F-117A

User Guide
Version 1

September 3, 2022
1 End User License Agreement
This manual is for flight simulation use only. Do not attempt to use any part
for real flight operations.

This software is an artistic representation of the subject matter.

Aerial Simulations does not endorse, nor in turn, is endorsed by the

manufacturer(s) of the depicted subject matter.

This software and manual, including any and all components and content,
© 2022 Aerial Simulations All Rights Reserved.

No replication, reduction, reverse engineering or unauthorized addition to

the software, either in whole or in part, is permitted in any form without the
express written permission of Aerial Simulation.

Using this product in any simulator other than MS Flight Simulator 2020
is strictly forbidden and constitutes a breach of the EULA.

By installing this software, you are hereby agreeing to the above terms and
conditions. Any breach of the above EULA will result in litigation, removal of
license and/or forfeiture of continued support.

Any inquiries regarding commercial, military or academic use of this pro-

gram should be directed via e-mail to [email protected]. Product
support is provided by Aerial Simulations via Discord.

https://discord.gg/fkwpKpqfGy1

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https://discord.gg/fkwpKpqfGy

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Contents
1 End User License Agreement 1

2 Introduction 3

3 Product Features 4

4 How To 5
4.1 Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.3 Things to remember while flying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.4 TACAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.5 ILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.6 RCS Enhancers and Beacon Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.7 Autopilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.8 Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.9 APU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.10 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.11 Radar Locator System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.12 Radar Cross Section Monitoring System . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.13 Glare Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.14 Drag Chute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.15 Canopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.16 Bomb Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.17 Payload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.18 Ground Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5 Support 24

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2 Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Aerial Simulations F-117A! In this manual you
will be able to find out about some of the quirks and features of the simulation
of this iconic aircraft.

I recommend you have a quick read-through as there are some extra steps
involved in making sure the aircraft does what you expected it to do. If you
have any other questions, bug reports, or suggestions, head over to our dis-
cord.

https://discord.gg/fkwpKpqfGy2

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https://discord.gg/fkwpKpqfGy

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3 Product Features
In this section you will find an overview of the features currently included in
the product that are on top of what default aircraft include.

• High Resolution PBR textures and material inside and out

• Detailed animations both inside and out including:

– Blow-in doors
– Aerial refuelling door
– Canopy
– Glare shields
– Bomb bay doors, trapeze and payload
– APU doors
– Tailhook
– Parachute
– Antenna
– Chocks and ladder

• Radar Cross Section monitoring (RCS) system

• Fully adjustable cockpit lighting

• Custom flight model based on F-117A flight manual charts. High ap-
proach speeds, high AOA departures, and normal flight envelope all
simulated

• Accurate fuel system

• Simulated effect of antenna positions on communication equipment

• Custom Mach Hold simulation

• Custom Drag Chute simulation

• Fully implemented icing system

• Hidedable RCS enhancers and beacon lights

• Easy to use paint system, only single file needed to make most F-117A
paint schemes, with 9 already included (PC Only)

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4 How To
In this section you will find all the tips and tricks you need to use all the
features of this aircraft.

4.1 Startup
Startup can be completed using the in game checklists, but if you are strug-
gling to find switches you can use this guide instead.

1. Turn on the Battery

2. Optionally, turn on the External power

3. Start the APU

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4. Engage the right starter, then at 10% core rpm move the throttle to idle

5. Repeat for the left engine

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4.2 Parking Brake
The real F-117A does not have a parking brake, it is just chocked when parking.
For convenience I have made the Emergency brake button a parking brake in
the simulation.

If it is green, the brake is on.

If no light is visible, then it is off.

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4.3 Things to remember while flying
The most important thing to remember while flying this aircraft is to keep
your speed up. It flies much more stable and is less likely to depart and enter
a spin if your speed is over 250KIAS. You should also remember these other
things while in various stages of flight.

Takeoff:
• Before takeoff trim nose down 1 unit to help compensate for the pitching
moment that occurs when you raise the aircraft’s landing gear.
• During takeoff don’t lift your nose till 140KIAS. At 140KIAS lift your nose
to 5 degrees and the aircraft will lift off by 160KIAS.
Climb:
• Best climb rate is 340KIAS or 0.74Mach
Decent:
• Descend at 250KIAS and plan for 2 miles travelled for every 1000 feet
you need to descend.
Approach:
• Approach at between 160-190KIAS depending on weight. Try and aim
for an AoA of 8 degrees. At 9.5 degrees you will lose pitch authority
so be sure not to slow too much. It is much safer to keep your speed
slightly high.
Landing:
• Touch down at your approach speed and lower the nose as soon as
possible. Aero braking is not effective in the F-117. Once the nose is on
the ground deploy the drag chute and brake in order to slow down.
High AOA and load factors:
• When pulling fully aft on the stick the aircraft will command 6G’s and
when pushing forward it will command -2G.
• Max positive AoA is 13 degrees and the aircraft will try and limit you to
this. But it is possible to get higher than this. Past 16 degrees AoA the
aircraft is at risk of departing and flipping into a flat spin.
• There is no negative AoA limit but avoid anything past -5 degrees. At
high negative Angles of Attack the aircraft can lose pitch authority and
get stuck pitching down.

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4.4 TACAN
The TACAN system will only display direction and distance information on
the HSI and steering information on the ADI. No information will display on
the HUD or MFDs. To use the TACAN system you must do the following:

1. Tune the TACAN frequency on the TACAN panel on the right console of
the cockpit

2. Extend the antennas

3. Make sure the HSI mode select switch is set to TCN

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4.5 ILS
The ILS will display localiser and glide slope information on the HSI and ADI,
To get glide slope information the landing gear must be extended as the
antenna is on the front gear bay door. The ILS system is similar in function to
the TACAN system and similar steps must be taken.

1. Tune the ILS frequency on the ILS panel on the right console of the
cockpit
2. Extend the ILS antennas

3. Make sure the HSI mode select switch is set to ILS

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4.6 RCS Enhancers and Beacon Lights
To hide the RCS enhancers and beacon lights, which is how the aircraft is
configured when going into combat, pull the bottom left most breaker on the
right side of the cockpit

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4.7 Autopilot
The Autopilot Modes included are Altitude hold, Mach hold, HDG hold and
DEST/NAV hold. This section will explain the usage of each mode.

For any of the Autopilot modes to function, the Autopilot master must be set
to "Engage".

Altitude hold can be turned via the Alt/off/Mach 3 position switch on the
autopilot panel. When moved to "Alt", the autopilot will set the capture altitude
to the altitude the aircraft is currently at. This is best done while flying level.
If your climb rate is +-1000fpm or more, the aircraft may pitch sharply up or
down and go into a flat spin.

Mach hold is the Autopilot pitch hold mode, when engaged the aircraft will
hold your current Mach via changing the pitch of the aircraft. Best rate of
climb is at Mach 0.74.

To engage HDG or DEST/NAV hold modes, the NAV master switch on the
autopilot panel needs to be turned on.

To follow a flight plan in the simulator, the DEST/NAV hold mode should
be used. When engaged the sim will try and go to the waypoint selected on
the HSI in the MFD. If you are familiar with the autopilot in the default F/A-18E
it functions the same way. To make it follow your flight plan, you need to
activate "Auto" mode in the MFD on the HSI page.

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HDG hold is much more simple, when first pushed the HDG bug will be set to
your current heading and the mode will be activated. You can then turn by
moving the heading bug on the main HSI or on the Auxiliary Navigation panel

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4.8 Lighting
The exterior and interior lighting panels can be found on the left wall of the
cockpit. The top two interior lighting knobs are not visible from the pilot’s
view but the knobs can still be turned if moused over.

There are also lighting controls on the side of the UFC and on the CDU.

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4.9 APU
The Auxiliary Power Unit has a few quirks that might not be obvious to some-
one unfamiliar with the F-117.

• It will only generate power if the AUX GEN switch on the left side of the
APU panel is on

• If turned off a APU OFF annunciation will appear on the annunciator

panel on the lower right hand side of the front panel. To remove this
the APU fuel valve needs to be closed, this can be done by using the
guarded switch on the APU panel, or by pushing the APU FUEL CUTOFF
switch light on the right hand glare shield.

• The APU only draws fuel from the right feed tank, so if it is left on for a
long time a fuel imbalance will occur between the right and left sides of
the aircraft. This can be fixed with the fuel crossfeed switch on the fuel
panel, which will turn off the pumps on the side fuel is being transferred
to.

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4.10 Fuel
When changing the level of fuel using the payload manager the tanks fill in
pairs, they then move the fuel to the correct tanks. This can take a minute to
occur so CG will change a bit after changing the fuel level. In most circum-
stances this won’t matter as the fuel will be in the right places by the time the
aircraft is in the air.

4.11 Radar Locator System

This section will explain the Radar Locator System switches and their function.

If the antenna switch is moved to ’Extend’, the RLS will extend regardless of
the power switch position.

If the antenna switch is in ’Auto’, the RLS will extend if power is on, and
retract if power is off.

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4.12 Radar Cross Section Monitoring System
On the Master Test panel on the left cockpit wall there is a switch label RCS
MON. When this is on, lights on the left glare shield will come on if the blow
in doors are open, any antenna is out or the RLS is out.

4.13 Glare Shields

Both the left and right Glare shields are moveable, but only when the cockpit
is more the 37% open. If left up when closing the canopy, they will be crushed
down underneath it. The clickspots for them are the entire length of the bar
below them.

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4.14 Drag Chute
To activate the Drag chute pull the large lever on the front left panel. It can be
reset by clicking it again. Its effectiveness is affected by throttle percent and
aircraft weight.

4.15 Canopy
To move the canopy it first needs to be unlocked. Do this by moving the lever
on the right side of the cockpit.

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Next use the switch on the right wall labelled "Canopy" to move it. Hold
the switch in the direction you want the canopy to go.

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4.16 Bomb Bay
The bomb bay doors can be opened in two ways.

To open both at the same time you need to use the ’GND CONT DR" switch
located on the Master Test panel. It is hidden from the pilot’s point of view
so you will have to move your camera to access it.

Under the cover is a 3 position switch, "Close" "Off" and "Open". Move the
switch to the desired position.

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The other method of opening the bomb bay doors is by using the selec-
tor on the Armament panel at the front of the cockpit. This selector can only
open 1 door at once.

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4.17 Payload
In the marketplace version of the aircraft you can equip travel pods in the
bomb bays. This is done by putting more than 200lbs of weight in the payload
station you want the pods to appear

You can also jettison the payload using the jettison select on the Armament
panel. First rotate the bomb bay select dial to the selected store then push
the jettison button. This will remove the payload and weight.

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4.18 Ground Equipment
When on the ground it is possible to make chocks and a ladder appear, and
also make the pilot disappear. To do this follow these steps:

Chocks:

• To make the chocks appear the aircraft needs to have the engines off
and the parking brake on.

Ladder:

• For the ladder to appear the aircraft needs to have the engines off,
parking brake on, and the canopy open more than 90%.

Pilot:

• The pilot will hide if the aircraft’s engines are off, parking brake is on
and the battery is off. To make the pilot appear in a C&D cockpit, the
battery needs to be turned on.

5 Support
The quickest way to receive any product support would be to go to the Aerial
Simulations discord at https://discord.gg/fkwpKpqfGy3 . Otherwise email
[email protected] but support may be a bit slower as this mailbox
is not checked often.

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https://discord.gg/fkwpKpqfGy

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