mjolner

Simple to test. From main menu select options. Then Input Then under devices select your stick as listed Then select "axis" Then on the right hand side of the menu select the "Test" button. Then down on the bottom right you can see all of the different axis. See the white crosshair? If that is centered on the inner dot when your stick is released and centered your stick is fine.

http://www.d-n-i.net/second_level/boyd_military.htm Here is some good info on John Boyd. Definitely recommended reading for A2A comabt and just military tactics in general. This guy never got the credit deserved. Definitely take the time to read his Aerial Attack Study. Good stuff for the arm chair general in all of us.

I remember reading some accounts of Rudel, Germany's #1 tank buster. He destroyed hundreds of tanks on the eastern front. He would stay off the rudder when firing those big 37mm gunpods, cant see A2G in a hog or frog being any different as far as physics are concerned. I personnally only use rudder for slow flight high AOA, coordinated turns, and of course crosswind landings. I try to always land with a crosswind, just more fun that way. My favorite challenge is flying the PMDG 747 Queen of the Sky (in FS9) without autoland in heavy crosswind, fun stuff. Trying to control 600,000 lbs. is definitely interesting, you learn to love the term rudder authority. It amazes me that for many airline pilots thats a routine operation.

The cougar mods are really nice, particularly the installation of hall sensors. I myself have used an off-the-shelf cougar for about 4 years now and other than some minor pot cleaning it has worked like a charm. The negligible center play makess no difference in flying performance. Either that or I just suck and dont know it.

Even though much of the complaints about Vista appear valid it still reminds of the Y2K scare and stuff like that. I seem to remember alot of the same lamentation on the forums (not this one specifically) before XP was released. I will give it a year or so and see how things unfold.

Thanks. You guys know your munitions. Sorry about the number mix up. CBU 87 not 97. Well there are both 87s and 97s, LOMAC uses 97, not sure the difference myself.

Quite possibly this is a dead horse but I couldnt find any releated posts. Was just messing with the Mission Editor and I wanted to watch an F-18 (best option w/o F-15E) drop some CBUs on a mixed column of vehicles. Now I have never used this weapon before even with AI (I have never messed with loadout mods) but I have used the MK20s alot. I have killed alot of T-80s with little trouble with the Rockeyes and I expected even more punch with CBU-97. Its capability was less then expected. I realize that even a MK20 might have a hard time with a T-80 in the real world, I understand all this. I also know that CBU-97 are "supposed" to be more effective against tanks than Rockeyes. I conducted multiple strikes against groups and single tanks. Group kills never happened even with CBUs dropped in pairs. Occasionally a single T-80 would explode after the second pair of bombs. This occured less than 50% of the time. Also bear in mind that I paid particular attention to the blast and bomblet direction in relation to the column. The CBUs make a big boom and make lots of craters when compared to the MK20 but the damage just isnt being done. A direct hit with the MK20 results in a single and sometimes multiple kills more than 90% of the time. So is this really an issue? Is the CBU-97 modeled correctly in relation to other ordnance in the game. Is it intened to be more effective against light armor? There is plenty of iron to lob around in this game so its no big deal. I just thought it curious that the rockeye performed better on armor. I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

I am not very familiar with choppers at all. I understand though that the Ka-50 is a one man show, weapons, navigation, one individual. The hind has a two man cockpit right, one for weapons and Nav the other for flying ( I am out of my realm here )? I just seem to remember reading that it was many times cheaper and easier to develop a single operator aircraft, the cockpit systems alone would be an enomous undertaking for the Hind. Maybe ED just picked the Ka-50 for resource and develpoment reasons. They can probably deliver a better package with the Ka-50 and ultimately more value for our money. I would rather have a richly researched and accurate Ka-50 than a decent Hind that had to deal with compromises during development.

I have had my cougar for about 3 years, it is still completely stock, I had ordered new pots when my X axis was spiking but before the new pots arrived I took the old one out and cleaned it and it worked like new. Its been going for about a year now since I cleaned the pot and still working like a champ. My center play has gotten pretty wide but It doesnt bother me at all. The spring resistance is enough so that when I relieve pressure or simply let go of the stick I know my pots are centered, or in other words the loose centerplay of the gimbals does not put any stray or false input on the pots because of the weight of the stick. The center play might give me a micro second loss in response time such as when fast rolling or changing direction but surely it is not significant enough to effect my game play, my lack of skill would overshadow it anyway. The software provided with the cougar is simply unmatched, with a little patience, and time you can create a very powerful profile that will suit your every whim, in any sim you fly. My stick has taken a beating, but has outlasted any computer part I have ever purchased. Cougar all the way.

You have the option to set the number of aircraft in each flight when you set one on the map. Cant give exact details here at work though. Its actually simple, you will probably kick yourself.

Hmmm tough to make a top 10 list of all time of anything let alone fighters. Were nt the highest scoring aces of any war, german pilots in either the Me109 or the FW190, I mean I love the P51 but name me a US pilot with over 200 kills in the same bird. I could be wrong.

Yes Crusty is right, absolutely. I prefer 550km/h + and between 2500 and 3000 meters when delivering iron with the frog. Even faster helps you avoid AA and even SAMs just punch flares and pray. This is similar to to RL Frog tactics used in the Afghan conflict, Frogs didnt hang around after dropping.Get in fast and get out real fast. Keep in mind that with high speed you will experience high vibration so your accuracy may be compromised, practice makes perfect.

Not that this helps you with your current problem but I agree with crusty, you would be better off mapping your pitch trim to H1 on the joy. You will have much better control. On the other hand, just to see I mapped pitch to my ant knob just fine as rotator0. So you must have some conflict. In game using the ant knob as pitch trim it was very sensitive, if your trying A2G gunnery it is hard to get a quick trim. To correct this you would have to adjust the sensitivity in the menu or use a digital type statement. Good Luck

Thought I would try flying a helicopter to prepare for Black Shark. Heck, how hard can it be right? I know nothing about helicopters except what I have seen from watching M.A.S.H. reruns, looks easy. I tried to fly the Robinson R22 Beta II in MS 2004, yeah that was a joke. I just dont get the controls.I understand anti-torque pedals, but the throttle, collective and the cyclic I just dont get at all. They seem to work in unison but how I havent worked out. When you fly a fixed wing you let the power and lift do the flying and you sit back and enjoy the ride. Seems like with a chopper you have to make constant adjustments. I can hover above the pad and turn in circles (but once I start spinning I cant stop) any other motion results in an abrupt crash. From doing a little reading I found that modern choppers have computer systems that control torque which may help but the R22 is as simple as it gets so I think I am in for long nights of practice. Will flying a modern combat chopper require such complex micro-management of the flight controls? I hope not. It will be interesting to fly a chopper and kill tanks at the same time.

Thanks for the brief info Ironhand, I appreciate the response. I have a strange habit of brooding over particularities. I find the electronic warfare aspect of Lockon to be increasingly fascinating and love to learn all I can.

I hope I am not irritating anyone with this question, but I will ask again in another way. In the training vid, whenever a sam was launched the RWR in the A10 chirped briefly. I found this on FAS: (this is for Strela 10 SA-13 not SA-9) The SA-13 incorporates the range-only HAT BOX radar which provides the operator the targets range to the system to prevent wastage of missiles outside the effective range of the system. The HAT BOX circular parabolic radar antenna is located between the two pairs of missile canisters. The SA-9 Gaskin uses some type of passive radar for what I am not sure. So it is certainly reasonable that the RWR in the HOG would not detect the launch from a Strela 1. I understand why ED removed it but what was the reasoning for removing that feature when a Strela 10 launched? Any ED testers care to clue me in.

Thanks to both Ironhand and ruggbutt for your efforts. Very appreciated, this classic from the original version has always been my favorite training track for its simplicity and clarity. I always revert to it when intro ing new people to sam evasion and A2G. Anyway seeing this brings back a curiosity which I know has been discussed on the old boards but I dont remember the resolution. I am refering to the sam launch warning. Now of course the A10 is a RADAR warning reciever so it cannot detect an IR launch. But I remember it mentioned or maybe read it in a book that the strela 1 and 10 take a quick radar range check on the target that may be picked up by a reciever. Is this true or no and if so why was it removed?

Time is a precious commodity and you are so generous with yours. Thank you Ironhand.

I have had the Thrustmaster Cougar HOTAS for several years now. There seems to be many differing opinions about this stick but I have been absolutely pleased with it to say the least. Many complain of worn pots or sloppy centering and of course many have complained about buggy software. I have experienced none of these issues. Atleast 2 years of solid use and I am still using the original pots. My stick has about maybe a half inch of center play, but that is simply the weight of the stick not putting any force into the springs. This also means that a centered stick provides no input errors like some other brands on the market. I personnally like a little center play, with the cougar I know I am truly centered when the stick is loose. The software has a little learning curve but it is very flexible and powerful and with a little patience you can create a very complete and user friendly setup. And one last note, nothing beats the feel of an all metal stick, you will never go back, not to mention the 5 pound pull of the springs. Simply the best stick on the market. The plastic junk just doesnt cut it. Sorry, you did want a $50 recommendation, a guess a saitek cyborg or logitech 3D pro would suit you just fine. I get miffed when I read others saying that you need to spend the money to mod a cougar, just not true in all cases.

I for one am fully confident in ED. They offer the most advanced combat flight sim on the market that keeps us all coming back. The Su25T is the model of what a combat sim should be with current technology. They dont need to take notes, they have set the standard. With my hard earned cash I want the best I can buy that is currently on the market, and that my friends is LOMAC.

I had this problem with v1.02 and its still with me in 1.1. I have tried turning down hardware acceleration and that does'nt have any effect. The crackling and popping are particularly prominent in external view. I am using the only available drivers for this card from the creative website, 5.12.1.252. Here is my system: WinXP Home SP2 Athlon 64 4000+ nforce 4 mobo MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI 1024 GB DDR Nvidia 6800 256 Ultra PCI-e Sound Blaster live 5.1 gamer (oops left that out ) DX 9c as a side note I do have a similar bug in both FS2004 and SH3, hmmm, maybe a DX problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I guess the 25T cannot equip this bomb? Fooled around with loadouts and could not find it. In the PDF manual it briefly describes that a special Laser Target Designator pod is required for these weapons and I assumed that was refering to the Shkval. Strange though that on the main loading screen shot the 25T has what appears to be 2 KAB-500L on the pylons 3rd in from the wingtips .

I use the Range rotator on my Cougar for target size, provides easy adjustment and its quick. Now I just have to remember to turn on the laser designator. Man after getting used to the AFM and learning the 25Ts weapon systems flying the Hog is almost like an arcade game but I still like it.

Thanks for the links. Those models looks great especially the penguin.

Anyone notice that the GBUs in those new screens on the main page are higher resolution than what is available in game. I tried all the various GBUs on both the F/A18 A and C and they are all lower res crap. I suppose this is new content not added yet. I think I would pay another $50 for an add-on that simply upgrades all the 3D models to higher res, but thats just me.