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I don't know if the MiG21 flight model is sufficiently sophisticated to give you a definite feel difference. About the most any PC flight sim controller can provide is a change in stick deflection to achieve a given roll or pitch rate. You might be able to tell the difference or maybe not. I suspect, I haven't flown the MiG21 recently enough to remember for sure, you will see some difference but the under wing stores are neither plentiful nor all the heavy for a a short span delta wing jet with an inherently high roll rate. Fly a clean A-10 followed by one loaded to near maximum weight if you want to get a good demonstration of the difference. You would definitely be on to a bug if the A-10 has no difference. The MiG21? Maybe, maybe not.

The T-38 roll rate at maximum stick throw was 720 degrees/second. Full stick aileron rolls of more than two rolls were prohibited. It has been a long time since I flew it but I seem to remember the reason for the -1 prohibition had something to do with disorientation as well as aerodynamic/structural issues. I do remember that it was very easy to bounce the other guy's head off the canopy if he was not prepared for the high roll rate. The Talon is an extreme example because it had, IIRC, the highest roll rate of any jet way back when and maybe still. It also was clean. Adding wing tanks, external weapons, and "wet" wings of combat jets adds mass that must be overcome by aerodynamic forces of ailerons and/or spoilers. This limits roll rate but, yes, some of these fighters can generate considerable roll rates in an appropriate configuration. I've yet to see roll rates in any DCS a/c that I'd consider inappropriate or excessive. Some of the a/c are actually more sluggish than I'd expect. That is only my opinion however since I have not flown any of them with the exception of two sorties in the F-15A family model way back in the early '80s. The real jet seemed slightly more responsive than the sim.

You've done well every time the weapon hits the ground.:music_whistling:

Amazon had them for $46 plus shipping about two weeks ago. They seem to be out right now. They are worth the wait.

This is one of my favorite stories about student USAF pilots. It happened at Reese AFB in the early '80's to my boss near the end of a contact sortie with a somewhat new stud. I was the assistant flight commander of E Flight at the time and I hadn't flown the second go of the day. I was just hanging out in office going through grade books. What fun. The SOF (Supervisor of Flying) called the flight on the squawk box saying they needed me at the SOF desk for an IFE with one of our jets. It seemed Frank, my flight commander, had just declared a physiological emergency and was returning direct to inside downwind of the pattern. That's not something we liked to do unless it was pretty serious because it really can disrupt a busy pattern. The pattern wasn't all that full so the SOF told Frank to just do it. That's about the time I got to the desk. The SOF wanted to know about the stud and whether he'd had any known history of physical problems. He hadn't. The next thing he said was a bit strange. He said Frank wouldn't tell him the problem. He only said he needed to get on the ground quickly and that they would not need fire and rescue to meet them. He stressed that he needed to get to the chocks right now. And that's how it worked out. I was still at the desk when frank walked in without the student about fifteen minutes later. The grin told us that this was going to be a good story. The sortie had gone to the aux field for some pattern work and then up into the area to do air work. It's been a long time but I seem to remember the kid being post solo so they would have done a spin or two, slow flight, stalls, and maybe a couple unusual attitude recoveries. Anyway, Frank said the kid had gotten unusually quiet and was being a little slow to do things and respond. Those are classic "he's-about-to-puke" signs so Frank asked him if he felt OK. The kid says, "Uh, sir, I really, really need to take a dump, bad." Frank, "How bad." Kid, "Like right now sir." "Right now?" "Yes sir, I don't think I can hold it." That's when Frank took the jet and headed for the recovery gate while he called the SOF for permission to go direct to inside downwind. With that call out of the way he talked to Lubbock Approach, who controlled our MOAs, and asked for an expedited recovery. He stayed 500' above the normal pattern altitude when he got to the pattern entry point and headed direct to the perch for the 180 degree turn to final of a overhead pattern to a landing. All went quickly and they were in the chocks in no time. Frank told the kid to arm his seat as they landed, Frank shut down the left engine, and had our hero disconnect the buckles to his chute so all he had to do when they parked was to release the seat harness, pop off his helmet, and jump out. All of that worked as advertised and before the right engine is even shut down the kid is over the side and running for the maintenance line shack about 50 yards away. Well, as Frank told it, he wasn't really running so much as doing a cheeks clenched stiff legged duck scuttle. The kid got across the perimeter road and suddenly straightened up nearly stopping. His feet come apart but his cheeks stay clenched as he now does a straight backed, bow legged walk. The trail of runny brown on the sidewalk behind him said it all. Poor bastard! So close. Oh, so close. That's funny enough but then he didn't have the good sense to not go into the line shack. He may not have known he was leaving a snail trail dribbling behind him but the zebra (senior master sgt. in this case) in the line shack sure as hell did. No sooner than the door closed but here comes our hapless young LT at a dead run with a fire breathing maintenance chief hot on his tail. There's no longer any thought about the load in his flight suit because his only concern is to out run the charging zebra. I suspect the zebra was like a dog chasing a car. What was he going to do when he caught him? The guy's toxic. Beating his ass might not have been that great of an idea. Doesn't matter, our LT could run, a serious load in his skivvies not the slightest worry any more. Everyone at the SOF desk was howling by the time Frank got to that part. The Ops Officer had joined us and even he couldn't avoid tears from roaring laughter. I never did hear how it went when the poor kid went back to the line shack with a bucket and mop but he was smart enough to take a case of beer with him when he went. Ah, the care and feeding of new pups.

Missile warning systems function by receiving radar energy from a targeting radar that conforms to a known form that indicates launch and guidance of a weapon or from the active seeker on an active radar missile. You will only get a missile inbound warning if you are the target or are unlucky enough to be close enough to the target to be within the cone of energy from an active missile. Either way it is time to execute your all aspect missile defense tactics upon receiving the warning. The system doesn't really indicate whether it is a friendly missile or not as you can be just as dead from a hit by a friendly as by one less friendly one. Hence the old saying, "friendly fire, isn't." Otherwise radar warnings will be only that you are painted with a radar or are locked by one. Each works by looking at the strength and wave form then comparing them to forms that conform to know configurations of search, lock, or launch. If the characteristics of the radar wave form are not cataloged in the warning system then you get the square root of squat all for warning. I'm not too familiar with the detailed workings of IR warning system that are in actual use but I have read that they can identify the characteristics of the rocket plume and, possibly, the aerodynamic heating of the missile body in flight. The warning is a result of a cataloged signature within the field of view of the system. There are some integrated systems in use and/or under development that will self initiate a spoofing strategy with flares and/or use laser countermeasures. The IR warning and countermeasure systems are by far the newest developments and are much less common than are systems for radar.

Titanium, the reason US forces (all other countries use something similar) use standard brevity (this is a NATO standard actually) is to transmit the maximum amount of data to friendly units in a minimum amount of time. For example: "Raptor, contact, 340 for 30, angels 24, turning hot" means "Hey heads up Raptors you have a contact bearing 340 for 30 NM at angels 24 turning to point their nose on you." Contrast this with: "Uh, Raptor flight, uh, I might have a bandit turning towards you, look out!" "Raptor copy say position of possible bandit" "Uhhh, sort of north of your current position." "Raptor copies, say distance" "UH, 20 miles, uhhhhhh." "Raptor copies, say altitude" "Uhhhhhh, 30,000 feet, I think, no make that 20,000 feet" Of course by the time all this got sorted out Raptor has MiGs in his chili or needs to start BFMing inbound missiles before he even knows where to look. And the picture has completely changed in the time it took to transmit due to the high speeds involved and the contacts' ability to maneuver. The idea is brief, standard phraseology in a standard format to minimize confusing an already horribly confused environment that changes faster than you can change your mind. Everyone gets the idea of what is happening, where, and to whom even when the call gets garbled or the transmitting agent screws it up.

effte, you might think that but you'd be wrong. The procedures are part of a master plan. The more air traffic, manned aircraft as well as unmanned aircraft, missiles, and artillery shells, there is, the more important it is to deconflict them. There is always some latitude for free action but the risk of infringing on some other friendly force or being mistaken for a bad guy rises as you do your own thing. A guy is just as dead getting plinked by his own arty barrage as if a MiG got him. Modern warfare is a team effort that is heavily orchestrated and complex. It is damn hard work where dumb asses only cause trouble for everyone else.

leafer there's no one answer to your question. Every airfield will have its own procedures. The departure and arrival procedures will specify a track, altitude restrictions, and, maybe, airspeed requirements. The track can be defined by TACAN or INS between waypoints with altitude limits at various waypoints. There may be a visual ground track in lieu of an instrument procedure. The visual departure and arrival is more expeditious and permits more aircraft to fit into the air space. It also has the benefit of denying an enemy navigation aids like TACAN to attack your base. In a combat zone they would be turned off if there was a threat and you would have to fly by reference to the ground or INS. Arrival is much the same. There is usually an instrument arrival to an instrument approach or a "gate" where you can join the visual traffic pattern. The visual pattern is defined locally by a track, altitudes, and required airspeeds. The overhead pattern is one you should learn. I won't go into it now since it is more complex than I have time to explain. A copy of the A-10 Dash 1 can give you a hint about what it is if not a good idea of how to actually fly it. There are several guys around who can clue you in if you really are interested. The Dash 1 has some other good information. For instance: Standard climb speed is 200 KIAS minus 1 knot per 1000' above sea level (MSL) Single engine best climb speed is 170 KIAS minus 1 knot per 1000' above sea level (MSL) clean and varies with gear down or flaps down by minus 10 knots for each Cruise speeds and altitudes are dependent on a number of variables. There are charts to pick an optimum altitude and airspeed/mach based on gross weight, drag index, and atmospheric conditions of temperature and wind. For the kind of flying done in the sim 200-300 KIAS is fine as there is seldom any reason to be precise. I'd suggest you pick something, say 250 KIAS, and learn to maintain, as well as a specific altitude, it at all times you're not blowing up stuff or getting shot at. Max range cruise is ~15.6 units of AOA IRL but I don't know how close it is in the sim. There's something to play with... Takeoff and landing speeds are dependent on temperature, pressure altitude, gross weight, and drag index. Generally, rotating to takeoff pitch attitude at 120 KIAS and holding it until you fly off the ground works quite well. Similarly, maintaining 150 KIAS until you extend the gear and flaps works fine. Approach speed with full flaps can vary from 110 to 160 KIAS depending on weight. Flying the AOA indexer is the best technique. Note the airspeed where you get the green donut and keeping that speed works fine. There's a start for you. The best I can tell you is to set your own parameters and practice them until you can make the aircraft go where you want at the airspeeds and altitudes you choose. Its all a matter of building the discipline and skill to make the jet do what you want it to do.

I can certainly think of situations where a higher roll rate would be beneficial but I can also see major drawbacks to using the speed brake to effect the added rate. The chief problem among all is that the Hawg is already power limited, even clean which is seldom except for demos, and it doesn't often need the extra drag. The added weight and drag of high drag index weapon loadings worsens the situation and there would be structural concerns for the pylons and wing with increased G loading and high roll rates. I'd be surprised to find that the rolling G limits and non-rolling G limits were even close to being the same. The limits are generally somewhat less for rolling G and I'm positive they are for the Hawg without having specific knowledge. There may even be additional configuration limits to rolling G. What that means to a Hawg driver is that there would likely be times using the boards to improve roll rate are a seriously bad idea. (The tendency to do loaded rolls is something that has to be beaten out of a fledgling fighter pilot for this very reason as well as that they are not energy efficient.) I'd also be surprised if the real jet didn't have Dash 1 restrictions to the use of speed brakes to increase roll rate. I don't know if this is modeled in the sim but I thought I'd offer the concept for understanding of real life considerations. Thanks Tango.

We used to teach the "wifferdill" as a good re-positioning maneuver. It has all of the ideas of a chandelle followed by a slice except it is completely informal. The basic idea is to exchange airspeed for altitude, use the slower airspeed to decrease turn radius for a lower ground displacement, and then recover the airspeed by descending. The wifferdill will usually gain energy but can be flown to lose it as well. So how do you do a wifferdill? Start with a low to medium G pull to 20 to 45 degrees nose high. How high depends on how much smash you start with: low energy, low pitch and high energy high pitch. Higher pitch attitudes also tend to lose energy more than low to medium ones. Next you unload to 1 G with the wings level and wait for the aircraft slow to your target speed. You might get as low as 200 KIAS for a 10 degree pitch or need as high as 250+ KIAS for 45 degrees and lots of G in the turn. Again the higher the pitch attitude the higher the airspeed need to be when you start the roll for the next part. Roll into 90 to 135 degrees of bank and pull. This will start your nose down towards the horizon with a higher bank getting the job done quicker. The idea is to try to play the bank and G to get your nose around to the desired track with the nose about as much nose low as you used nose high. Roll out and unload wings level and let the jet accelerate. Begin the pull out at the desired altitude or airspeed and begin your re-attack. Lets put it all in short form: Wings level pull Set the desired pitch attitude Unload to 1 G max and wait (unloading to zero G will help you gain energy but you will need to use a higher pitch attitude as your nose will fall as you wait for your target airspeed) Roll into at least 90 degrees of bank and set your wings Pull, playing bank and G to bring your nose around to the desired track as your nose gets about as much nose low as it was nose high Roll, unloaded or you will drift off track, wings level Unload to 1 G max and wait (unloading to zero G will help you accelerate faster but will also cause your nose to fall which may greatly steepen your nose down pitch) Lead your recovery pull to attain the desired altitude/airspeed combination You will generally gain more energy in a wifferdill that spends the most time unloaded and lose in one that is G'ed up. You will turn faster with more G. So depending on your situation you can do a wifferdill differently. The best way to learn this thing is to go out and fly some. Start out along a straight road at a 1000' AGL or so. Beginning at the same altitude and airspeed for each try them with low pitch, low & high bank, and low G to contrast with high pitch, high and low bank, and high G. Remember bank must always be 90 degrees or more to get the nose coming down. The things to look for are: how much displacement from the road occurs, how long it takes from beginning the maneuver to returning to wings level and level flight, note how much altitude and airspeed change from beginning to end. Then pick a few combinations of pitch, bank, and G to use. It won't be long before you can vary how you do things on the fly to get the results you want. There are some tactical considerations too. IR threats in the area make using the vertical to re-attack a dicey play. Those nice hot engines against a cold sky make wonderful targets. AAA threats also gain from you climbing into the LOS. Run out a ways before wifferdilling to re-attack as a minimum. IR weapons tend to shorter range so separation mitigates the threat. In high threat environments you should just do a flat high G turn as low as possible or get above/outside of their threat envelope and bomb them to rubble.