Wanderfound

That's the most likely culprit; among other things, it alters some joint strengths (which can affect plane handling by altering stiffness, even if nothing breaks). I think it also messes with SAS a bit. If you're having issues, set up a brand new install of the game, download fresh copies of FAR/DD/BDA, install those mods and nothing else. The other possibility: make sure you've got no more than one each of chaff/flare, make sure min/default altitude is set to exactly 1410/2000, make sure top speed is set to exactly 399, make sure cockpit torque is disabled. Those are all details that I'm having to fix on submissions fairly regularly.

Leading edge slats are designed to stop the main wing from stalling at extreme AoA. To do that, you want to set them for Dynamic Deflection 100% at all pressures, and -100%AoA. You can use them as ailerons if you want, but it's usually not a good idea. BTW:

With aircraft I start with a basic idea of what I want it to do and what I want it to look like. Then I'll throw together a fuselage, engines, wings and control surfaces, and have a peek at the FAR analysis screens. If that's all good, I'll then add all the ancilliary bits and then start the final tuning of wing position and control surface settings. Rockets I build capsule-down, watching the ÃŽâ€V the whole way, and stop adding more rocket once the numbers hit the target.

Yup. If you want DD negated, you'll need to do it yourself. The D-7 download in the first post has the DD settings at 100% for all pressures.

I think the autopilot was showing off with a Top Gun tribute.

Needs a bit of polishing; it tore its wings off the instant it started to turn...

Again, fuel capacity matters in close fights.

It's an almost-wingless lifting body design, so it's never going to fly like a sailplane. But it's worth remembering that lift is only half of the equation; the important factor for turning isn't lift, it's wing loading (i.e. lift divided by mass). So, if you're not willing to add more wing...lose some mass. Shave down the fuel load, ammo load, number of guns and missiles, wing strength, etc etc.

The F-119 is carrying a lot more fuel than most of the competition, BTW. Shave some mass and tweak the turning ability and it's back in the running.

- - - Updated - - - Nope. But if you look at the control indicators in bottom left, you'll see that the F-119 wasn't using full stick very much. It's not that the plane can't turn tighter, it's that the autopilot chose not to. Winding up the turn settings on the autopilot would probably help, but overdoing it will create wobbles.

Still got two rounds to go; the F-119 isn't down yet. And the K-3 will be a serious challenger if it just gets a smidge more fuel.

(the sound is a bit messed up on the second half of that one, unfortunately) - - - Updated - - -

Altered firing delays are fine, BTW; shaving it down means that you'll fire your missiles in a rapid volley instead of widely-spaced shots. Can be good, can be bad; personal preference rules.

Two reminders: * No more than one each of chaff/flare per ship. * In a close-matched fight, fuel capacity matters. Try to carry at least 10 minutes' worth of juice unless you're confident that you can make a fast kill.

You'll need to fix it yourself; I don't want to get into tuning designs for folks. It's as much in how it flies as how tough it is, though; check the F-119. Keeping the turns smooth (i.e. no surging, no wild rolling or yawing) would help a fair bit. Spacetape works too, however. Just remember to bury your struts (use the offset tools) if you don't want them causing drag, and keep in mind that they aren't weightless.

I just ran the X-18 vs the F-119 three times. Each time, the X-18 airframe cracked up while pulling out of a low-altitude dive. Up the wing strength and add a few strategically placed struts?

I'm not really getting why we'd want to give twin-engine ships twice as many countermeasures as single-engine ships. The twin-jet crew already has the advantage of better acceleration; why do they need a further boost? One chaff/flare per ship seems to be working well; a fast ship with room to turn can reliably avoid missiles, but they're deadly when the target is low and slow.

Very nice ship. - - - Updated - - - Take the oversteer wobble out of its high-subsonic handling and you've got a serious contender. Maybe tweak the autopilot steer factor down a touch and the damping up a bit.

I'll re-run the fight with Dynamic Deflection set at 100% for all pressures for your ship, then; that should have it flying as you intended. BTW, the autopilot doesn't retract flaps of its own volition; I've been manually raising them for the F-119 after takeoff. If you're just wanting them as airbrakes, better to set them as negative deflection spoilers. - - - Updated - - -

It handles fine in the high subsonic, but only pulls 3-4G once it goes supersonic. I noticed that the Dynamic Deflection settings on your elevators are still at default; full power down low, reducing as the pressure climbs. If you reverse that (20% at 0kPa climbing to 100% at 40kPa) and raise the max elevator deflection a bit, it should be able to manage 10+ G while supersonic as well.