F-22A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- When will the F-22A be available to purchase?
The F-22A is now available on justflight.com and in the MSFS 2020 In-Game Marketplace
- Can I buy the model outside of the in-game marketplace?
The initial release was on justflight.com. The model is available for sale on justflight.com and in the in-game marketplace.
- Will it be available for Xbox?
The F-22A is now available for Xbox.
- I can’t find the user manual to figure out how to do xyz – help?
The user manual can be found in the model container file folder in your community directory. You can also download it right here if you’re having trouble finding it. TMS_F-22A_PremiumEdition_UserManual_V1.1.8
- Will there be additional updates or upgrades for the F-22A?
We will maintain and support the F-22A to ensure it works with subsequent updates to MSFS 2020. We have a list of additional features we will add to the F-22A model as upgrades and will evaluate which new features to add as we receive customer feedback.
- What does it cost?
Pricing is dependent on which outlet you purchase from. Please visit our product page on justflight.com for pricing information on justflight. For in-game Marketplace pricing, visit the Marketplace in-game option and look for the F-22 from Top Mach Studios.
- Will it have a paint kit?
A paint kit is available on flightsim.to as well as a number of free third party add-on liveries (we don’t support those as they were created by community members):
- Will I be allowed to make / post user mods at flightsim.to or elsewhere?
In short, yes, but it depends on the modification, and in general we always prefer that modders contact us first before making changes or posting for the community to avoid conflicts or damage to our customers’ software.
- Will there be 3D modeled weapons?
For our initial release and other sales via third party resellers like justflight.com there will be 3D modeled weapons; a typical air-to-air loadout can be displayed and will affect aircraft weight. They will not be functional other than for display purposes. For sales within the in-game Marketplace, we would likely not include 3D weapons modeling due to marketplace rules.
- Will there be a radar system?
You can see information about live real world airline traffic and multi-player traffic in the moving map display with customized visualization of that data (aircraft position, speed, heading, and altitude). This data is not consistently displayed due to game limitations on customer data. At present there is very limited support within MSFS 2020 for fully functional radar simulations. As this changes we may upgrade the model with a more feature rich radar simulation.
- Will there be a way to target or “dog fight” with other aircraft or with other players?
For future releases or upgrade offerings after the release of V1.0 made outside of the Marketplace, we may include some simulated weapons systems such as this, but it will not be included in the initial release.
- Will there be drop tanks?
Yes, there are drop tanks with fuel loading and display options for the sim pilot.
- Will there be air to air refueling?
We may implement a basic simulated air to air refueling function in future updates or upgrades.
- Will there be a pilot figure?
There is a custom fighter pilot figure visible from the external view. Future upgrades may include an in-cockpit animated pilot figure which will be optionally displayed or not displayed.
- Will it work in VR?
The model is compatible with MSFS VR gameplay.
- Since so much is secret about the F-22A, how did you come up with the information to make sure the plane’s features and performance are accurate?
We’ve done our best to research as much information as is publicly available about the Raptor including references from interviews with pilots and crewmen, video footage, expert estimates and documentation, thousands of reference photos, real world sound files, and documentation from official Air Force and DoD publications. Beyond this, many of the specific operating procedures and systems are still US military secrets. We’ve done our best to use guesstimates to create functionality or have simply omitted features that are either not supported by MSFS or that wouldn’t function correctly in the game.
- Will the premium version be compatible with the freeware version?
No, both models may not be installed simultaneously, but freeware and payware sim pilots should be able to see other F-22As in multiplayer.
- Will it have afterburners?
Yes, there are afterburner visual effects as well as afterburner physics modeling.
- Will it have sonic boom and other visual and audio effects?
Yes, there are sonic boom visual and audio effects, as well as a number of other custom made visual and sound effects.
- Will it have thrust vectoring?
There is currently no native support for fully simulated thrust vectoring physics within MSFS 2020. However, through some careful programming and flight model tuning, the model will be controllable up to around 90 degrees angle of attack, emulating a lot of the performance capability of the real aicraft and allowing post stall maneuvers like the pedal turn, Herbst maneuver (J Turn), power loop, and some others. It will provide a unique and challenging flight sim experience.
- What will be the maximum speed?
The model will be able to reach a little over Mach 2.6 at high altitude (between 35,000 and 50,000 feet) with max power. In supercruise (supersonic flight without afterburners on), the model will reach around M1.8.
- Will I be able to enter flight plans and waypoints and perform IFR flights?
The model will be able to support some limited IFR and IFR/IMC flight planning and will have the ability to handle flight planning and waypoint entry in-flight (using an added “hidden” screen element from the Garmin G3000 suite) along with a functioning autopilot system appropriate for a military fighter.
- What aircraft are you making next?
We are considering several possibilities, but at present we have not decided. However, we will continue our focus on modern 4th and 5th gen military aircraft.
- Will you make an F-22 for DCS (Digital Combat Simulations)?
We have discussed the possibility. It will depend on the success of this model in MSFS and our development progress with this and our next one to two MSFS models. But we definitely have been entertaining and discussing plans for developing this and other aircraft for DCS.