Caldera

Hey All, I do not know if this is intentional or a bug, so asking here first. Prior to Open Beta 2.7.12.23362 this did not happen, but recently from both Pilot and Gunner seats the ammo count selector is automatically changing from 10 rounds to 20 rounds. Working as intended? Caldera

Paladin, OK thanks! Another experiment and some pictures: Time of Flight (TOF) indicator, it seems to hold 52 seconds until the range goes less than 8.1, where after that it will count down. The missile actually hits about 3 seconds after the TOF = 0. About that same time frame the TOF indication will flash as does the laser on indication. The laser shuts off pretty close to just after that. First missile gone, TOF was actually closer to 51 at launch. Second missile gone, TOF was about 33 at launch. The result... The second missile hits 1 second after the first. When I was watching in the TGP both missiles were in view simultaneously right before impact. So... I still can't make it work in my brain. I have forgoten allot about physics and how to do such calculations. So forgive me. Given that the launching aircraft speed is constant for both launches. Both missiles should have the same acceleration and de-acceleration characteristics. And the launch spacing is about 1.6nm. Additionally, the TOF indication seems almost linear when compared to the actual distance to target. That is allot of ground to make up IMO, however both missiles are hitting in agreement with their respective TOF indication. Baffling... Not what I at first thought, and the AGM-65L is an improper weapon to salvo. Caldera

Hey All, So it seems that some changes were made to this missile, at least to my perception / recollection. With the seeker head in search mode it seems that it will no longer look down as well as it did before. For example, A-10C 15000 AGL TGP is SPI and laser is on, if the AGM-65L is put into search mode then it will not find the laser. The seeker will oscillate back and forth at the center line. I find that that in order to get a lock I have to either slew the seeker head down then put it back search mode or slave it to the SPI. Another example, A-10C 8000 AGL TGP is SPI and laser is on, if the AGM-65L is put into search mode then it will find the laser. The seeker head will slew down automatically to just below (half way to the bottom) the center line and then lock on. Something new of just me? So another thing that I was testing was attempting to fire in salvo. Essentially firing one missile, waiting a period of time and firing the second. I would move the TGP sight after the first missile struck and engage two targets. First off, this is difficult as the laser shuts off automatically right after the first missile hits. But then it seems like the second missile time of flight is much shorter and this increases the difficulty. Notice that the first missile is launched 19 seconds before the second, but the second missile hits 3 seconds after the first. I seem to have noticed this same behavior with APKWS rockets as well. Why would that be? Caldera

I was still goofing around. I took this screen shot. DCS is still stuck on Mission Load Done as I type this and post this response. DCS is on the E:/ drive. It seems with the Task Manager open I can have my PC back. Caldera

Hey All, I have problems with multiplayer as well. It began only after installing the Open Beta 2.7.12.23362 patch. Before that I was running Open Beta 2.7.11.22211 with no issues. There was not other changes made to my PC before the patch or after the patch installation. At two points in the multiplayer load process my system really hangs up. I have not timed how long, but it is noticeably WAY longer. So much so that "Disclaimer: The Manufactures and...", I have almost committed to memory. The hang lasts several minutes, but I eventually am able to get on the server. If I do just about anything else with my PC while the hang is in effect, then the DCS screen fades out and I get a "DCS not responding" message. If I do nothing and wait then I can get on the server. Mission Load Done --> The status bar goes full then my system hangs Net Sim Post Start --> The status bar goes 85% (or so) then my system hangs again I installed this patch as I have been doing in the past: Disable mods Delete the contents FXO and Metashaders2 folders Install the patch Do a DCS clean Do a DCS long repair Enable mods Since then I have done a couple clean / long repairs with no change. I have renamed my SavedGames folder with no change. It does matter if any mods are enabled or not. I looked into Windows Defender. I notice several instance of DCS, SRS and ViaCom Pro all related to DCS. The only time I see repeated instance of an application it is related to DCS or DCS itself. I do not know enough about Defender to know if this is a problem or not. Prior to the patch I had recently transferred DCS and SavedGames to a stand alone SSD, but everything appeared to be working as per it had before the transfer. Any ideas? Caldera

Hey All, After a crash the TSD switched to this with out any help from me. Nothing happened after a few seconds, but I had already wrecked the aircraft so maybe the self destruct mechanism was broke. Caldera

Jay, Thanks for the link. That is a quality website and I am considering a donation. Knowing the acquisition times will be extremely useful. I will put them on my chart, which is on my wall next to my desk for easy reference. I can not remember the specs of all the SA systems on the fly. My head buzzes with the sound of radar track... The testing that I did was with the SA unit(s) placed (elev ~ 10 ft) as far on the west coast of Caucasus that I could get it / them. With me flying in from the west over the water with the autopilot engaged at a constant altitude, speed, heading and starting from an out of range position moving directly toward the SA unit(s). I recorded when the search and tracking radar noticed me and when the SA system fired. I suppose, for me to test the acquisition times I would need to start the mission in track range and see how long it takes for the SA unit to get a shot off etc... Mine and Shein's numbers are DCS version specific and differ a bit from the 475th. Most notable, flying in at 50 AGL the SA-15 took me out 100% of the time and at under 30 AGL I could pylon into right it. For example: SA-15 475th Threat Database Ammunition Qty: 8 Missiles per TELAR Reloading Time: 4 seconds between missile launches Acquisition Time: 9 Seconds Minimum Effective Range: 0.8 nautical miles <-- 1.3 Maximum Effective Range: 6.5 nautical miles <-- 8.0 Minimum Effective Altitude: 60 feet <-- 30 Maximum Effective Altitude: 26,000 feet <-- 20 Countermeasures: Chaff Defensive Manoeuvre: Terrain Mask Break turn to place missile on beam High Speed Split-S (>M0.9) into extending S-Turns Shein, More Video! More Video! Caldera

Ebabil, Yes there is. Try using this option. It is the bottom one on the list. The red trim X on the controls monitor will lock in place as per normal, but does not effect force trim. The actual trim always goes to the pedal input. I used this method for awhile. I even had both the pedals and the cyclic force trim essentially turned off at the same time off for awhile. I use a right hand mouse so I realized that I needed to learn how to trim. It is still way easier, especially for a hover that it is maintained for a longer period of time, to use force trim. Petsild, If only we could all justify a full Brunner kit set-up. Caldera

Hey All, I am pretty sure that ED is aware of the gun vs some vehicles where the vehicle is destroyed and on fire, but is not reflected on the TADS. I wanted to ensure that this problem is also identified. This BTR is in the water. Following two Hellfire missile strikes, it is actually dead and on fire. I also notice that vehicles in the water are almost invincible to some attacks, especially guns. Is that because there is no splash damage? Nonetheless, sometimes even direct hits do not seem to cause damage. Caldera

Hey all, I am starting to think that this... ...is the best way to go. It has advantages, and reduces the disadvantages of both methods immediately after a trim change is made. You never completely lose control. <-- Big If you forget to re-center, you still retain control at all times with the cyclic. The changes with cyclic are often less and have less impact overall. You can make large changes to the pedals and not have things go completely bonkers. For example, when going from flight to a hover or coming out of a hard sliding turn. This works very well, even if you do not re-center the pedals immediately. Caldera

Thanks Everyone! Wobbly Doodads for the HADS... Caldera

Hey All, I have an idea, but what are these things for? Caldera

Spider, Thanks, of course not my doing. The CO has really cool green markings on the vertical stabilizers. i am just a pleeb... Caldera

Shein, Cool video, I enjoyed it allot. I have modified my chart using your 1.3 Nm minimum firing distance. Caldera

Hoist your beer glass to this! Caldera

Hey All, Something new happened today while I was getting in position to hook up to the nozzle. This occurred during a SP mission. The tanker was at 15000. There was multiple friendly aircraft in this mission. It went like: Shell 1-1, Hawg 1-1, Ready Pre-Contact Hawg 1-1, Shell 1-1, Chicks in Tow, 1 Mile Trail at 14000 I went like: WTFO? I tried the coms a few more times and got the same result. So I thought, OK fine, trail at 1 mile it is. As I was backing out, literally only a few feet above my canopy I noticed a friendly AI F-16 pulling in. This guy must have been desperate for gas, because the tanker gave him priority. The F-16 in question was part of a two ship and his wing was probably lost in an air battle. All is well that ends well? Caldera

My take on force trim. It works very well I just had to get used to how it worked and currently I have no issues with it except for one. The one issue is, if George becomes the pilot then the trim settings will neutral out. This causes a large bump when I am transferring back to the pilot seat. Particularly if, as pilot, I have established a OGE hover prior to switching to George. The trim reset function was just what I needed, because it allows me to fly with the big red controls indicator turned off. Comments: Instant Instant --> the "none bumpless transfer" gets you at first Instant --> never completely lose control even if you forget to re-center the controls <-- Biggest advantage Instant --> works best with many small trim changes Instant --> requires a moment of relaxation if you make a large change as things can get wild Instant --> it almost always creates small bobbles don't worry about them Central Central --> provides a very nice "bumpless transfer" for most setting changes Central --> easier to go into a trimmed hover more smoothly Central --> large changes will not result in wild oscillations <-- Biggest advantage Central --> many crashes have occurred by forgetting to re-center the controls Central --> many crashes have occurred by forgetting to re-center the controls Central --> many crashes have occurred by forgetting to re-center the controls In either mode, you always have to re-center the controls after a trim change. That is probably the hardest habit to learn, but also it gets very habit forming. Once that habit is learned both modes don't really seem that far apart. Caldera

I can not load chaff from the Mission Editor. Both values for Chaff and Flares are greyed out and the values can not be changed. The Rearm Refuel window is the only way I can add Chaff. Both the Chaff and Flare sliders work correctly. Caldera

Raptor, Because I have zero actual experience with these weapons, I am not saying anything of the sort. I am simply stating one fact that I noticed about the DCS AGM-114K. One could also notice from my chart that weapons classified as Armor Piercing also do better than their strictly HE Fragmentation counter part. In DCS... Maybe I should remove the HE component in my testing that I post? I just use it as a relative type assessment comparison to the real world of the available weapons that DCS provides where the only thing that really matters is how the weapon performs in game. Caldera

BigNewy, I guess I had better review rule 1.16 before I post! To be clear, I am not trying to indicate that there is anything wrong. Of which, if any, I am not privy and the results are simply what I observed. I am just providing the results of my testing for better understanding of the game mechanics. Caldera https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/AGM-114_Hellfire

Crispy, OK Thanks! That does not help find it a whole lot... Caldera

Hey All, I am primarily a A-10C jockey (junky) and have done quite a bit of weapon testing for it. Since the AGM-114K is the new kid on the block I thought I would test it as well. I don't run more than a couple of tests per weapon so data scatter is a reality. I do this to testing to compare relative lethality which also includes the splash damage of the weapon. Which I consider to be hits and kills to adjacent units. This is my test range. All of the red units are spaced at 25 feet radius from the center vehicle. This is the shot. One AGM-114K from 2000 feet AGL in a George hover targeting the center vehicle. This is the data comparison chart. This is assuming that ED has not changed the other weapons a whole lot since I tested them last. The numbers for HIT and KILL indicate radius distance to the center vehicle. I am not positive about the weight of the warheads. But the value of HE RATIO is subjective and is the ratio of INF KILL / HE KGS. I use it for comparison only. Notice that the AGM-114K does better vs Infantry kills with a much smaller warhead than the AGM-65D. Caldera

Thanks to all! It was really this experiment that in a side ways sort of way turned the light bulb on for me. Simply watching what the Trim Ball did, as I rocked the aircraft back and forth. Caldera

Thanks for the replies! Admittedly, I am a rock head and slow to get it... But I am an (ex) controls guy and I do struggle with concept of an "Aerodynamic Trim" sensor. To my knowledge, there is no "Weather Vane Rooster" mounted any where on the AH-64D so the actual trimmed or not trimmed values and the Trim Ball indication are derived from another source. I am just trying to get my head around that concept. Frankly, the thing reacts more like the ball in the turn bank indicator of for example the P-47D than the gyroscopically driven instrument of a modern digital aircraft. Caldera

OK Thanks for the replies! That is allot of torque for just the tail rotor. But, as you say, being on the ground and unmovable must increase it to some degree. I am surprised that it is that much as I often fly around at 80knots (or so) with just a total of around 50% torque. I guess a lesson in slamming the pedal when already at a high torque value. The instantaneous value could approach what I see above. The whole Trim Ball thingy still baffles me a bit me. As seen in the thread below. I am still wrapping my brain around it mostly because I have been overthinking it. But I do notice from this test, that even a small amount roll (and nothing else) also effects this indication to a very noticeable degree. Even with the aircraft not moving and firmly planted on the ground. Caldera