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From: tohall@mars.lerc.nasa.gov (Dave Hall (Sverdrup))
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: F-117A performance?
Message-ID: <1991Feb13.032433.27305@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 13 Feb 91 03:24:33 GMT
References: <1991Jan23.043709.7563@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb4.065635.21784@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb5.043703.6484@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb7.021146.4777@cbnews.att.com>
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From: tohall@mars.lerc.nasa.gov (Dave Hall (Sverdrup))
A followup to this message:

| The F-18 is also designed with an inherent pitch instability.  This allows
|  it to pitch up rather quickly, while the computer gives the plane the 
|  illusion of great stability.  F-18 drivers often comment on how they love
|  to fly it because it "basically flies itself", the pilot just needs to
|  point where he wants to go.

    Back in 86 or 87 I worked on an F/A-18 flight test airplane at 
NWC/China Lake. It was either a late development prototype or an
early production model that had been "donated" for weapons system integration
work. It had a unique toggle switch on the control panel labeled "SPIN
RECOVERY". I was told that the software for the flight control computer 
still had a few bugs in it during the early days. Throwing this switch would 
supposedly tell the computer to enter a "safe" mode, applying some sort of
spin recovery control sequence. Later birds supposedly did not need this 
switch. 
      Any body out there know if this switch still exists in fleet-deployed
Hornets? Just curious. E-mail answers and I will post a summary. Our 
esteemed moderator sure is busting his tail these days, eh?