THE MOST MANEUVERABLE JET IN TEST PILOTS

thank you to everyone who upvoted, followed, and spotlights my builds. you helped motivate me to finish this.

and 20 upvotes!!

INFO:

this is the SAK-1, a superbird of a fighter jet created by Sagi-Chan for "Test Pilots" on VRChat. there is a wide selection of jets to choose from, but this one is my favorite (and the easiest to make).

this was made over the course of a few weeks. i had actually started production on it before the F/A-43 as a secondary to the 5thGen challenge, but i never finished it in time, due to it being built more from the ground up, while the F/A-43 is meant as a successor to the F/A-42, a plane i had already build prior.

this jet has been my favorite in test pilots for a while. i loved its unparalleled maneuverability, and others hated it when i dogfighted them. it has good armaments, decent speed (compared to the other jets in the world), and excellent dogfight performance.

while the recreation i've made here in SP does not sport great visual appeal, its performance is unmatched by any of my previous creations, and may never be matched for a while. this is because i specifically and aggressively targeted maneuverability issues over visual inconsistencies or incorrect modeling.

the real reasons i finished this:

• the fact that the F/A-43 had bad stability. everything should be better, as i didnt rush the stability systems, and constantly updated them based on weight, and anything new i added.

• the fact that there is a lack of planes from Test Pilots on this site. how disappointing!! im glad to be the first to make one of their fighter jets in SP

  ---

ARMAMENTS:

• 8x YM-22b Lancer AAM: omnirange thrust vectoring missile. this version starts turning the second it gets off the rail unlike the original YM-22, however takes longer to speed up.

• 6x YM-23 Fencer AGM: long range heavy missile. fast speed, bad turn rate, powerful explosion. PREFERRABLY long range, however can be used at short ranges if you are careful, and keep your nose on target to fire.

• 9x Hybrid Bomb: unlike the VRChat version, has only 9 bombs rather than 12. this is intentional because i was lazy and didnt wanna add the 3 extra pylons. the bombs, while not having the best explosive mass, can skim the water like a torpedo, or be used against land targets.

  ---

FEATURES:

• 23 hardpoints!!
• max speed: ~Mach 2 (at around 20,000 feet.)
• nav lights
• FT code thrust vectoring (auto-stabilizes at high AOAs, same as the Su-41X)
• supermaneuverability (the ACTUAL best maneuverability system i have ever implemented into one of my aircraft!)
• powerful toggleable afterburner
• 2 drag chutes
• canards for stability and maneuverability
• naval operation capability (take off & land on uss beast, intercept, dogfight, protect, BVR)
• Ace Combat style camera (plus the unrelated HUD, but you get the point)
• 40G upper G limit (as to be true to its VR counterpart)

SCREENSHOTS

thumbnail without editing

CONTROLS:

AG1: hook
AG2: parachutes
AG3: toggle armaments
AG4: toggle canards
AG5: burner (any throttle%)
AG6: reduced stability
AG7: toggle nav lights
AG8: toggle TVC

tips (might add more later):

• do NOT have canards on at 100% throttle, they will cause instability rather than their intended purpose. instead, have them off if you need 100% in a dogfight, or get similar performance by having 50-70% throttle with afterburner (AG5) ON, and the canards wont tweak out as much.

• if AG6 is activated, its stability will be vastly reduced, and it could stall out at the drop of a hat. this is better for PSM initiation with TVC assistance, but should not be used on its own.

• having AG4 ON while AG6 and AG8 are OFF allows the best low-medium speed stability, however having ALL activation groups OFF allows the best high speed stability.

  ---

TRIVIA:

• this was the first plane submitted for the Carrier-Based Challenge, and one of four submitted to be able to perform thrust vectoring assisted PSM!

• out of the 4 thrust vectoring aircraft, this one is the easiest to use due to the auto stabilizing FT in the vector nozzles, anits moved back COM allowing for easier activation (since its always a bit unstable).

  ---

CREDITS:

Made by: @Zilozite on SP
Original design: @_SagiChan on X
SAK-1 origin: VRChat world - Test Pilots by Sacchan

EXTRA CREDITS
Original planes: Su-33SM by Rjenteissussy / Su-41X by Zilozite
Stability system: Sukhoi Su-27SKM [TNI-AU] by ShinyGemsBro
Canopy: F-22 "Raptor" by Guyfolk
Armaments: Su-41X / F/A-43 TNI-AU by Zilozite
Everything else: Zilozite

SPECIAL THANKS
@RandomPlayer: motivation (not for this specific plane, but for a lot else.)
@SukhoiisLegend: also motivation (to surpass them in points!)
@Meyerolimar: the edit of Rjenteissussy's Su-33SM that i initially saw, downloaded, and made most of my recent planes fundamentally off of. im not sure if you have seen the planes i have made off of your stuff, but if you do see this, thanks foo.
@Guyfolk: i joined your challenge and you spotlighted my craft and got me to silver, so thanks foo.
Everyone who upvoted, followed, and spotlighted: self explanatory.

OTHER:
while these are credits, i did not work directly with anyone listed here. everything was put together or made by me.