Originally Posted by
N9373M
Don't know if this makes a difference, but the BA don't wear G-Suits, while the T-Birds do. The BA F-18 has a 40lb "pull" on the stick and they rest their flying hand on their knee and move the stick from there. A G-suit would pump up/down and cause unwanted movement close in. The side-stick F16 makes that issue moot.
I had read that when the Blues flew the A-4 and F-4, they would run the trim full Nose-down, and pull the circuit breaker. In the Phantom, that was about 20-ish lbs of stick force at cruise speed, based on personal experience (runaway trim once after takeoff).
Since the Hornet is FBW, they rigged a spring set-up: there is a bracket on the center pedestal (forward of the stick), and one on the back of the stick. Before the show, they hook up a spring to get the force.
I read it was 25 lbs, not 40, but same idea.
As to resting one's arm on the leg: I think 99% of all fighter center-stick guys rest their right arm on their leg or side torso. I deal with this with new T-38 students.
Example: when you pull 5-g, your 5-lb arm suddenly "weighs" 25 lbs. THAT moves the stick unintentionally far more than the inflation of the g-suit, which always lags by half a second anyway.
It's more of the leg/torso/hip area than the knee.
The F-16 has the "ledge" on the bottom of the stick, and two fold-out arm rests. I've got some back-seat time in the F-16. I was told it was "less than manly" to use both armrests; as I recall, you only used the aft one.