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Horten Ho 229 V3 Grey by Uncle T

Horten hears a (W)ho! My take on the innovative Horten Ho 229 V3 WW2 jet fighter.

It's also known as Horten H.IX or Gotha Go 229 due to re-design work performed by Gotha to prepare for mass-production.

It is very much an approximation and not in any way a 1:1 replica.

The Horten Ho 229 was developed at a late stage of WW2, and it was the first flying wing to be powered by jet engines. It was originally intended as a light bomber but at a later stage the decision was made to fit it with 2 x 30 mm MK 108 auto cannons as to be used as an interceptor against allied bombers due to its speed (950 kph maximum speed).

Only 3 prototypes were built and the mass-production though being prepared was stopped by the end of the war.

FLY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
TLDNR: It flies, but it often behaves weirdly and can bite you in the *ss at any second.

The combination of the "interesting" aerodynamics in the game and the unusual design of this aircraft means it can fly, but it can be very capricious at times, and most movements other than going straight feels jittery and like "in steps" (I'm guessing due to the different lift at different angles and some slight delay meaning it's often nothing nothing nothing EVERYTHING).

The plane easily becomes near unresponsive under 300 kph due to its unusual design and the very low effectiveness of control surfaces under 280 kph in the game, so try to stay above 300 kph.

Avoid using pitch and roll simultaneously since they seem to interfere with each other somehow. Rolling while pitching up almost negates the pitch so be careful close to the ground.

The plane is a little nose heavy under 450 kph and a little nose light over 500 kph. I've tried everything I know to fix it, but the balance of parts with fluid physics on them is as good as I can get it while the plane is still somewhat controllable, and trying to use my usual trim flaps just makes the whole thing ustable and increases the chances of weird stuff happening at least tenfold, so you'll have to live with correcting pitch a bit.

Since the plane has no tailfin/vertical stabilizer and the game REALLY REALLY REALLY wants a plane to have some sort of vertical stabilization or it will spin like a frisbee at the drop of a hat, I had to add 12 small stabilizers that peek out a little bit (they didn't seem to help if completely hidden) on the rear part of the plane. They seem to be enough to do the job ok-ish without being too much of an eye-sore.

The lack of a rudder was solved with airbrakes on the wing tips that provide some yaw capability at least at speed. I've toned it down a lot since using too much in combination with the lack of a proper vertical stabiliser can make the plane go sideways a bit. At high speeds this usually solves itsef but art lower speeds where the small vertical stabilizers have little effect it can become a problem.

Taking of "naturally" is impossible due to the lack of large vertical stabilizers in combination with a very tall front wheel and the usual "planes spin while on the ground regardless of what you try to do" issues we all know and love, so to be able to take off I added assistance in the from of thrusters helping keeping the plane straight as well as pushing the tail down and adding som speed quickly. See below.

Landing is... well you can try, but since the controls basically stop working under 300 kph it's tricky. :)

I recommend using the handbrake when the landing gear is up since this prevents the front wheel from spinning and causing extra movement/clipping.

Alt controls to fly.
W/S: Variable throttle.
S: Ground Brakes.
A/D: Ground steering/Yaw.
Up/Down arrows: Pitch.
Left/Right arrows: Roll.
X/Disable steering. Landing gear.
Fire action 1/Num 1: 30 mm cannons (2 x large "machine guns" on either side).
B/Beacon: Take-off assisance thrusters. Start these when you start to move on the ground, pitch up, and you should be able to take off after a short stretch. Turn off when you reach 280 kph.

Since the cockpit was very small even in real life and defintely is cramped in my version I have chosen not to add any controls nor a control stick in there, especially since the stick would clip through the canopy and probably make the plane behave even more interestingly as a result.

Feel free to edit, but if you reupload publically in any way please acknowledge the original creation and creator.

Have fun!