Extensive feature list includes:

• Study-level simulation designed based on U.S. Navy NATOPS flight manuals.
• Unmatched accuracy and depth of simulation.
• The only true fly-by-wire control augmentation system (CAS) available for MSFS.
• A single, dynamic (changes in real-time based on current loadout) base flight model.
• Highly efficient and detailed external modeling recreating every nuance of the F/A-18E.
• Every weapon and store individually modeled with weight, asymmetry and drag characteristics which are shed after release.
• Dozens of custom keystroke commands which may all be mapped to gaming devices for "real as it gets" HOTAS setups.
• State of the art virtual cockpit (VC) :
  • High resolution textures with incredibly sharp panel text.
  • Unshaded (emissive) avionics and HUD.
  • HUD collimation for TrackIR.
  • Dynamic shadowing effects.
  • Transilluminated panel text with separate main and console circuitry.
  • Flood lighting.
  • NVG lighting.
  • Adjustable levels of detail (via ACM).
• 2D panels available in native resolutions up to 1920x1200. An easy-to-use “Panel Navigator” may be used to quickly bring up any of a dozen sub-panels.
• Mutiple Panel configurations (via ACM)
  • 2D+VC.
  • VC-only.
  • 2D-only.  
• AN/APG-73 A/A Radar simulation.
  • True B-sweep design with adjustable scan volumes and doppler simulation.
  • Multi-sensor integration (cheat) mode.
  • Velocity Search (VS).
  • Range While Search (RWS).
  • Track While Scan (TWS).
  • Boresight (ACM).
  • Vertical Aquisition (VACQ).
  • Wide Aquisition (WACQ).
  • Auto Aquisition (AACQ).
  • RAID.
• Thousands of combinations of firing and droppable ordinance using a single procedurally animated “smart” model system. Any store on any allowable station. Stores include:
  • AIM-9X “Sidewinder”.
  • AIM-9M “Sidewinder”.
  • AIM-7 “Sparrow”.
  • AIM-120 AMRAAM.
  • AGM-65E “Laser Maverick”.
  • AGM-84D “Harpoon”.
  • AGM-84H SLAM-ER.
  • AGM-154A JTOW.
  • AGM-88C HARM.
  • GBU-10 “Paveway II”.
  • GBU-12 (singles or pairs).
  • GBU-31 JDAM.
  • FPU-11 480 USG external tanks.
  • ASQ-228 ATFLIR.
  • AA42R-1 “Buddy Tank”.
  • SUU-78A center pylon.
  • LAU-1126A cheek pylons.
  • SUU-79A main pylon.
  • SUU-80A outboard pylon.
  • LAU-127A tip launcher.
• Built-in carrier operations (catapult and arresting mechanisms only. No carrier included).
• Built-in aerial refueling using any AI aircraft. Receive (IFR) or deliver (buddy tank) fuel.
• Fully animated canopy and full NACES 0/0 ejection sequences.
• Procedural animation system including:
  • Missile launches (4 types).
  • AGM launches and glide (4 types).
  • Bomb release (5 types).
  • Jettison (emergency or selective).
  • Boarding ladder.
  • Port and starboard avionics bays.
  • ECS auxiliary duct doors.
  • Radar bay.
  • Full pilot articulation with autonomous movement and gesturing.
  • FCS-driven flight control surfaces.
  • Speedbrake function involving multiple surfaces.
  • Rudder toe-in and flare.
  • Asymmetrical trailing and leading edge flaps.
  • Wing fold.
  • Tailhook.
  • Launch bar.
  • Holdback bar.
  • Catapult shoe.
  • LEX and tip vapor effects.
  • ALE-50 (towed decoy) extention/retraction and jettison.
  • ALE-47 (chaff and flare) dispensing.
  • A/A42R-1 refueling tank hose extention and retraction.
• Over 70 22K 16-bit discrete cockpit sound samples.
• Engine Sounds licensed from Turbine Sound Studios.
• 3D landing lights licensed from A2A.
• 400 pages of documentation including a 100 page tutorial.
  • Getting Started guide.
  • Tutorial flight.
  • Aircraft Manager guide.
  • Aircraft guide.
  • Cockpit system guide.
  • Navigation & communications.
  • Paint kit.
  • Keyboard reference.
  • Checklists.
  • Glossary.
• Simulated combat capability:
  • "Hostility zone” modeling for Anti-Air-Warfare (SAM/AAA). Kill them or they kill you.
  • Accurate AN/APG-73 A/A radar simulation with multi-mode capability.
  • AI and multiplayer aircraft can be tracked and fired upon and will disappear from radar if hit.
  • 3 CCIP bombing modes.
  • 3 HARM release modes.
  • Laser Maverick simulation.
  • Discrete air-to-air missile modeling.
  • FLIR LST and LTD simulation (no IR imagery).
• 40 official liveries including all active F/A-18E USN squadrons, CF, Swiss, and RAAF models.
• Comprehensive failure and battle damage system.
• Multiple aspect ratio support (via ACM).
  • 4:3 (standard).
  • 16:10 (computer widescreen).
  • 16:9 (HD video).
• Sharp vector graphics and advanced lighting techniques (no more dark VC lights).
• Highly accurate, custom designed vector-based avionic displays.
• Custom auto throttle:
  • Cruise ATC maintains airspeed at the time of engagement.
  • Approach ATC continually adjusts speed to maintain approach AOA.
• Custom 12-mode autopilot which mimics the actual F/A-18E AFCS:
  • Barometric Altitude Hold (BALT).
  • Radar Altitude Hold (RALT).
  • Flight Path Angle Hold (FPAH)
  • Heading Hold (HHLD).
  • Heading Select (HSEL).
  • Ground Track Hold (GTRK).
  • Ground Track Select (GSEL).
  • Roll Hold (ROLL).
  • Coupled Waypoint (CPL WPT).
  • Coupled TACAN (CPL TCN).
  • Coupled Sequence (CPL SEQ).
• Fully collimated (TrackIR savvy) vector HUD.
• Professionally designed Aircraft Configuration Manager (ACM):
  • Livery import/export and browsing functions.
  • Custom weapons loading. Anything you want in any combination.
  • Fuel Loading.
  • Failures.
  • External model and VC preferences.
  • Operational preferences.
  • Reference Section.
  • Automatic Updates.
• Comprehensive, custom primary systems modeling:
  • Hydraulics.
  • Environmental Control (ECS).
  • Fuel.
  • Electrical.
• Custom navigation system:
  • Ground-based and air-to-air TACAN navigation.
  • Custom in-flight waypoint insertion/deletion.
  • GPS transfer function.
  • Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) with ellipsoid selection (read-only).
• World-class tech support via official support forums.

Experience the most detailed and accurate simulation of a combat aircraft ever developed for Microsoft Flight Simulator. We think you'll agree, the depth of the simulation is second to none, making this an investment you can be proud to add to your collection.

Almost 5 Years in the Making
The VRS F/A-18E "Superbug" for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 & FSX, is the culmination of almost 5 years of work by some of the add-on industry's most talented artists, programmers and flight dynamics gurus. The F/A-18E is painstakingly modeled in every detail. From avionics to weapon systems, if it's in the real aircraft, it's probably in this simulation!

Avionics Designed from the Navy's NATOPS Flight Manual
Avionics are the heart of this "glass" combat aircraft, and no compromises in realism were made to bring you the first truly accurate simulation of this aircraft's combat and navigation systems. Four digital displays provide data for navigation, stores management, targeting, sensors, fuel systems, engine systems, and flight advisory. With over 40 individual interactive displays, nothing was left to the imagination.

Highly Realistic Sensor and Targeting Simulation
Short of actually shooting down AI aircraft, sensor and targeting systems are simulated just as their real-world counterparts. You can lock up AI aircraft and receive feedback to the HUD, radar and early warning systems, just as if you were in an electronic military exercise -- the only thing missing is the lethality. The radar simulation takes a number of factors into consideration, including signal strength (range), aspect angle, closing velocity (Doppler shift), and more. A total of 8 radar modes (4 primary and 4 ACM sub-modes) are simulated.

Unmatched Virtual Cockpit Quality & Speed
Although the simulation is heavily focused on avionic systems, we haven't ignored little indulgences like "eye candy". The VRS F/A-18E sports a stunningly beautiful  and completely "flyable" Virtual Cockpit in which 100% of the controls are functional 3D components rather than "projected" 2D maps. The VC and external models feature a set of extremely high resolution textures for the ultimate in visual clarity. Gauge update rates in the VC are optimized for the fastest possible response. Four types of interior lighting including panel transillumination, flood, and night vision modes provide a completely immersive environment. Animated shadows for many of the controls further enhance the "suspension of disbelief".

Extensive Hand-Drawn, High-res 2D Sub-panels
Although VCs are becoming quite the norm, we also realize and appreciate those who prefer their "office" in 2D. The aircraft features over a dozen 2D panels in native 1600x1200 resolution, all hand-crafted and extremely clean. A unique "Panel Navigator" pop-up can be used to quickly find the system you need.

Professionally Designed Aircraft Management Application
A very comprehensive Aircraft Manager application is included for loading out an extensive set of weapons and pods, as well as configuring fuel, failures and preferences. In total, the number of combinations of stores which can be carried is in the thousands. Schematics for all major systems including electrical, environmental, fuel, and hydraulic are interactive and show you exactly which systems will be affected by the failure(s) you've chosen. Failures can be immediate or randomly generated for any system.

Procedural Animation System
A single model file with procedurally animated components handles all firing, jettisoning and dropping. Each of the 11 loadout stations can be individually dropped/fired with a corresponding decrease in weight and drag. The external model features folding wings, tailhook, avionic bay doors, ECS auxilliary duct doors, complex flight control system-slaved primary control surfaces, opening nosecone with working (and tracking) radar dish, deployable boarding ladder, and much much more. We've also designed a procedurally animated air-to-air refueling system, or "Buddy Store", which can by carried on the aircraft so that it may act as a tanker. The entire refueling process is simulated in intricate detail right down to the cockpit-installed aerial refueling panel. This is quite simply the most advanced animation system you're going to find on a combat aircraft for MS Flight Simulator.

MSFS is generally a CPU-bound application. This means that above a certain point your GPU (graphics processor) becomes less important than your CPU (system processor). The following figures for Minimum, Average and Ultimate frame rates should only serve as a guide. There are far too many variables associated with Flight Simulator and the VRS SuperBug to make accurate predictions. Think of them as percentages.

A word about performance: The VRS Super Hornet is a high-end simulation of a high-end aircraft. Obviously it's not a Cessna or a Spitfire, loaded with relatively simplistic analog gauges and control systems. The real aircraft contains many hundreds of thousands of mechanical and electrical parts. Our simulation, albeit to a lesser extent, also contains many thousands of "parts". These systems don't come free; the price is CPU power. In terms of multi-core systems, the number of cores is completely irrelevent since FS is not multi-threaded. However these newer Dual and Quad core CPUs ARE much faster per clock cycle than the previous generation of processors, even running FS under a single core.  A much cheaper dual core processor with a faster clock will beat any quad core at a slower clock when running FS9 or FSX. That $999 Extreme Quad Core running under 3Ghz WILL be slower than a $150 3.16Ghz Dual Core when running FS, as will be the case with most current generation games.