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LM-51 Tigershark

-DISCLAIMER-
I have no problem with people modifying or adding things onto my creations for personal use, but if you want to upload them to the Workshop I would really appreciate if you could contact me first. Chances are I'll say yes, but it has to be something that is a significant change or improvement, and I would really like if I could receive credit somewhere on the page.

Speaking of modification, credit to qwop#4597 for creating the gyro microcontroller.

The all-new LM-51 "Tigershark" is an all-weather, purpose-built light maritime patrol and attack aircraft. Equipped with a practical and simplistic cockpit and control layout, as well as a fully automated startup sequence, it's incredibly easy to learn the ropes.

The two main central design values were cost and simplicity. I designed the Tigershark to have a cost (fully equipped) of less than $62,000 + fuel; and I'm fully confident that most players could figure out it's operation without any instruction at all.
Below, you'll find a spec sheet and other useful information.

Max Speed: 92kt
Cruise/Autopilot Speed: 86kt

Fuel Capacity: two ~680L wing root tanks and one 7250L main tank

Powerplant: 1 combustion chamber and 1 medium turbine, connecting to both the main and tail rotor
Fuel Economy: 1.6L/s jet fuel consumption during cruise. About an hour and a half of runtime.
Range: ~230km using autopilot, and slightly further if flying manually.

Weapons: 4 AShM-104 "Barracuda" anti-ship radar guided missiles with a maximum guidance range of ~1.6km
(They can also somewhat reliably hit helicopters and ground targets, but not at close range)


Along with the included missiles, the Tigershark is equipped with a very user-friendly Fire Control System. This includes a radar boresight displayed on the HUD, as well as indicators, lights, and buzzers to indicate any and all of the following conditions:

1. Safe to ascend (prevents torque stall on takeoff)
2. Weapon lock (onboard radar has acquired a target within range and scope)
3. Detected by radar (only if RWR is enabled)
4. Deploying chaff (only if AUTO CHAFF is enabled)
5. Landing gear stowed
6. (buzzer only) Transponder signal


STARTUP SEQUENCE:
1. Toggle "ENGINE UNLOCK" and enable "ENGINE + SYSTEMS"
2. Lock engine controls (not required, but a good idea)
3. (optional) Enable RWR and AUTO CHAFF
4. (optional) Enable BACKUP BATTERY on the instrument panel near the nose. That's also where you'll find controls for lighting and fueling.
5. (IMPORTANT) wait until the Rotor RPS display hits 51 and the green "SAFE TO ASCEND" light turns on before flying upward. Otherwise, you're at risk of stalling the engine. The helicopter is not broken.

That's the whole startup. 3 out of the 5 steps are optional.


If you're already in the seat and you need to close either door, there are buttons above your Rotor RPS display. In order to close an open door, you have to press it twice. The same applies for the fueling hatch.

There are two large buttons on the navigator side, one for downward spotlights and the other switches the monitor to a downward camera feed.


All other useful information is displayed neatly in two instrument panels above the coordinate keypad. There, you'll find:

1. Individual fuel gauges for all three tanks and an ETA (measured in seconds) to your waypoint, if you have one.


The helicopter does not feature a keypad for altitude hold, however; it will stay at whatever altitude you fly to.

There is also no hover button, however; the helicopter will automatically begin holding a steady hover if you let go of the controls for a little bit.

2.
Generator Output
Fuel Drain (will read 0 until wing root tanks are empty)
Current speed in knots (Groundspeed)
and finally, the RPS of the turbine engine. This is mostly irrelevant, but if it dips below 16.5 during ascent, you've taken off too early and will likely experience a torque stall. If you've done this, you have a little bit of time to try and get the engine back up to speed. Hold the down arrow key to reduce engine load temporarily.

If you enable the GPS Autopilot without having a proper coordinate set, it will fly you to 0,0; otherwise known as the starter island. This is not a bug, it's just how the game works.


AShM-104 "BARRACUDA" INSTRUCTIONS

-Unlock MASTER ARM
-Enable MASTER ARM

Locate a target (works extremely well against ships) within 1.6km, place the target inside of the green radar boresight, wait for the light and noise; and then press space to fire.

If the FCS tells you to fire, it means the missile will almost ALWAYS find and hit the target.
It will not tell you to fire if the target is outside of your maximum range or outside of the radar cone.

Note: The MASTER ARM button locks the bottom doors, because the two center hardpoints can't properly launch when they're open. This is not a bug, and the doors are not broken. You can still open the top segment of the door using the small arrow button next to it.


The helicopter also has 3 winches, but two are unused by default. If you need to; for any reason, you can hoist the harness from the top section of each door. The winches are controlled (in unison) via the navigator seat.

There are no airlifting attachments for a reason; the helicopter simply doesn't have that kind of power. It will stall and you will crash.

I appreciate feedback in the comments, and I will try to respond to as many comments as possible. If you do manage to find a bug, please leave it below; I'll try to recreate the issue and hopefully fix it.

If you can't seem to get the RWR or automatic countermeasure system to work against AI, don't worry; it isn't broken. Most weapons used by the AI enemies are manually aimed and therefore impossible to counter.