Merlin216

I think you need to be on the Position Page (selected by the rotation knob on the bottom right corner of the CDU section) instead of other. I don't think the speed shows up on any other page.

What are you changing the file name from? It almost sounds like you aren't extracting the zip files, and just renaming them.

Aside from visually finding a threat and boresighting (bringing the TGP back to center on the hud) then adjusting the TGP to the enemy location, the only way to quickly save a target area is with a mark point, which is simple and quick. You might have a hard time accurately placing that mark near the enemy location, but its better than trying to go head first into fire just to get your TGP setup.

You may be right. I thought I had done it before. It has been a while since I have been in game though. I wanted to add onto my post, as far as the TAD goes, I use the 2nd method anyway because it is much easier to manage multiple targets with mark points.

The only way I could think to quickly move the TGP would be to set an SPI with the TAD, and slew the TGP to the SPI. It is a real simple process, and there are two ways to do this. 1. Make the TAD SPI by selecting the TAD as your SOI (which it should already be if you are moving the cursor) and then press TMS up long to make that TAD cursor the SPI. Then you would slew the TGP to the SPI with China Hat Forward Long. 2. Slew the TAD cursor to the location you would like, and press TMS right short to make a mark point. Change the CDU to steerpoint selector knob thingy to Mark instead of flightplan. Find the mark you just made by cycling through as if they were waypoints on your flight plan, and make that mark point the SPI by again TMS Up Long. Then slew the TGP to the SPI again with China Hat Forward Long. I believe those are Friendly ground forces.

Yeah it works a lot quicker and easier. Especially if you are engaging using your mark points as target references.

China hat aft long (c key) slews all to steerpoint. However by default the SPI is the steerpoint, so V key would work, unless you designate another SPI.

I was excited to see just the T Handles working again. Looks like a good patch though.

I have a saitek X52, and if you spend enough time setting it up, it will be probably the best affordable HOTAS you can buy. There are several profiles for X52 on here if you need help, and I would be willing to send you my own if you wish, just PM me. I bought TrackIR 4 recently and have no gripes. It has a few tracking issues sometimes, but for the most part those are preventable. If you have the money get 5, nothing wrong with the latest and greatest. I think once you buy both of these your experience with DCS will greatly increase. I would not recommend this game to anyone without a HOTAS and TrackIR.

What grounds do you have to speak on? Are you using logic or credible experience like Rainmaker? Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it will be done. Factual evidence would be nice, especially before you go and callout someone with a credible background.

The trim at cold n dark is usually already in the TO state. If you were to trim the aircraft while on the ground, you would notice the stick moving with the trim. If you press and hold the TO trim button while looking at the stick, you will notice it move back to center.

I don't quite understand what the signal lights are, and where they are located. Also, what is the use of having the pinky switch with 2 lighting configurations, such as pinky forward and aft. I can't see a use for the default lighting if the anti collisions don't turn on, so why wouldn't you just use the aft setting with the panel state?

Neat videos, thanks for sharing.

Its just another flight surface like your ailerons and elevators. For the air you can use them to aim when doing gun runs, or even use them to burn off speed if your brakes aren't working fast enough. I only use them to burn speed of when I am coming in stupidly fast for formation, so if you are joining up like you are supposed to you shouldn't have to use rudder. Under your attitude indicator is something that looks like a bubble level. I don't really know the technical terms and all that, but it basically shows your slip when you are in a turn. If you are turning, you want to use the rudder to keep that bubble in the center. Its not something you have to do, but it can help your turns a little. Of course if you were to lose an engine, you would need to use the rudder to counter the thrust pushing you to one side. There are various other flight maneuvers you can use them for as well. There are a variety of different uses for the rudders. What I use them for is what I said above, but people with more flight knowledge than myself can probably correct me and add a few things.

I have to agree with Art. Depending on the threat it can be easier to fly over. Most of the IR guided Sams have a low ceiling and a short range, but the Sa-19 and one like that you need to be above 20k to be able to engage from high alt. I think the SA-15 is one that requires about 35k alt but I haven't had to test that. Fly over if you can, but if its an SA-11 you most likely will not be able to. If you are in the mountains then stay out a good distance (if possible) and use the TGP to find targets and mark them, then you can get close hiding in the terrain, pop up, slew the mav to the spi, and fire. If they get a shot off, hit the counter measures and head for the hills. If its flat, you can sometimes get away with a tree top approach. I have used it I think twice and it has worked for me. Once again this requires you to at least know where the target is going to be, or have found it with the TGP from a distance. When you get within say 7 mils to be on the safe side, pop up, shoot, and hit the deck. Remember to hit the jammer. Every little bit helps. If the SA number is 8 and below I believe you use SAM 1, and for everything higher use SAM 2. Most likely your ECM will figure that out and auto set the jammer in semi/auto modes. If you are in the air at a higher altitude and get a launch, best thing to do is put the missile to your 3 or 9 o'clock position, and bank into the missile as it gets close. This can be hard to do since the missiles are hard to see, but after a few tries you should get the just of it. This all depends on your altitude as well though. If you are lower, sometimes its better to go max power, hit the deck, and start running the opposite direction. I hope some of this helps. Unfortunately its just going to take a few tries of being shot at. If you learn the ranges and altitudes of your threats, you will have a great advantage. The last few missions I have flow, I have used the threat guide someone posted to stay away from all SAMs, and fortunately didnt take a scratch while still inflicting harm to the enemy. Just search this forum for the threat guide, its a must read. Good luck.

Yeah thats the video I used earlier. Thanks for the extra info. I knew they could do it and was pretty sure they couldn't go far, its nice to get that extra information though. How are the 17s for maintenance? I would assume being a little newer they aren't that bad but I am not a mechanic either. That is crazy. How was Point Mugu? I love California, but haven't been up along the coast that far.

I have been a huge C-17 fan for quite some time, and I love to see their Demo. I fortunately get to see it again at Chino next month. I was pretty positive the C-17 could do it before, and I have found information proving it. According to the Reverse Thrust article on wikipedia the C-17 is one of the few that can do it. I asked an old airline pilot about that as far as commercial planes go and he assured me it would be bad news. Anyway, wikipedia is not my hard source, but this video. You can clearly see the pilot pull the throttles back and pull the reversers just before starting the Tactical Descent.

I think the C-17s can. Obviously not a whole lot, but when they do their Tactical Descents they can deploy a little bit of reverse thrust in their insane dive.

A-10s do not have reverse thrust. Most fighters dont even have it.

I am not a big fan of fictional paints, but I do love that camo pattern and thing you did a very nice job. Excellent work.

I don't have too much experience in marking points on a mission, but from the times I have done it I can definitely see where you are coming from. I played one last night on the 74th VFS server and marked several different vehicle locations by a waypoint. Forgetting which ones I marked was not a problem for me since I was able to remember the 5 different marks I did. So to answer your question I guess it is mostly memory. Maybe write down what targets you have at each mark point? EDIT: Cibit posted while I was typing. Ill have to check that out myself.

Good points, thank you for the input. I guess I will have to play around with different orbits. I noticed that practically any slight bank angle will mask the TGP though, I wish the pod could be more towards the fuselage. I think most of the masking comes from the AIM9s though.

I have wanted to try buddy lasing in a combat situation for quite some time now. We have successfully done it on the practice range, so we are capable of doing so provided that the person bombing can detect the laser in adequate time. I have several questions as far as techniques go to see how you all do it. My first question is; Why buddy lase when you can send your SPI or target info to the other aircraft and they can just lase? Is the buddy lasing more for ground units? Second; Is there an effective way to orbit the target without masking the TGP so you dont lose LOS with the laser? It seems to me that you almost need to head straight in to find a target, or even lase for another aircraft, and I would like to do it from a safer distance or altitude as a FAC. On a side note, did they remove the players ability to be a ground FAC after one of the betas?

That is quite interesting. I would hate to lose the HUD. When I lost my MFCD during the engagement it was not a big deal, especially since it was just the left one. Its nice that you can swap out the different pages though so if you do lose one MFCD you can add the essential pages to the last operational one.

I made the mission I was in when it happened during startup, and to my knowledge I did not touch the failures. If there is a default input then that could be I guess. Thank you.