DCS: F/A-18C Hornet

DCS: F/A-18C Hornet
N/A
Metacritic
94
Steam
85.648
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$55.99
Release date
1 June 2018
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
94 (805 votes)

The Hornet is a true multi-role fighter that can switch from attacking surface targets to engaging air targets with the press of a button.

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DCS: F/A-18C Hornet system requirements

Minimum system requirements (LOW graphics settings):
OS 64-bit Windows 7/8/10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i3 at 2.8GHz; RAM: 8 GB (32 GB for multiplayer); Free hard disk space: 60 GB; Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 / ATI R9 280X DirectX11); requires internet activation.

Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
411950
Fullgame appid
223750
Platforms
Windows PC
Popularity
Reviews
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colttitsworth
colttitsworth

In the DCS World Hornet i have much fun and a good experience almost every time,but i have some recommendations for the creator. If you can manage to build a F/A-18 F Super hornet as a 20$ add on for the Hornet and have a AI W S O and a Operational multiplayer feature for the W S O I can tell you that this will increase sales for the hornet and it's "add on".

Overal the DCS hornet is very fun and looks very clean and nice.
(If you buy the Hornet,Buy the Be The Maverick bundle .Its cheaper in the long run)

PharaohSteve
PharaohSteve

A must have, beautifully modeled and with the diverse loadout options you can enjoy both air to air and air to ground combat.

◥◣ Artik ◢◤
◥◣ Artik ◢◤

This is the gold standard for finished modules in DCS, if you dont know which plane to buy or dont have a preference get this one. its a relatively modern fly by wire jet with access to most of the munitions on the blufor side. it can tackle any role you give it plus you get to land on aircraft carriers. as an added bonus this thing gets a lot of other dlc missions made for it if thats your thing.

Downside is that its ugly. L

MrPeaBrain2558
MrPeaBrain2558

This thing is a beast to fly. The learning curve is quite hard, but as of now, 25-30hrs i the jet, I can comfortably use all of the systems. This thing is really fast, and has a lot of loitering time. You get carrier ops which are fun, but difficult, a crazy amount of air to air, and a ton of air to ground. 11/10

oooGHOSTFACEooo
oooGHOSTFACEooo

If you decide to learn the aircraft to its full potential like myself, its complicated at first. But once you get used to the aircraft and learn its systems, radar, etc; the F18 can do it all and do it well. I wasted well over 200 hours on this aircraft alone and I don't regret it.

I cannot recommend this vehicle enough. If you are looking for a aircraft which can fly deep into enemy territory and drop some GBU's then using 120's for A/A use, buy this.

SpaceWolf854
SpaceWolf854

I threw my arms up and cheered on my first successful carrier landing. I love the hornet in carrier ops its great stuff!

ornge on head
ornge on head

this was my first module for dcs, and at the start i thought it was way to much. I started flying in it more and i still sucked at the game but slowly got better in flying and i found out wat a fun plane this is to fly. I find this a very good start module and would definitely recommend it!

TayDex
TayDex

Probaly the perfect first jet in DCS, you can do air to air, air to ground, land based and carrier based operations.

Crusty Sock
Crusty Sock

Makes me want to bomb a hospital in the Middle East

Pain
Pain

Original Top Gun was better BUT:
Okay, I started my DCS career with Tomcat because I was a huge Top Gun fan. So I have always been a little bit angry with Hornet because it replaced my dear Tomcat in real life. After watching a few videos I was like "wow, this aircraft looks amazing, the capabilities of a Viper (which was my second module that was way better than my favorite plane in case of pure performance.) in a naval plane, and I'm a naval guy so I need it! And this becomes my 3rd full fidelity module and I've to say it is my favorite now. I still can't believe this was possible but Hornet took the Tomcat's place in my heart. If you are like me, a naval guy, or you want to get into DCS, Viper is probably better to start with but if you are up to a challenge, Hornet is your plane guys trust me.
Oh by the way, check Operation Cerberus North, my favorite campaign so far.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1941332/DCS_FA18C_Operation_Cerberus…

kano donn
kano donn

DCS base game is nothing without this package.

With this plane, Everything is interactable, I can map everything I could image. I can try to shoot at enemies and I can get blown out of the sky by anything.

I love it.

alienparty
alienparty

It turns into a beyblade in low speeds so you can change the outcome of a dogfight faster than people changing genders these days oh and i guess its a really good multi role fighter but who uses an f-18 for air to ground combat when you can have the brrrrrrrt instead. Overall the plane turns!

GuestOfTheRat
GuestOfTheRat

This module got me back into flight sims after a long hiatus. In my youth I messed with Jane's F/A-18, Falcon 3 and 4, etc. Never got excited about LOMAC and moved on to other genres.

in 2020 I saw a sale, and since I already had FC3 I figured I'd pick up the Hornet since it's multirole. I'd give DCS one last shot in earnest and see if I could be bothered to learn how to use it. Well, it worked. I can't get away from this thing.

People that get frustrated with the learning curve - don't try to eat the elephant in one go. Carve out some nice juicy steaks. Keep at it and you'll be rewarded with a very worthwhile experience.

Day One: Go find Chuck's Guide and download it. Look around the internet for some good keybinding advice and get the basics on your HOTAS. Then do a cold start and take off from land with 3 bags, light the burner, head to 30,000 and start learning how to access the HSI, set waypoints, set a course line on a waypoint, etc. Screw around for a few minutes, burn up that fuel, and do a straight in landing. Then arm up with some dumb bombs and try to blow something up.

Day Two: Get online. Your prereqs are basically get on your chosen training server's Discord, download and set up SRS, read the server rules, and hop on. Just keep your mouth shut and fumble around on the first try, strap on some rockets and blow the crap out of some nasty mean evil parked vehicles. Then find some air targets and make the sidewinders do their thing. Uh-oh day two is running several hours by now. Just keep doing basic sorties. The whole time you've been getting familiarized by doing cold starts, taxiing, taking off, forgetting to hit Master Arm, and having runway excursions on landing.

Day Three: By now you're probably thinking "man I want to check these GBUs and Mavericks out." Sweet. You've already figured out half a dozen good youtube channels and spent hours watching them so you have the info at your fingertips. Strap on a targeting pod and try to find your target.

At this point you're just adding layers of new stuff on top of your base of knowledge. Rinse and repeat the process for every weapon system. You're used to hearing comms online so it's time to start participating. After all, you're ready to start doing embarrassing impressions of overhead break landing patterns to get you a feel of how it will go on the boat. It's no fun to make a decent base turn and have some joker lining up on your runway, so communication goes a long way.

Now go plunk down your money and have some simulated fun. At full price your entertainment dollars per hour spend will be less than drinking cheap beer. Good luck!

Sir Maudey
Sir Maudey

The best multi-role-fighter in the game right now.

Gopher_Pulverizer39
Gopher_Pulverizer39

Air Superiority? CAS? SEAD? You want it? It's yours, my friend, as long as you have enough free time

Velvet Mark
Velvet Mark

Great multirole module. Definitely worth the price. Hours of fun to be had. There is lots to master with the F-18, and it provides lots of clear training missions to show you how to master it.

Multirole
Air to Air, Air to Ground, plus Carrier ops, it really does it all. It doesn’t really have any weaknesses and it’s a very fun ride learning the thing.

Steam Vs Standalone
Like all DCS modules - get it on sale on steam, and import the licences to the Eagle Dynamics standalone and you can have it on both platforms. Playing on the standalone allows you to try all modules for free for two weeks. This refreshes every 6 months. They also do free weekend deals Eagle Dynamics too, so you can try modules and maps before you buy. You just need to make an account there.

Flight Model
The Hornet was my first full fidelity plane, and I think it’s the easiest and most forgiving “sim” level plane I’ve flown. It’s almost Ace Combat simple in its flight model. The fly by wire system does it all for you. You don’t need to trim it in normal flight, just trim it to get the right Angle of Attack when landing, so you aren’t fighting the controls at all. Which is good, as you have plenty of other things to be doing whilst flying! It has strong landing gear too so it’s very newbie friendly, just slam it down and park up, then you are free to crack open the bourbon and cards. Carrier landings are very fun to practice too, as you get “graded” on the quality of the approach and landing, It becomes quite addictive not only trying to land efficiently but then trying to get the better grades.

Combat
It can hold its own in a dogfight, but its pretty unforgiving if you get into a low energy state when you are fighting something on its level or above, as it takes some time to get back up to max performance. So knowing when to cash in that energy is the real skill. Its a game of chess with the Hornet. Same with beyond visual range – get high and fast enough and it will shoot everything down, but it takes time. Ground attack is brilliant, Lasers, GPS, SEAD. Is a very stable platform for all that good stuff.

Is Flaming Cliffs 3 is easier?
I got this after playing Flaming Cliffs 3, but I’d argue its easier to learn this than the FC3 planes. The buttons in your cockpit are like the buttons in your car. You don’t use them all of the time, but when you learn where they are when you do use them. Much more intuitive than learning FC3 keyboard hotkeys. Plus It follows a similar lay out to other US modules. The F-18 tutorials are much more interactive.

Other Modules
I do have a few other modules which expands the F-18. Not needed but they do add to it and I’m glad I got them. I’m only on 80hrs on Steam but I think I’m on 500hrs on the standalone. The price I’ve paid per hour has been great value for me.

*The Supercarrier module adds nicer carrier models and ground crew to the carrier and a few missions.I love it. It looks cool taking off with the Hornet. Both the US and USSR carriers get more detailed models. You get the SU-33 with supercarrier too due the better Kuznetsov boat model. I already had that with FC3 but it's my favourite plane from that module. If you get it on sale it’s the same price as four UK pints in the pub/two months Netflix etc and the models are great. I’ve done a review of the supercarrier and included a couple of side by side comparison pics.

*The extra maps are awesome to get too, Persian Gulf, Syria, Nevada. But the default map is very cool though. The extra maps aren't needed really.

*I own two F-18 campaigns, both are great and worth sticking on your steam wish list.
-"Raven One" is fantastic. Immersive missions and story. Check out the book its based on too, really gets you in the mood for the F-18 (audio book is currently available for free is you have a Prime a/c via Audible)
-"Rising Squall" Is top notch too. Ace Combat/Over G Anime style music and radio chatter, with bite sized, action focused missions that can be done in a 30 mins sitting. Really fun and newbie friendly.

TLDR
F-18 is a great multirole aircraft, which is simple to fly and easy to use. It has loads of weapon systems for every mission type. Can land on a carrier. It has fantastic trainer missions. Looking for a first module? Get this.

ꑭ༱ SPΞCΓЯΞ ༱ꑭ
ꑭ༱ SPΞCΓЯΞ ༱ꑭ

best combat flight sim to date. watched hours of youtube tutorials not realizing that the payware aircraft have integrated training missions. definitely worth it i spent 16 hours in one day already, learning most of the systems of the F/A-18C hornet and learned how to carrier takeoff. this SIMULATOR is immersive AF 5 stars. only free title im willing to spend some money on......

PS LAlt+C

nanopeen
nanopeen

A fun easy to fly multi-role jet with lots of buttons to be pushed

RodgerDash
RodgerDash

Top 10 best flight sim plane of all time. Top 3 even. #ProveMeWrong

genomoto
genomoto

Unable to get game to start. It states there is a problem with DCS program and shuts down every time.

Ajdoronto
Ajdoronto

At first I was torn between the f/a-18 and the f-16, but after only 10 hours in the Hornet, it's safe to say, that I made the right call, and this beast is the perfect first module for someone with the craving for some clicky-click advanced aircraft.

It's very noob friendly, the amount of tutorials, tips and manuals online for this bird makes learning a lot easier than one might think. The fly-by-wire system makes it almost impossible for me to crash during tight maneuvers at low speeds. The Hornet is also crazy capable in dogfights, you can pull an 180 turn in no time, lock the poor bastard with your helmet sight, yeet the aim-9X and forget about whatever you were fighting, cause it's just a flaming ball at this point.

And if you ever get bored of watching your radar and utilizing the amazing aim-120s, you can switch to the air-ground mode with a single push of a button and hunt some poor trucks on the ground, bomb some civilian military targets or just teach the SAMs to be humble and not fucking lock on you.

I say wait for some discount (if there are any), or just straight up sell your soul for this beauty. And you even get a god damn aircraft carrier to crash on.

Russian Titanic
Russian Titanic

Haha 20mm go boom
Haha Aim 9x sidewinder pulls 50G's of high off Bore sight
Haha I shot 152 Zuni rocket at a russian Ural
Big burners light up C/V

Northgate
Northgate

Absolutely amazing, a module that needs hundred of hours to handle it well, ridiculously detailed, you'll not regret the price you have to pay.

heshamtiba63
heshamtiba63

no control in missions like gear , flaps etc.......
so disappointed and spending time for nothing.
thanks a lot for paying money for nothing.

Autism
Autism

If you want to buy one plane and one plane only buy the F-18, I legit can do everything and it does pretty much everything well. Its not too difficult to learn, i first suggest you spend a few hours flying unloaded before learning the combat systems and loadouts

Phelpy
Phelpy

BLUF: The DCS F-18 is by far the airplane I recommend for aspiring DCS pilots to purchase! It is easy to use, rugged, versatile, and carrier capable!

Ease of use: The F-18 is easy to use, but will require a little study from the uninitiated. As a broad DCS generalization, I would recommend beginning your familiarization with startup, taxi and takeoff, followed by individual systems/skills as you get more comfortable (radar, flir, BFM, BVR, A/G, carrier stuff etc.) Although this airplane does have many systems, ultimately it is a fly by wire machine with beefy landing gear which will forgive new pilots lack of experience (unlike the MiG-21 for example). That being said, the more you learn, the more you will realize how much potential this jet has.

Capabilities: This module is an extremely versatile aircraft. It is very good at BFM, air to ground and ASW. It is good at BVR, but is slightly outclassed by the F-16, F-14 and JF-17 in terms of pure employment range. As mentioned above, it can operate from aircraft carriers which adds a whole other element to the game, especially when paired with the super carrier module. It is easier to land on the ship than the F-14 in my opinion (but I also am no good with DLC). It can also tank, as long as the tanker has a basket. Lastly, it has a helmet mounted queuing system, which makes target acquisition much easier for both air to air and air to ground. Long story short, this plane can do pretty much every mission possible in DCS with the exception of hovering like a helicopter.

Campaign: The default campaign wasn't particularly inspiring, but it does give you an opportunity to practice some of your F-18 skills. There are a number of campaign DLCs that I have not tried but that look interesting.

Other thoughts:
- The F-16 fires the same missile with more energy (aka further). For me though, the Navy thing is a big plus.
- This airplane is great for online play because of the SA display, helmet mounted queuing system and radar
- Use stored heading alignment to save yourself some startup time!
- If trying to choose which to buy first, this or the F-14, I would recommend the F-18. The F-14 is an outstanding module, but its systems are older and require jester (which I consider to be a massive pain in the ass). The F-18 is also significantly easier to fly, but does have less gas, is significantly slower, and has shorter range missiles (at least the F-14 missiles are easy to notch).

This is a great module and I would 100% buy it again!

Atom
Atom

One of my best fighters , keep it up and fly

JZP
JZP

Something "Naval guy" is looking for. Good aircraft overall.

Tudhalyas
Tudhalyas

I will keep it short and sweet since so many other people have highlighted the pros and cons of this module already. It's not easy (like the rest of DCS) and it will require you hundreds of hours to master it, but if you love military aviation like me, buying it is a no brainer. it is essentially the original Hornet simulation, period.

It can do a bit of everything pretty well so I highly recommend it as a candidate for your first DCS module.

The only thing I must make you aware of is: it's not a lightweight game. Those high hardware requirements you see are not a joke, so don't expect to run this on a "standard" laptop or an entry-level desktop.

See you in the sky!

3SG | Jerry H.
3SG | Jerry H.

very gud module, this is my second high-fad plane, very clear instructions on how to operate the thing and if u still can't manage to learn it through the in game tutorials, go ahead and search how to online, I recommend Grim Reaper's vids for tutorials. Overall this plane is almost one-to-one with it's real world counterpart and Eagle Dynamics really did a great job on making this plane.

samuraisoul151
samuraisoul151

THIS F*CKING HORNET IS SO DIFFICULT TO LEARN!!!

However,

THIS F*CKING HORNET IS TOTALLY FUN TO PLAY WITH!!! (When you master how to fly and be able to adjust to the aircraft...)

Full Review:
F/A-18 has a very complex system that you supposed to understand through everything around yourself inside the cockpit. This mod is no like other since this is (probably almost) full simulation of how to drive the F/A-18 with full explanation. Sadly, the explanation in this game is still subtle, so professional training for professional player(s) is totally recommended. However, in my case, my computer is a small gaming computer, so my experience is rather small and not full over unlike people who have consoles, joysticks, and etc. My big downside is that I cannot get to experience full of the aircraft, but the upside is I can use limited experience to full extent. Another one of my dream has come true since I can fly the hornet, finally.

CalMan76
CalMan76

Very nice aircraft. So many different roles to have in one fighter. Overall amazing.

Rayheat
Rayheat

VEHICLE IS CUTE, GOOD FOR AIRSHOWS.
GET MANY GAYBOY AT NIGHTCLUB LIKE MIATA

AWFUL COMBAT AIRPLANE
RADAR SLEW AS FAST AS GRANDMA
AIRPLANE AS FAST AS GRANDPA'S LADA
AWFUL TOMCAT ERGONOMICS
HAS SO LITTLE FUEL THAT IT IS MANDATORY TO CARRY 3 FUEL TANKS
FORCED TO RELY ON AI ROBOT DEMON DATALINKS TO SURVIVE WHICH IS WIRED DIRECTLY INTO MODERNA PFIZER HMD
SINFUL DISPLAY OF WESTERN DECADENCE, COCKPIT TOO BIG, MEANT TO FIT MORBIDLY OBESE AMERICAN.

SAD! US NAVY NEVER REACH GLORY OF PLANAF, HAVE TO COPE WITH AIRLINER TURNED FIGHTER JET.
ONLY US 3RD GEN TO BE SHOT DOWN (BY SUPERIOR MIG 25)
DO NOT LISTEN TO FANBOY, CLAIM ANGLE OF ATTACK MORE IMPORTANT THAN RANGE AND ACTUAL FIREPOWER.
GREAT SHAME TO ANCESTOR!

The_Krusty_Kraut
The_Krusty_Kraut

Amazing module, lots of content and easy to fly thanks to fly-by-wire. Honestly not that bad of a beginner module, especially one wanting to dip their toes in 4th gen birds. ED has done a masterful job with this module, and its worth the price + the hundreds of hours of fun you'll put in.

Stan Búrak
Stan Búrak

One of the best, if not the best, DCS modules. A true multirole (strikes, air combat, SEAD etc.) that operates from a carrier. Essentially allows you to do every mission that is possible in this game.

beirutfloyd
beirutfloyd

Easy to fly but complex to manage. Hours and hours of tutorial videos are required to handle it. But if you want to pop a missile onto a parked car from 50 miles away, this is your baby.

Traden
Traden

If you want high fidelity combat flight sim then get this ASAP.

dfisla
dfisla

IMHO this is currently the best plane in DCS, I fly the Viper as well for A2A combat, however as a multi-role fighter with naval ops (with supercarrier) this plane is an absolute joy to fly in VR.

MrBurnz90
MrBurnz90

Started playing DSC 2 weeks ago and Im hooked.. The F/A 18 is a fun plane to fly and learn and will have you busy for hours learning its multiple systems! I highly recommend the 18

Fixit
Fixit

After 5 hours in the hornet, I should give my review. Let me set the scene;

There you are, sitting on the carrier deck, the hum of the jet's engines, whirring as you taxi to the catapult. You lower the launch bar, and move the throttle to full power, racing off the catapult into the air.

This, is the F/A-18C Hornet in a nutshell. The feeling of flying a real aircraft is there, the switches are there, the difficulty is there...

Let's begin with the visuals of the Hornet.

I've seen the exteriors of hornets in real life, and trust me when I say, it's almost a 1:1 replica of it. Seeing this supersonic aircraft rip past you from the external view at Mach 1, it's just transfixing. The cockpit, is as accurate as can be. This isn't a Superhornet, so you don't get the digital touch screen on the UFC, but what you do have, is quite marvelous. Every switch does something, every function, minus a couple, are modelled to extreme detail, and care. The lights of the displays, the glow of the HUD, if you're a fan of the hornet, this should be enough to sell you on it.

And it sounds even better. The engine sounds are incredibly accurate to real life. Once again, I've experienced the sound of a hornet's engines in real life, and I can swear, they are as loud as they are in game. These sound exactly like the real thing. As for the cockpit internal sounds, the clicking of switches, the beeping of the RWR, the hum of sidewinders, it's all incredibly convincing, and lines up with real world footage. As for the weapons, it's something else. The BRRRRT of the M61 Vulcan sounds amazing. Hearing a missile ignite and race off the rails, watching your rocket barrage slam into the ground, it's incredible.

Now for the more technical aspects...

How does she fly?

She flies well. The high alpha of the hornet, combined with it's fly by wire system, make it a breeze to fly. It's instruments are nice as well, giving you a good amount of situational awareness. She handles extremely well in a dogfight, too. Take the AIM-9Xs, and the HMD, and dogfights become a breeze. It's quite literally a point and click adventure game. Look at the target you want to shoot, click the cage button, and fire. The missile will do it's thing. In a guns only fight, she performs as well too. With a generally good stall speed, and even better low speed maneuvering, sustained turn rate, g-tolerance, etc, you can easily out dogfight most things in the game, with the exception of one or two aircraft (The Mirage comes to mind).

Weapons systems are another deal entirely. The workflow of this aircraft is extremely convenient, with three displays, a UFC, radar altimeter, RWR, HMD, etc, this thing is a joy to work from. It works as both a good air superiority machine, as well as a good multi-role strike fighter (mind it's top speed, of course). The radar set is very easy to work with, and the IFF systems being some of the easiest to use.

The are issues, mind you. While the hornet has great BVR missiles, their performance is lackluster, and not quite accurate to real life. ED is apparently aware of this, and is working to fix it. Some things aren't modelled, though those are coming (the module is still in early access). The carrier it comes with isn't populated, though that might not be an issue for you, if you don't care about deck crews all that much.

All in all, while it does have some issues, the Hornet is a great starting point into DCS. It's got good capabilities in all aspects of play, though I do find myself gravitating more towards Air to Air combat than Multi-role. The hornet is one of the slower super-sonic capable aircraft, it's older brother beating it out by a substantial margin, but that comes with a better weapons load, enhanced maneuverability, fly by wire, and no backseater to abandon you like my father figure. I recommend it. It's absolute heresy for anyone who owns a HOTAS to not own this module.

Lima
Lima

Most complete DLC.
Look up, put your foe in the circle, bypass the G, win the Dogfight.

Lego Max Rebo
Lego Max Rebo

The warnings that youre about to crash or that someone has fired a missile at you are quite accurate.

Zep_I_F
Zep_I_F

i wish they added the super hornet

High Roller
High Roller

Probably the greatest DCS module ever, and will likely stay that way for a very long time. You can literally do ANYTHING with the Hornet, and you get a ton of high tech knick knacks to play around with. I hope one day ED or someone makes a Rhino.

yurka_hunter
yurka_hunter

Amazing aircraft for people who like complexity, but sometimes don't and just want to have fun and relax

EsoTheProto
EsoTheProto

This is the best multi-role aircraft. There is no debate. It's fun. Do note, if you want a starting plane I'd recommend something else this one is definitely not for brand new players.

soop
soop

this jet is very fun to fly with many fun missions. the controls are hard to get down, but once you do get them down it is the easiest and funnest jet to fly.

Majid al Haasein saddam
Majid al Haase…

very good module and pretty easy to learn. would reccomend this as your first module as its a very capable plane.

Ropalcz
Ropalcz

Relatively slow (compared to F-16), versatile, absolutely idiotproof handling charcteristics.

My fav plane for SEAD.

10/10

The-Real-Slim-Shifty
The-Real-Slim-Shifty

DLC F/A-18C Hornet 2022.01.02

-couldn´t change controls
-controls didn´t work (most of them)
-was stuck with Arcade controls and couldn´t change it even after I reseted everything (and no I don´t turned it on in the main Menu)
-it was just a pain in the A** to control things with the Mice especially where you could turn multible things on or off with one switch, so a few Switches where "broken" cos I could turn them on or off but couldn´t change its state after that.

All in all the bugs with the controls made it unplayable for me.

D22
D22

Short off AIM-120 AMRAAM for this F18 make it difficult sucess in misson..AIM-7 sparrow is outdated..

chrigi_zh
chrigi_zh

Highly detailed module, an amazing experience!

True multirole + naval aviation, there is so much to do with this aircraft. If you look for a module to start with, take this one.

Source: Trust me bro

Anonymous
Anonymous

its really good plane it easy to fly and good to fly

true_duke123
true_duke123

good starter jet if you want to get into the more modern planes. pretty advanced systems tho

вадим
вадим

The F/A-18C Hornet is a must have for your DCS hanger! It is one of the easiest planes to learn and fly for anyone who is just getting into the sim world, and the seasoned pro himself. You can do anything from Air-to-air, Air-to-ground, carrier landings, or just airshow tricks. All in all, this is a must have and cannot go wrong paying full price or on sale.

fuzzybloodpc
fuzzybloodpc

At the time of this review its 892.11 MB

mingcnx45
mingcnx45

pretty gud, you can land on carriers, and aerial refuel. Aircraft can bomb, kill fighters. Overall, recommended pretty easy to fly.

Ol' Pappy
Ol' Pappy

I've had the Hornet since it came out. I had to buy it because I worked on it for years. The question I am going to answer: Is it worth it and is it for beginners?

Yes, definitely worth it. The C model represented was my baby for a number of years and is very realistic. Nothing's ever perfect and they are still tweaking it, but there are very few haters out there, there are no better sims of it anywhere.
It's multi-role, so you'll be getting something you can dogfight and move mud with. It's easy to get into, probably the easiest plane to fly in DCS. Seriously. A lot easier than WW2 prop jobs or Helicopters, which are an abomination against nature (but I do love my Huey). Its not the easiest to fight. Just like the real one. There is a low skill floor, dropping dumb bombs is easy. But there is soooo many different types of ordnance, radar modes, targeting pods, etc that this will keep you busy pushing your skills for a long time. Throw in air to air refueling in there for kicks. I'm not even done learning it, but I do have a day job. I fly it in VR (Oculus rift S) so I keep a number of different settings, a few for VR and a few for my head tracker. By the time you think you're a hotshot, try carrier operations. You don't have to buy Supercarrier to do so. You will be humbled, but by the time you can handle carrier ops, there will be no going back to land bases. Anybody can land on a 10,000 foot runway, but can you catch that 3 wire at night? It's not the King of dogfights, I rank it at about # 3.

In short, this thing is easy to get into but can challenge you for a long time. It is flexible, can move a lot of mud with a lot of interesting weapons - some that can only be carried by the Hornet, probably the most selection of any aircraft in DCS, including the A-10. It can handle air to air OK and can perform carrier ops or land ops.

As with any DCS plane, you need a good stick and throttle. Forget air to air refueling if your throttle sucks.

trn3r
trn3r

I have the Hornet model for more than a year now, I played it a lot, and accordingly this review is not a quick shot and I own many other DCS models. Unfortunately I must say I am not pleased with the quality of this DCS module. Foremost there are so many annoying, major bugs in the Hornet module right now. Just to name a few:

- Sometimes FLIR FOV button doesn't work with the ATFLIR pod, no matter if HOTAS button or keyboard, POD camera would quickly zoom in and few milliseconds later immediately zoom out again, which means I cannot zoom in at all. Only way to fix this is to restart the mission and pray it would work then.

- HMD ground target designation: once you have picked a target on ground, undesignate button should undesignate so you can reselect a new ground target ... often that simply does not work no matter how often you press the undesignate button, as a workaround I have to DMS right several times than DMS up and hopefully I can finally undesignate current ground target to finally be able to pick a new target with HMD.

- Auto Pilot: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I fly level, no pitch or bank, no speed change and sometimes CPLD cannot be activated, sometimes BALT cannot be activated, sometimes they activate 30 SECONDS after pressing the UFC button!

- Weight on wheels: if it was a real Hornet, I would say this sensor is broken. Often the Hornet does not realize that I am on ground and accordingly NWS is suddenly off so i cannot taxi at all because I could not stear left/right, pressing then NWS HI button doesnt work either of course. Sometimes I can fix this by going into burner for a moment, but on the boat thats a bit ... problematic.

Then overall quality:

- Cockpit textures: not great. It looks likey these are all diffuse textures only, no normal maps, no specular maps, hence the cockpit simply looks dull. Knobs look like paper, especially the upper two MFD's brightness button looks like being designed by an amateur. Absolutely no comparison to the Viper cockpit textures for instance.

- Plane texture: you look out of the cockpit in VR and look just at a blurry exterior texture blob, and I already have set the graphic settings to maximum.

- Guns: thats not a hornet gun. It neither sounds like a Hornet gun which has a much more aggressive low tone (very roughly comparable to the A10's gun), nor does it behave like the real Hornet's gun which in reality spits powder all over the canopy and at night throws a stunning firework over the canopy. None of that happens here.

- Condensation effects: the fat shoulder condensation strips and the thin ones behind the wing tips are simulated, but the huge condensation effects that the real Hornet typically has across the wings are missing entirely, and likewise the flickering condensation cone is not simulated either.

- MFDs: especially the contrast of the FLIR screens is horrible. You can barely see anything, no matter what you do with the brightness and contrast knobs at the MFD.

- Training Missions: completely outdated. In some you are told to press MFD functions which no longer exist at the pointed position on MFD. It looks like they were created in the early days when the Hornet was released and have not seen any update since then.

- Missions: likewise all outdated. All Hornet missions were obviously created with weapons that the early Hornet module version had. None of the missions use a TPOD, neither the ATFLIR, nor the Litening POD. For A/A you are equipped with useless AIM-7 Sparrows instead of AIM-120s in all missions. How many decades ago did the Navy kick out all Sparrows in favour of the AIM-120? So you end up being forced to change the missions with the mission editor to get at least something useful that makes sense. I mean yes, a user can do this in reasonable time, but ED could as well!

- Support: No one from ED seems to care about bugs being reported on Steam. There are hundreds of bugs reported and nobody gets a reply from ED, it appears they are not even watching at it.

When I compare this with other DCS modules, I must say I am very dissapointed about the Hornet in DCS and I waited now for more than a year for the Hornet to improve.

TheManOfSex
TheManOfSex

buying the modules just for hearing its howls

PolskiXPawel1337
PolskiXPawel1337

Its great. But APU, left engine and right engine will not burn when they are hit, so they are indestructbile.

Elizabeth Dayax
Elizabeth Dayax

"Just watch over me until I can find my way out of this labyrinth in my brain and regain my sanity. And then maybe Betty, my princess... maybe you will love me again. Please love me again, Betty!"

BuzzLine
BuzzLine

A very good all-purpose plane. One of my favorites. Very easy to pick up but with a good skill ceiling.

Model and overall quality are good, systems are functional, nothing major is missing. A couple of visual improvements and a few exotic things could be improved but you hardly ever notice it in flight.

Compared to the F16, it's quite similar yet different. :)) I have hundreds of hours in both planes, I find the 16 less intuitive but more efficient. But YMMV, it's a matter of taste, at some point. Both are multirole planes but the 18 has carrier capability on top. It does have short legs, though, so plan on mastering air-to-air refueling ! (it's a trick to acquire but once you do, it's fairly easy, especially with the basket rather than the probe) Fly-by-wire makes flying it very comfy, especially around the boat.

Note that at the moment (Feb '22) the only good DLC campaign for the 18 is "Raven One" (and it's great), but there are many good free ones on DCS' website, in the user files section. It's also very nice to play on multiplayer, especially with its "Situational Awareness" (SA) page on the MFD.

Pervy Sage
Pervy Sage

Just an all around amazing plane. 110% would recommend if you are a new player looking to get your first high fidelity aircraft. and it has carrier ops if u like launching off the catapult and catching wires this is the plane for you.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Dose anyone know how to look around in the plane.

jake_vr69
jake_vr69

I would 100% recommend this DLC if you understand how to play the game and you arent knew. If you are new I would suggest the F-15 strike. It is simple and cheap.

XxHiggzy_FamxX
XxHiggzy_FamxX

Although I love the realism of this aircraft, I can never keep airspeed. It's far harder to keep airspeed in this plane so dog-fighting is virtually impossible for newcomers. I'm not sure if this is realistic to the real one but if you are in it for Air-to-Air I'd recommend something like an F16

LuKalツ
LuKalツ

Once you get the hang of this bad boy, you'll control the skies

TTV_Tundra907
TTV_Tundra907

Awesome! I will be getting a joystick soon to make the experience even better.

Ziljan
Ziljan

DOGFIGHTING: The nose authority and high-off-boresight helmet mounted sidewinder capability makes this thing a beast in ACM. If you don't mind damaging the airframe a bit, turning off the flight control computer will let you rip 10+ g's out of this thing and ensure that you're plane is the one that lands home safely. Kind of an "I win" button, but hey it's war... the detailed data on the HUD and HMD lets you keep high situational awareness and distinguish friend from foe (IFF) even in a heavy furball. It's not the best at acceleration, so you really need to nurse your momentum in turns to avoid getting too slow an become as easy target. However even at slow speeds, you still have deadly nose authority. All of the above also makes it excellent at fighting nap-of-the-earth in the mountains, for pop up attacks, almost like chopper gameplay.

BVR: The powerful APG-73 Radar lets you get detailed IFF even without an AWACS or Link 16, and with the addition of those 2 assets, you will always have the best situational awareness of any NATO jet in DCS. It's not as fast as the Viper, but it can lock onto targets from farther away, and actually use TWS to avoid alerting bandits they are being targeted, while firing off missiles at multiple targets at once. It is capable of carrying 10 AMRAAMs which means you can deliver a devastating volley and the enemy won't even know until the missile goes pitbull.

CARRIER OPS: This is where the Hornet really shines. It has excellent slow speed control, and super burly landing gear making it ideal for landing on a carrier with precision. Carrier traps are one of the most fun challenges in DCS, and really bring the game to life with that top gun feeling. Yeah ok, it's not a Tomcat, but this is the most modern carrier capable jet in DCS, so 80's nostalgia aside, this the jet to have if you wanna play iceman vs maverick. Carrier take-offs with bass transducers on the chair and pedals... oh man, that is something almost as immersive as VR.

CONTENT: the F/A-18 is probably the most storied jet in DCS with the most official and unofficial missions of any jet. There is a reason for this. It can do everything, and do it well. So if you are looking to maximize your experience in DCS without breaking the bank, then the Hornet is a great place to start.

ATTACK: I haven't done much ground or sea attack in the Hornet, but it is supposed to be a great platform, one of the best in the game. I'll add more here when I've done it. The ground and sea radar is something I have played with though, and it's awesome. Easily one of the coolest sensors I've seen in any game or sim to date.

CONCLUSION: If you haven't guessed by now, I would highly recommend this jet. If you are looking for something a little bit simpler with slightly more user friendly interfaces, and don't care about carrier ops, then maybe the F-16 would be another way to go. The F-16 has very similar capabilities, a better energy fighter but with a weaker radar and slightly lower situational awareness and lower info IFF. They have a lot in common, but if you are looking at getting a jet in DCS those are the two I would recommend to start with.

Friendly Ball
Friendly Ball

Get it. Load up AIM9's. Turn on AC/DC. Enjoy.

Simeon
Simeon

I'm still very new to DCS, so I'm writing this review from the perspective of a new player, as well as one who is primarily interested in the sim as a VR experience. I don't personally know how it compares to other paid modules, I picked it up on the recommendation of others who have said this is a good all-around module to be able to experience what a highly detailed DCS module has to offer. As a VR experience, I'm comparing this sim and this module to my experience with FSX (using the FlyInside mod) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Right out of the gate, I find DCS works far better than either of the aforementioned Microsoft offerings. While FS 2020 is renowned for its detailed graphics, in VR it's difficult, if not impossible, to get it to run at a comfortable framerate. With my older i7 7700 processor, and even with a GTX 3070, I find myself living with constant stutters, even with the graphics settings turned all the way down. I can only tolerate relatively short flights in FS2020 without getting a headache. My experience with DCS has been just the opposite so far. I may find that changes if I start trying to run more complex missions, but at least for the training missions and for some quick action fights, I've had a far better experience. I'm using a Quest 2 headset, and while my older PC does struggle a bit when I try to run at the full native resolution of the headset, if I set it to automatically scale the resolution I find that the frame rate is completely comfortable without any noticeable reprojection. This stands in stark contrast to FS2020, which stutters badly even at potato levels of resolution. I know these aren't necessarily the most relevant comparisons for other simmers, but as someone with an interest in simply finding a better VR flight sim experience, DCS is my new favorite. The detailed systems simulations and procedures do have a steep learning curve for someone like me who has a limited amount of time to dedicate to the sim, but I find the challenge only adds to the experience. I'm using an X52 Pro HOTAS and I feel like that's probably the bare minimum to have enough bind-able controls available to make the aircraft viable to quickly operate, especially with a VR headset on. So to sum up, if you're like me and you're looking for a VR flight sim with good graphical fidelity that won't overtax an older system, DCS is a good way to go, and the F-18C module provides a great option for a detail aircraft simulation.

Vtec7
Vtec7

What can I say about the F/A-18C??? Its simply magnificent! Its the aircraft that you can do anything in the game! A pure multi-role aircraft and carrier ops are simply stunning!

Deus_0101
Deus_0101

The hornet is a great jet to learn and fly. This is a popular module that gives players lots of toys to play with....but you don't really have much to do with them once you get 'em.

I am not interested in multiplayer.

Most of the scripted campaigns can involve a lot of boredom and frustration due to bugs or scripted triggers that require trial and error to figure out.

I have no clue what happens to my wingman most of the time. One second they are there and the next I never see them again.

The sim aspect can be really hard and will "put off" most people. Carrier landings are hard. Air-to-Air refueling is impossible. There is no feeling of progression, no war, no strategy, no resource management. Just learn all the buttons.. woo hoo.

I can not recommend any of the $60 + modules for DCS until they get away from the whole "it must be realistic" creed and start thinking about how to make DCS FUN.

This will get downvoted because I should git gud, and I should just go play ace combat if I want an arcade game. I don't want an arcade game.. I want fun. A sim can still be fun. This one is not.

zachc12385
zachc12385

Probably one of my favorite fighters of all time. easy-ish to learn and fairly capable of anything you throw at it. its not a ground warfare king like the a10 or a lighting quick fighter like the f16 however it can play both roles exceptionally well. plus it can land on carriers so thats pretty neat

General Nuisance
General Nuisance

The masculine urge to buy the F/A-18 and the F-14 after watching Top Gun.

Merry Mittens
Merry Mittens

I'm just going to say this. Yes. Yes. Yes and YES! it is an amazing aircraft and i absolutely love the variety of different things you can equip it with plus the vapour is so cool.

Steher16
Steher16

this is the best module on dcs that you can buy

nuclearx86
nuclearx86

If you ask me, best dcs module ever.
(Yes I'm biased.)

GET A HOTAS,

tyguy192010
tyguy192010

The F/A 18 is one of the first aircraft I started on, It isn't as easy as something like the F-16 but it is an amazing beginner naval fighter for anyone that wants to get into DCS. It is an aircraft that is easy for someone that is just getting into the game, and it doesn't matter if you want to use it on airfields for the first while you have the aircraft to get used to it, it does both. It is a great aircraft for landing practice because it has the heavy duty landing gear required for naval landings, and that means that if you aren't the best at landing if you make a mistake and come in too slow, the landing gear will take more of a beating that something like the F-16. It also benefits from having the ability to carry up to 8 air to air missiles on each wing, and 2 missiles on the side of the air intakes, for a total of 10 missiles witch allows you to manage your missiles less for newer players it can help get them used to the missiles and the radar, so then they can use tactics that work for them instead of how the aircraft basically needs to be flown like some other aircraft in DCS. It is also easy to fly, it isn't like some other aircraft that if you treat it the wrong way it will rip wings off, or the controls will invert or any other thing with the aircraft's flight model that will make it easy to lean. The Hornet just can't do those things witch makes it not only easy to fly but also easy to learn for new players not to get frustrated and not want to play.Long review short, the F/A-18 is an amazing aircraft for getting yourself or one of your friends into DCS in a way that won't make them have to spend hundreds of hours looking through guides online, it has also been out for a couple of years now so most if not all of the bugs are worked out now, and overall it is a great aircraft for beginners and also very effective for experienced players as well.

pmccusker
pmccusker

I love this game, but ED really needs to get on top of the VR situation. It has been getting worse not better
for over a year now, VR will be the future for Flight Sims, so, if they want players to buy more modules then make it playable in VR!!!

WartpogSpargeBuci
WartpogSpargeBuci

Very nice plane, still pretty new to it but I can say that this plane is a very beginner-friendly aircraft. If you're looking to buy your first high-fidelity plane, this is the best choice.