continues to fire tracers even after the gun has run
out of ammunition. Oh well.
The last weapon mode in our Raptor is the GBU-32 1000-pound GPS guided bomb. One bomb
replaces the two inboard AIM-120 missiles in each belly weapons bay in the F-22_A2G.acf version
of our model.
Though not a weapon, one version of our Raptor model (F-22_EFT.acf) is equipped with two large
(600 gallon/4,000 lbs.) external fuel tanks. These have come to be known as "EFTs" in the some
circles. WT#! Everything has to be an acronym these days.
These external fuel tanks give you an additional 8,000 lbs. of fuel to burn, extending your range and
endurance and limiting your need for in-flight refueling. Combined they add about 45 minutes to an
hour to your time at cruise.
There are some limitations though when carrying EFT. They add weight and drag that causes your
cruise fuel burn to go up, decreasing your range slightly while adding to it, if you can get your head
around that concept. You are also limited to 7.5 G's whenever the tanks are attached to the jet, even
when they are empty, so keep that in mind if you want to fly an EFT equipped jet into combat.
Unlike earlier jets the pylons stay attached to the tanks when the tanks are jettisoned so regain a
stealthy jet once they are gone. That's different. Take a look at the next screen shot to see what I
mean.
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I have written special code to display a dedicated G meter in the upper right corner of the right
cockpit MFD when tanks are installed, and logic code to automatically ditch the tanks if you exceed
7.5 G's So, if you are flying along in an EFT equipped jet and start to horse around, then find out
later your tanks are gone you will know what happen. You exceeded the 7.5 G limit.
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5.1 HOW TO CONFIGURE YOUR CONTROLS TO USE OUR

WEAPONS SYSTEM IN THE SIM
To use the weapons system designed into this model you will need at least a joystick. A throttle
control is not strictly necessary but it would give you more configuration options.
You need to program a four-way hat switch or 2 two-position toggle switches to cycle through the
five available weapon modes. If you have flown one of our AOA Simulations F-35's or our T-7A
Red Hawk model then you already have everything set up. You can skip the rest of the following
section.
Those available modes are:
1. 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.
2. Gun mode
3. Target Track (TRG TRK) mode
4. Missile (A2A) mode
5. Bomb (A2G) mode
Program the hat switch to select the "next" weapon [up] the list by clicking to the right.
"Previous" weapon on the list [down] by clicking to the left on the hat switch.
You could also use one two-position toggle switch instead of a four-way hat switch.
You also MUST program the up and down axis on the same hat switch to select "next" target [up]
and "previous" target [down] or, again, use a two-position toggle switch to perform the necessary
functions.
That's it. You are set to use our weapons system. Just make sure you are in the dynamic 3D cockpit
mode instead of the static 2D cockpit mode. Everything else is automatic once you select a weapon
and target and AI plane.
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FIGURE 1. WEAPONS MODES AND DISPLAY SYMBOLS
Right MFD HUD Unselected TARGET #1 Selected TARGET #2-8 Selected

Weapons lower Target (AI #1 must always be
Mode right tanker)
HUD/3D MFD HUD/3D MFD

view view
NAV
(SA)
Bay doors
GUN CLOSED GUN
(Gun port
open) WHITE
circle with
pointer
TRG TRK TRG

TRK
AIM-120D Bay MISSIL

doors E/120D-
OPEN 6 MRM
BOMB A2G Unchanged from missile mode display
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5.2 GUN MODE
Selecting Gun Mode opens the door above the right wing root to clear the gun to fire. The door stays
open as long as you are in gun mode and closes when you select another mode.
In gun mode the pilot camera will lock on to the AI plane (target_id_1, 2, etc) when you select target
next or target previous, place a red diamond near it (with X if target_1 tanker) and follow it while
you maneuver your jet to fly toward that AI plane.
Distance to the target AI plane is displayed on the Radar Situation display (right MFD page 2) at any
range to the target and also in the HUD once you close with 10 nm.
In the upper left corner of the Radar Situation display is your Target's true air speed for comparison
to your true air speed, which is now displayed in the HUD instead of IAS.
If you are faster than your target the rate of over take speed is displayed as a red positive number
below your own TAS. You'll have to slow down or risk over shooting your target and become a
target for you opponent.
If you are slower than your target a yellow negative number is displayed. You will have to speed up
to catch your target.
Within two nautical miles of your target a gun-aiming cue called a "funnel" will appear in the HUD
and replace the green diamond (red IF tanker, do not shot your tanker!). At 2 nm you will be able to
see the target AI plane without the aid of the diamonds.
The funnel adapts to your aircraft's pitch, yaw and roll movements to show you where your bullets
will hit if you pull the trigger on your control stick.
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Fly the funnel over your target and close to ~ 1 mile before letting fly with the gun.
You have 500 rounds of ammunition on board, which is pretty generous. I use about 50 rounds to
down an opponent, sometime less. I have a good eye and, I practice.
5.3 TARGET TRACK MODE

The next weapons system mode doesn't involve a weapon. No doors open on the exterior of the jet so
it remains stealthy. I use this mode to locate and track, one by one any of the AI planes I've loaded in
the simulator by cycling up (next target) or down (previous target) with the hat switch. This is the
safest way to develop your situational awareness without accidentally firing a weapon at an
unintended target. As you select each target its icon changes shape and color on the right MFD page
2 Radar Situation display. In the HUD a green square jumps from one target to the next so you build
an awareness of where everyone is in the airspace around you. Target altitude is displayed at the
upper right corner of the radar sit display. Target range is displayed at the lower right corner of the
radar sit display. Target Track mode places a green square over or very near the targeted AI plane
that helps you locate that target and close to fly in formation with it, or avoid it all together. Target
Track is the preferred mode for locating and running down AI planes to steal their fuel via our close
formation In-Flight Refueling method. I explain all that in the Refueling section.
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5.4 MISSILE (A2A) MODE

Missile mode works similarly to Target Track, only now the diamonds are back instead of squares
and the weapons bay doors are open so the armed missiles are ready to launch with the pull of the
trigger.
The first missiles to launch will be the 6 x AIM-120 radar guided missiles. These can fly out and
tickle targets up to 50 nm away, more if you are lucky.
The last two missiles to launch will be the shorter-range AIM-9X heat seeking missiles. Wait until
your target is within 20 nm to launch one of these.
X-Plane will load up to 19 AI planes in the simulator in addition to your Raptor. I have written the
code to allow you to track up to 10 AI planes so, if #1 is your friendly tanker the other 9 AI plane can
all be targets for your 8 air-to-air missiles and the gun.
If you run out of missile you can re-arm the jet in mid air by clicking on SK L5 of the right MFD.
AI planes hit by a missile explode and burn while they spiraling in.
When they finally hit the ground another AI plane, using the exact same target ID number appears in
the sky somewhere else. You will see the target track diamond snap to the new location if you
remained locked on your prior victim. You will never run out of air-to-air targets.
5.5 BOMB (A2G) MODE

X-Plane doesn't offer an easy way to target GPS bombs.
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There is a simulator command to "GPS_lock_here", which I use in conjunction with the release of
the GPS bombs but the method of actually determining the exact location of "here" is not easy or
reliable.
X-Plane is not a "combat" simulator so I have not put much effort into developing workarounds for
targeting bombs and instead focused on developing other more enjoyable areas of the model.
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5.5.1 CHAFF and FLARES
Chaff and flares are launched from fully enclosed internal bays just like the other weapons
carried by the jet. When the cockpit control is used to launch chaff or flares the door pop open
just long enough for the "expendables" to launch then they close up again automatically.
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5.6 REFUELING
Like all our previous fast jet fighters this Raptor model can be quickly ground refueled (GFR),
refueled in-flight via our "virtual" in-flight refueling method or the more involved "IFR from any AI"
aircraft type you choose to load in the simulator as your preferred tanker.
5.6.1 GROUND REFUELING (GFR)
Ground refueling usually takes place before engines are started.
With the battery switch ON you can see how much fuel is on the jet by looking at the blue fuel status
bar along the right side of the backup display.
With the parking brake set, flip the IFR switch up and ground refueling starts.
"GFR" appears flashing on the backup display.
Refueling stops when the jet is full.
5.6.2 "VIRTUAL" in-flight refueling
Our "virtual" method of in-flight refueling is the simplest method imaginable. Simply level the jet at
either 20,000 or 30,000 feet MSL, slow to 300 knots IAS and open the IFR door with the cockpit
switch.
You can refuel on autopilot if you like or fly the jet by hand. If you choose to hand fly there is a
fairly broad envelope that is pretty easy to stay within.
Target altitude + / - 1,000 ft
Zero rate of climb or descent + / - 1,000 fpm.
300 Knots indicated + / - 20 knots (280 to 320)
“RECEIVING” will flash in the HUD while fuel is flowing to your jet.
“FULL INT” will display in the HUD when internal tanks are full.
If you have external fuel tanks, they may continue to fill after "FULL INT" is displayed until
they too are full. Monitor external fuel tanks quantity on the right MFD, page 1 or bottom MFD
page 2.
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5.6.3 In-Flight Refueling from AI planes
The most challenging method of in-flight refueling in this model is to steal fuel from AI planes that
you have loaded in the simulator.
Chasing them down and flying close formation behind them is made relatively easy by selecting the
weapons system Target Track mode.
I describe how to set up your model and use Target Track in the last section (WEAPONS), so if you
skipped that sections because your are a committed pacifist then go back there and just read the
Target Track paragraphs.
With Target Track you can see AI planes from far way and fly an intercept course to close in and
form up in close formation with them.
Monitor your closure rate and altitude differences on the right MFD Radar Situation display.
I recommend making the first AI plane you load in the simulator a suitable tanker for Raptor in-flight
refueling. A boom equipped KC-10A or any commercial airliner. It doesn't have to have a boom to
work with out jet. Any commercial airliner will do.
AI plane #1 is the only target AI plane you can refuel from. Make any "enemy" AI planes targets 2 or
greater.
I never use the default Special Start "Re-Fuel Boom" situations in X-Plane, not since developing
these many varied and flexible IFR techniques way back in 2014 for our F-35B Lightning II model.
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Our F-35A and T-7A Red Hawk models work the same way too.
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CHAPTER 6 - ABNORMAL PROCEDURES
6.1 IN-FLIGHT ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND RESTART
6.1.1 Overview
An extensive effort was applied to developing and perfecting an in-flight single engine and double
engine shut down and restart procedure for this Raptor model.
An automated checklist is built into the left MFD page 1 display that detects if one or both engines
have shut down and guides you through the resetting of cockpit switches and starting the APU in
preparation for restarting the engine(s).
Either engine can be shut down at any speed or altitude by moving its fuel switch to OFF, though I
recommend 300 knots indicated air speed and at least 10,000 AGL for your first attempt.
I also recommend putting the jet on autopilot, with heading and vertical speed hold modes set and a
descent rate of at least 2,000 fpm to maintain airspeed during the few minutes it may take you the
first time to run through the checklist and get the engines restarted. You will get faster with practice.
That is what this simulator is for. Practice, practice and more practice.
6.1.2 R2c plug-in logic with in-flight engine shutdown
Turn OFF the R2c plug-in if you have it on when you prepare to shut down the first engine. You will
need to pan the pilot camera down to the fuel shut off switches and R2c will limit your pilot camera
movement if it is enabled. If you use a programmed keyboard or HOTAS switch to cycle the fuel
switches then the moment you shut down the first engine in-flight the R2c plug-in will automatically
by disabled until both engines are running again. Then you will have to push in the R2c button on the
UFC panel to engage the system again.
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6.2 AUTO GCAS FLIGHT TEST
6.2.1 Overview
The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System or Auto GCAS is software originally
developed for the F-16 and adapted for the Raptor and F-35 Lightning. It monitors a whole
bunch of parameters and estimates IF and WHEN the jet will impact the ground IF you do
nothing to prevent that from happening. Basically, it waits for you to act and if you don't it first
warns you of the approaching danger and then, if you still don't act it takes over and recovers the
jet for you.
There are a lot of variables and much time and effort were devoted to ensuring there were not too
many false alarms so pilots would develop high confidence in the system and not want to turn it
off because the system was a nuisance.
Two things will prevent the system from saving your butt.
1. The descent rate has to be greater than minus 18,000 fpm. A "normal" descent rate in a
fighter is 6,000 to 12,000 fpm so 18,000 fpm is a safe bet that you are not paying close
attention or you are pushing the envelope and my need something to back you up in case
you get distracted at the wrong moment.
2. There can be no pitch pressure on the stick (> -.02 and < .020) so, basically, the stick has
to be close to neutral. If you are putting any pressure on the stick it tells the airplane
you're in control so don't interfere with what you are already doing.
6.2.2 Test the system to build confidence
1. First, verify that the GCAS system is ON by checking for a green GCAS in the bottom
left corner of the NAV/COM systems monitor.
2. Climb to 30,000 ft and accelerate to 95 Mach.
3. Pull the power back to ~ 50% and roll the jet on its back.
4. Pull the nose down to ~ 60 degrees below the horizon, release the stick and pull the
throttle to idle.
Now you are descending rapidly, upside down, waiting for the jet to get down to an altitude
where it starts to think maybe you're not paying attention.
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When the jet starts to get nervous green arrows will appeared from the sides of the HUD
converging to the center of the display. A count down number will also appear estimating
seconds until ground impact if you or the jet does not do something to prevent it. All this takes
place below 12,000 ft AGL so the terrain elevation below the jet plays a roll in what pressure
altitude you will start to see things happen. In other words, there is no set pressure altitude where
the jet will recover. Everything is based off of radar altitude.
One extreme that will trigger an automatic recovery right away as soon as you hit 12,000 ft AGL
is if your descent rate exceeds 84,000 fpm. That's ~ 1,400 feet per second or 8.57 second from
ground impact. You'll have to be going > 800 knots straight down to achieve that rate but if you
manage it 8 seconds is barely enough time to complete a pull out.
When an automatic recovery does happen, the jet is violently rolled canopy side up (if you were
upside down at the moment the recovery was triggered) and just has violently pulled nose up to
the horizon. Don't worry about the jets ability to handle the strain. Any excessive G forces
imposed on the jet as a result of the auto recovery process are bound to be less than a high-speed
impact with the ground. Note that, if you are flying the EFT model you are going to loose the
tanks sometime during the recovery and or pullout. They can only take 7.5 G's.
When the nose nears the horizon GCAS turns the jet over to the standard autopilot, which will
fly it at 400 knots IAS and 1,500 ft AGL in terrain following (TF) mode until you take over.
Tapping the pitch trim button on your stick (assuming you have one programmed) will
disconnect the autopilot and you can climb back up to altitude and have another go at testing the
GCAS system, searching for it’s weak points. I challenge you will find any. I've tested the
system literally "to death" many times.
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6.3 APPROACH AND LANDING
6.3.1 Overview
Test pilot describe the Raptor as one of the easiest fast jet fighters to land. "Like landing a Cessna"
said Lockheed test pilot Jon Beasley after his first flight in Raptor 001 back in 1997.
The main landing gear has a wide stance compared to the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Viper. Those jets can
feel quite "tipsy" if there is any cross wind while landing. Not the F-22 Raptor.
The jet is flown at a steady 12 degrees angle of attack on approach, varying its airspeed to
compensate for carrying more or less fuel back from a mission.
Normal minimum fuel when arriving back at base is 4,000 lbs.
The Raptor's fuel jettison system automatically stops dumping fuel when it gets down to that amount.
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 reached.
At 50 to 55,000 lbs. landing weight the Raptor's approach speed is ~155 to 160 knots IAS.
From a distance of several miles out from touchdown you can place the round velocity vector ball, or
as they call it in the Raptor, the Flight Path Marker (FPM) right on the spot you want the main
landing gear to touch down, hold the nose up so that your AOA is right around 12 degrees and
maintain whatever speed is required to keep the other two parameters on their marks by adding or
reducing power.
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Reduced power over the runway approach end threshold numbers, AOA is maintained at 12 degrees
and touch down on the mains happens at around 140 to 145 knots.
6.3.2 Approach Power Compensation Mode
The Raptor's autopilot auto throttle has an APC mode that determines the best approach speed for the
jet's current weight and maintains that speed with the auto throttle down to 100 ft AGL.
To hand fly an APC approach turn the autopilot ON (but NOT the SRVO actuators), set the airspeed
hold to 200 knots and press the SPD button IN. Above 1,000 ft AGL auto throttle will maintain 200
knots.
Descending through 1,000 ft AGL on final approach the autopilot logic will automatically switch
from auto throttle Speed Hold to APC mode. The jet will slow to the new speed and APC will hold
that speed down to 100 ft AGL, then disconnect automatically so you can finish the landing by hand.
I was taught to always rest my hand on the throttles during an approach so be prepared to take over
the throttles manually when the 100 ft disconnect happens because you may need to add or reduce
power at that moment.
If you decide to go around before descending below 100 ft AGL APC mode will maintain the best
approach speed until you climb back up through 1,000 ft AGL, then switch to Speed Hold mode
again and fly you at 200 knots IAS around the pattern for another approach.
On touch down speed brakes automatically deploy and the jet's nose should be held off the runway
until you slow to 100 knots, then low the nose wheel to the runway and apply wheel brakes as
required.
Speed brakes automatically closed at < 50 knots.
Taxi at 30 knots or less.
R2c plug-in "taxi look" works below 30 knots.
A nose wheel steering ON / OFF toggle switch is located on the 3D controls stick, right thumb button
in case you need to disable nose wheel steering due to a hardware conflict.
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TECHNICAL SUPPORT
CREDITS
• Flight Model, Scripting, Documentation & Project Management: David Austin (AOA
Simulations)
• 3D/2D Visuals & Animations: Fabrice Kauffmann (AOA Simulations)
• FMOD Sounds: Mike Maars (SimAccoustics)
• Beta Testing: Steve DeBauche, Drew Bolton (BelGeode)
A QUESTION ABOUT THE F-22A?

Please write to aoa.simulations@gmail.com or visit our support forum:
https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/forum/386-aoa-simulations
We will monitor it regularly and respond as quickly as we can. Also please look at our FAQ to
see if your question has already been answered.
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6-90 Version 1.0

APPENDIX 1 - GLOSSARY
AB Afterburner Afterburner adds 50% more engine thrust when
selected. Doubles fuel burn rate though
ADF Automatic Direction Finder Non-directional radio navigation beacon
AGL Above Ground Level Altitude above terrain directly below the jet at the
moment displayed
AOA Angle of Attack Angle between aircraft nose and aircraft actual
flight path vector line through the air
AP Auto Pilot Autopilot ON for autothrottle purposes only, no
flight control servo actuators
APC Approach Power Adaptive autopilot mode used to maintain best
Compensation approach airspeed for current aircraft weight
APU Auxiliary Power Unit Small jet engine provides electricity and bleed air
before main engine start
ATC Air Traffic Control
ATH Auto Throttle Autopilot speed hold mode
BWS Brake With Stick Optional AOA Simulation plugin controls wheel
brakes with control stick fore and aft movement
CLS Closure Rate Displays at the upper left corner of right MFD,
page 2 radar Situation display
DH Decision Height Displays in the Autopilot Terrain Following
window
ECS Environmental Control System Cockpit heating, air conditioning and
pressurization
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EFT External Fuel Tank Raptor can carry two, one under each wing
FCS Flight Control System System of computers and code that connects pilot
and autopilot commands to flight controls
FLA Flaps Automatic Automatic flap control logic
FPM Flight Path Marker Small floating ball in HUD and on backup display
that show actual flight path vector line
FPM Feet Per Minute Measure of climb or descent rate
GCAS Ground Collision Avoidance Software logic that performs calculations in
System background to monitor threat of ground collision
GFR Ground Re Fuel Flashes at the top end above the backup display
fuel bar when ground refueling
GPS Global Positioning System Satellite based navigation system
GS Glide Slope Autopilot vertical navigation function
HDG Heading Magnetic bearing, autopilot mode used to hold a
specific heading
HSI Horizontal Situation Display Overhead view of navigation situation
HMD Head Mounted Display Like a HUD only displayed on the pilot's helmet
visor
HOTAS Hands On Throttle And Stick System of control buttons on throttle and stick
handles
HUD Heads Up Display Vertical glass plate in front of the pilot with flight
and other data displayed on it
IAS Indicated Air Speed As displayed in HUD, uncorrected for altitude and
temperature
IFF Identification Friend or Foe Military version of civilian transponder
IFR In Flight Refueling Refuel the jet in the air without landing
ILS Instrument Landing System Method of flying precise landing approach on
instruments without outside visual references
JETT Jettison Flashes at lower end of backup display fuel bar
when dumping fuel
LGA Landing Gear Automatic Automatic landing gear operation logic
LOC Localizer Autopilot horizontal navigation function
MFD Multi Function Display Raptor uses 1990's Cathode Ray Tube cockpit
display technology, before LCD tech came along
MSL Mean Sea Level Altitude above sea level, averaged between high
and low tides
OAT Outside Air Temperature Displays in Fahrenheit or Celsius
OBS Omni Bearing Selector Knob use to align HSI station point with bear to or
from selected station on display
QRA Quick Reaction Alert UFC button to quick start the APU, set cockpit
switches and then start both engine simultaneously
R2c Roll to see Optional AOA Simulation plugin pilot camera
control logic
6-92 Version 1.0

SFC Specific Fuel Consumption Amount of fuel burned in pounds per pound of
thrust produced over one hour
SK Soft Key Touch buttons around the periphery of multi
function displays used to access functions
SPD Speed Autopilot mode used to maintain a specific
indicated airspeed or Mach airspeed
SRVO Servo actuators Servo actuators move the flight control according
to signals from the autopilot
TACAN Tactical Air Navigation Military version of civilian VOR station
TAS True Air Speed Airspeed corrected for altitude and temperature
TE Terrain Elevation Altitude above sea level of terrain surface directly
below the jet at the moment displayed
TF Terrain Following Autopilot mode that commands the jet to fly at a
certain altitude AGL
TOLD Take Off Landing Data Performance chart data to correct for altitude and
temperature variations
TRK Target Track Radar lock on AI airplane
UFC Up Front Control autopilot and quick access interface panel
VOR Variable Omni Range Civilian directional navigation station transmits
bearing signal and range information out to aircraft
VS Vertical Speed Autopilot mode for holding fixed rate of climb or
descent
VV Vertical Velocity Rate of climb or descent in feet per minute
WOW Weight On Wheels Displays in Brake/Parking Brake window when
the jet is on the ground
6-93 Version 1.0

6-94 Version 1.0

F-22A Flight Manual 1.0

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F-22A Flight Manual 1.0

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VERSION 1.

1-2 Version 1.0

1-3 Version 1.0

3.1 HUD ............................................................................................................................ 3-23

1-4 Version 1.0

3.4.1 SOFT KEYS ........................................................................................................ 3-38

1-5 Version 1.0

CHAPTER 6 - ABNORMAL PROCEDURES ............................................................. 6-85

1-6 Version 1.0

1.1 WHAT IS THE F-22A RAPTOR AND WHAT CAN IT DO?

1-7 Version 1.0

By comparison, a commercial high-bypass ratio engine's extra-large fan pushes 5 to 6 times as

1-8 Version 1.0

1-9 Version 1.0

• Locate the Aircraft folder inside your X-Plane installation folder.

• Create a new AOA Simulations folder inside the Aircraft folder.

1.3 SIMULATOR SETUP

1-10 Version 1.0

We also recommend the installation of the AviTab plugin:

1.4 HOTAS SETUP

1-11 Version 1.0

CHAPTER 2 - COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

2-12 Version 1.0

2.1 HUD [1]

2.2 HELMET MOUNTED DISPLAY (NOT SHOWN)

2.3 MASTER WARNING AND MASTER CAUTION LIGHTS [2]

2.4 NAV/COM [3]

2.5 UP FRONT CONTROL [4]

2.6 BACKUP DISPLAY [5]

2.7 MULTI FUNCTION DISPLAYS [6-9]

2-13 Version 1.0

2.8.1 ELECTRICAL PANEL

2-14 Version 1.0

2.8.2 Flight Control System test

2.8.3 Fuel Shutoff Switches

2-15 Version 1.0

2.8.4 Fuel dump Button

2.8.5 Auto Systems Logic Switches

2-16 Version 1.0

2.8.7 Landing Gear

2-17 Version 1.0

2.8.8 Speed Brakes

2.8.9 Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System

2-18 Version 1.0

2.8.10 APU START panel

2.8.11 Engine Start switch panel

2-19 Version 1.0

2.8.13 Brake with Stick

2-20 Version 1.0

2.8.14 DOORS & HELMET Panel

2-21 Version 1.0

2-22 Version 1.0

CHAPTER 3 - DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS

3-23 Version 1.0

Engine throttle % is shown on the bottom left when > 50%.

ATH is displayed below throttle % when Auto Throttle is engaged.

3-24 Version 1.0

3.2 UP FRONT CONTROL

3.2.1 Buttons, animated or static?

3-25 Version 1.0

3.2.2 Navigation Source Select

3.2.3 Quick Access Buttons

3.2.4 ATC (Air Traffic Control)