DCS World Steam Edition F-18 Quick Guide [WIP]

Disclaimer

 
This guide is meant to be a quick start guide if you’ve just purchased the module and just want to hop in, get in the air and practice shooting down some planes or throwing some ordinance at ground targets. 
I wholeheartedly recommend to learn the specifics about flight in general, taxi etiquette and so on to play effectively in multiplayer and also have more fun by being more “Immersed” in the game. 
It’s also highly recommended to get a HOTAS joystick and some form of TrackIR if you plan on playing the game for a long time (which by purchasing a 80€ module you probably do). 
 
Anyways, this is already getting way too long, so lets skip to the meat of the guide. 
 
 

Startup

 
Since the Hornet is basically a flying Macbook Air (Pun intended) the startup is pretty easy. 
 
The Controls you’re gonna need are: 
Throttle (Left) – IDLE / Default RAlt + Home 
Throttle (Right) – IDLE / Default RShift + Home 
Canopy – OPEN/CLOSE / Ctrl + C 
 
First we’re gonna start up the Battery and APU (Auxilliary Power Unit) 
 
The Battery Switch is by your right knee, switch it to “ON”. 
 
 
The APU switch is by the throttle, switch it to “ON” and wait for the light to turn Green. 
 
 
After the light turns Green, we’re gonna “Crank” the Engine, basically giving it a spool so it can start properly. 
 
It is recommended to Crank the Right Engine first, as this powers a lot of electrical systems in the plane. 
So Right Click the engine Crank switch right behind the APU and wait for the Engine RPM (IFEI Display) of the right Engine to hit at least 10% to ignite the fuel in the engine. 
 
 
After this we can use the Throttle (Right) – IDLE control to put the Throttle to idle and start the Engine. 
Now wait until the Crank switch flips itself to off and then repeat this for the Left Engine. 
Dont worry about the “Flight Controls” and “Roll Left” Warnings, these are normal on startup. 
 
Now that both of the Engines are Started, let’s close the Canopy to dampen the sound a bit, do this by using the Canopy – OPEN/CLOSE control. 
 
Now we need to enable all the screens and the HUD, do this by right Clicking the Button above the Left MFD (1) and the Right MFD (2) twice to turn them to “Day”, then Left click and Drag the HUD Brightness Knob (3) all the way up, and do the same to the button above the Bottom MFD (4). 
 
 
Now Right click the RADAR knob on your right until it goes to “OPR”. 
Then Right Click the INS Knob next to the RADAR knob to GND (CV if you’re on a Carrier) and then press the STD HDG button on the bottom MFD, you can move the stick out of the way by either using your stick controls or pressing on the base of it to hide it. 
 
 
 
While we wait for this to align, press and hold the FCS Reset button on your left for at least a a second and then press and hold the T/O Trim Button for at least one second too, note that this is the button on top, not the white part at the bottom. 
 
 
Right Click the Flap switch Twice to put it to AUTO then left click once to put it to half. 
 
 
Now Click the ALR-67 Power button to turn on the Radar Warning Receiver 
 
 
Then go back to the INS Knob and turn it to NAV once the Bottom MFD says “Qual: 0.6 or 0.5 OK”. 
 
 
Lastly, arm the Ejection Seat by using the big yellow handle by your Right Knee. 
 
 
 

Taxi and Takeoff (Airfield)

 
Controls Needed: 
Thrust / Basically the Throttle 
Rudder / Left and Right Movement 
Roll / Rolling the airplane Left and Right 
Pitch / Pitching the Airplane up and down 
Undesignate/Nose Wheel Steer Switch / Used for Nose Wheel Steering 
Wheel Brake ON/OFF / Used for Braking 
Landing Gear Control Handle – UP/DOWN / Used for the Gear 
 
Firstly, check the F10 map to see how you should taxi on the Airport you’ve spawned at. 
 
Now click the Emergency/Parking Brake handle next to your left Knee to release the parking brake. 
 
 
Then slowly increase the throttle (Not more than 50%) to start taxiing and release it again once the plane starts to move, then use the throttle as needed to keep taxiing. 
If you dont see the NWS on your HUD, then use the “Undesignate / Nose Wheel Steer Switch” control to turn it on, then use the Rudder Controls to turn left and right while taxiing. 
 
 
If you start going too fast, dont shy away from using the wheel brake to slow down a little. 
Once you get to the runway, stop just before going onto it and use the F10 map once again to check if there are any planes incoming for a landing, taking off or Taxiing onto/off of the runway. 
 
Once you’ve cleared the area, taxi onto the runway and line yourself up along the middle of it (dashed line). 
 
 
Once you’re lined up, push the throttle all the way forward and wait until the plane starts to lift itself off the ground (This happens at around 150 knots if no armament is loaded) and then pull the stick back slightly to take off. 
 
Next pull up your gear by using the Landing Gear Control Handle – UP/DOWN control and then set your Flaps to Auto using the switch mentioned in the startup part of the guide. 
 

This is all for DCS World Steam Edition F-18 Quick Guide [WIP] hope you enjoy the post. If you believe we forget or we should update the post please let us know via comment, we will try our best to fix how fast is possible! Have a great day!