pyromaniac4002

If it's all the same to you, I'd still take a HARM Targeting System and some weaponry with a range better than 12 nm.

That sounds about right. It's definitely in the Axis Assign area of the control settings.

I definitely noticed that too. As far as I can tell, it has something to do with how much you open the throttle. I found it kind of helps to fine tune it while you hold down the starter switch, then switch from idle to run when the engine sounds like it's catching a little better. I have no idea the mechanics behind it, but if I had to guess I'd say it's something to do with the engine thermodynamics that they implemented in the recent patch.

AGH! This wait is killing me. Why don't they open up sales on a pre-order + beta until they're happy with the final product, like they did with P-51D and CA?

Since 1.2.1 I've had my engine seize on me several times without obvious maltreatment, and then in the debriefing it says "engine shutdown" or sometimes "failure," followed by shutdown, so I really don't know what's going on. I just finished a flight where I was flying for about 40 minutes before I got the engine failure. At the time, I was flying at max cruise MP and RPM and I had my oil and coolant radiator controls on automatic. I noticed that the oil temperature was above the green optimum band, but still had plenty of room before redline. I figured that was alright, because after all I would think the automatic controls would do something if it weren't. And there wasn't any combat involvement, so unanticipated presence of extraneous metal isn't a factor. Aside from the oil temperature, everything was in the green, so I'm wondering if I should intervene when that oil temp is above the green (but below the red) and manually adjust the radiator or not. Thanks for any wisdom you guys can share. EDIT: Oh, and I was flying at about 29,000 ft. Speed was probably around 300 mph, but I'm not certain.

Serial: 09670 Location: Trabuco Canyon, California, USA :punk:

Any word on this yet? I hope I'm not actually going to be out a set of activations because I followed the instructions on this update.

I'm coming up on a year since I got my TM HOTAS Warthog, and a day hasn't gone by where I regretted making the sizable investment that I did. Of course, it's particularly amazing when you combine it with DCS: A-10C, using the highest fidelity controller with one of the highest fidelity sims in existence, but even without having each button and switch correspond with what you'll see when you look down at your in-game throttle and stick, it's an extraordinary piece of equipment for whatever you're flying. Most HOTAS systems have a pretty significant degree of similarity, it's just a matter of where they place the button/switch. It's superbly well made, it has unmatched accuracy, and there are about a hundred ways you can see a degree of thoughtfulness in design that just doesn't exist in the vast majority of competing designs. I know you've already ruled buying one of these out, but for anyone else considering it, I'll just say if you love flying sims and you have the means to buy one, do it. The decision is as simple as that. A great flight simulator is all about putting you as much in the actual seat of an aircraft as possible, and there's only so much that a development team can do through your monitor and speakers to deliver that experience. The remainder is made up in the physical experience, and short of spending a year building a pit, you can significantly close that gap between the game and reality with a good HOTAS controller. Nearly all of the flying and finding/engaging targets will be done through it, so having the TM Warthog vs. some space-junk-looking Saitek (which is still a great setup in its own right) makes a much bigger difference than you would think. And however you decide on your purchase, welcome to the brotherhood of HOTAS. :thumbup:

You don't think the helmet-mounted cueing system in both the Mig and Su give a significant advantage? Up until the initial merge, I would agree that there's nothing particularly unbalanced, but in a turning fight I think it's much more effective pointing your head at something rather than your entire plane. I'm not saying they should just throw in JHMCS and the AIM-9X, though. Historically speaking, it's accurate the way it is. The Russians had the edge against the -9M. Still, it's always nice to have more weapon options than fewer.

lolwut! It seems like 1 out of every 3 times I go for a Sparrow kill, I lose my lock and panic trying to find my target again. I tip my hat to you, sir. :thumbup:

Absolutely. Personally, I originally purchased A-10C on Steam, so I had to grab the serial number from there and associate it with my account here. I don't know if yours is already or what, but just go ahead and try downloading the A-10 module.

+1 Whatever we get next though in the DCS series, I'd put my money on it being a SEAD-capable aircraft. And it will be nice to have it modeled to DCS standard instead of the "hit d until you get on the one that shows diamonds, designate, and shoot" nature of Su-25T SEAD mission in FC. Didn't really think before about having both the Mig and Su as air-to-air combatants on the Russian side while the US only had the F-15 (Su-27 and Su-33 are functionally identical up to the point of where you can land, as far as the game is concerned, so I would really only say that RU has 1 aircraft up on US in the A-A realm). I guess it's not easy to include a basic version of an F-16 or F/A-18 in something like Lock On, just by virtue of them having MFDs. Can't very well just throw in a JPEG of some generic systems status page, it beckons a lot more interactivity than a bunch of analog dials. I would like to see a new US plane in FC3, but I can't imagine such a substantial change going unannounced all this time or being tacked on in this impromptu extension of the release date (err... month).

Sorry for the further OT, but.... Now that you guys got me going on this F-15C A-G ability question, I am finding things that say it was designed with it and subsequently removed. I've literally never seen this before and I'm glad you guys could expand the horizons of my knowledge on the subject. Thanks. Interesting reading for anyone else who is blown away by an air-to-ground F-15C: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA398080 I was hoping (like many others I'm sure) to spend the evening playing FC3, but some literature on the development of the F-15C is a pretty decent back-up. Gotta find something to do while FC3 is being polished, right?

Then I stand corrected. I guess I figured after seeing "multi-role" time and again I assumed it had some degree of credibility behind it. But as it stands, the avionics do not include the capacity for aimed bombing, correct? There's a strafe mode for the gun, but an aircraft strafing with the 20mm cannon alone does not constitute an actual purpose-built air-to-ground vehicle. It's like going up in a C-17 and hanging a GAU-17 off the back ramp. It doesn't change from a transport aircraft to a ground attack aircraft just because it can make things on the ground die. The F-15C can conceivably make things on the ground die, but clearly the only purposeful use for an F-15C is to wreak havoc on things that fly, thus it is strictly an air dominance fighter. The whole point of my bringing up the F-15C not carrying bombs was to say it's not "multi-role," and in my book, any aircraft sitting on the tarmac which isn't ready to load bombs, take off, and drop them doesn't have an inherent air-to-ground capability, much less a multi-role capability. Besides that, there's no conceivable reason an F-15C would actually be called upon to carry and drop a bomb in today's day and age. And I maintain that I've never in thousands of hours of combing books or the internet seen anything mention a hold-out A-G capability on the F-15C. For curiosity's sake, where would they load the bombs? The bottom wing pylons only? Plus maybe the centerline fuel pylon? I can't imagine there's enough clearance to load them on the sides of the wing pylons.

I have a very very strong recollection that there was something official or nearly-official stated which included indications of US, fixed-wing, fast-mover, and multi-role. I'm not about to comb through every single thread to see where I saw it, but if anyone wants to step in and correct me, be my guest. This second part really threw me for a loop. I've never once seen, heard, or received a clairvoyant premonition of any bit of information that said an F-15C has ever or would ever be outfitted with even a bomb of the Mk-82 family. I've said before, I'm only some military nerd type, but the F-15C is only an update of the fighter built under the concept of "not a pound for air-to-ground." I don't think it's inconceivable to jury-rig a Mk-82 on to an F-15C, but it's not built with that capability installed. I don't think there aren't even CCIP or CCRP modes in the avionics to facilitate a bombing tasking. Maybe it can carry the bombs on the fuel racks and they could be dropped as you would jettison a tank, but there's no capacity that I know or have ever heard of to conduct a proper bomb drop. And I've read/heard a lot of things about military aircraft over the years.

The upcoming jet is supposed to be a US multi-role aircraft, so it's pretty much between the F-16 and F/A-18. F-15C being an all-out dogfighter doesn't constitute multi-role, and the F-15E is for one thing, ridiculously difficult to model appropriately being a two-seater, and second it's already on the docket for a third-party development team. I'd love a DCS: F-15C modeled in all its glory too. I probably wouldn't touch A-10C or BS2 for several months, and I love the hell out of them both. It's just not in the cards, for the time being at least. We got P-51D and CA as "pre-orders with immediate access to a beta" (aren't we still in a "beta" of CA?), I'm curious why we're not seeing the same with FC3 (especially if this delay is mostly to iron out the wrinkles so to speak). Would definitely appreciate a new rough estimate of when I should start looking for the release.

Ah okay, I thought you were saying they had the dispensers on things like AWACS or tankers.

I'm only some air force/military nerd, so I don't have a professional background to speak from like some of the other guys here do, but I'm pretty sure that's 100% correct.

Then let's get to 200 pages already! :smilewink:

+1 Hahaha "Oh, weren't we supposed to do something with the website.. err.. one of those games we made, or something?" "What? Screw the website. Just nail that MiG at 10 o'clock, I need to get in there and strafe the rest on the tarmac before they get airborne." :pilotfly: I'd actually kind of respect that scenario. As long as we get to try it ourselves within the next few days.

+1 :lol:

Come on ED... This is a really rough evening. Just watched the replacement refs desecrate the game of football in the NFL (and in the process cost my Green Bay Packers a very well deserved win) and I'm scheduled to get my ass kicked by Calculus at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I could really use that FC3 release right about now. On a side note, does anybody know how much the flight model for the F-15 is going to be changed? I think I remember reading months ago that it's still SFM, but I read there was some stuff on better landing dynamics and whatnot, made me think there might be some room for SMASFM (slightly-more-advanced-simple-flight-model) in this $30. I mean, I like improved graphics and 6DOF cockpit as much as the next guy, but I don't feel like that's earning a full $30. I'll buy it regardless because I love the work ED does and I love the F-15, but it's like let's not tarnish that reputation with inflated prices for these subsequent releases.

There's about a hundred ways you could be doing things wrong, none of what you're describing is because of bugs. It sounds like when you try to slave MAV to TGP like you may not have the TGP as SOI and they both are slaving to whatever steerpoint you have selected. I'm pretty sure you're talking about the CSAR mission, so I'll give you some tips from what I typically do on that one. When you fly over the pilot for the first time he'll pop a green flare, so I'll fly in from relatively high altitude and point my nose in the general area and wait to see the flare. Once I see it, I have my TGP ready and I line it up as best as I can with the diamond mark it will display on the HUD, then you can pull up and do whatever fine tuning you need to find the pilot on the actual TGP screen. Make sure TGP is SOI and set a mark point, and then I would go ahead and make it an actual waypoint on the CDU page. That way if it screws up for whatever reason you've got something to fall back on. So once you've got a bead on the pilot, this mission is basically about blowing up a couple different groups that try to attack him coming from the river that you flew in over. You'll have to use the TGP to look around in that direction, and there's not really any shortcut for that so you do need to be a little patient. The pilot does say some approximate range to the incoming enemies, but at least in my experience it's not very helpful. Also, don't forget to send in your SEAD and CAP support, and once you feel like the anti-air threats are dealt with you tell Sandy 11 to ingress to pick up the pilot. If you manage to keep the pilot and the helicopters alive, you win. This is one of the more difficult/involved single missions I think, so if you're finding it extremely frustrating, it's probably not surprising. Off the top of my head, you might find In the Weeds easier (you basically just have to stay below a certain altitude while you do your business). Surrounded! is also pretty good. I can't think of anything that's particularly easy off the top of my head, but there are easier missions out there. Good luck and don't give it up! The sweat and tears pay off big time when you're terrorizing an armored column with your GAU-8 and CBU-97s.

Sorry I don't have time to open the track right now, but if you're using a GBU-31/38 or CBU-103/105, be sure that on the DSMS they ready "RDY" and not "ALN DEG" or something like that. If it does say "ALN DEG" (and I think there's something else it could say, but I don't remember), it means that the INS guidance on the weapon hasn't aligned, and IIRC even when it shows that it'll still show "MAN REL" and basically indicate that it's ready to drop even though it isn't (and it won't). If this is the case, just yaw the plane left and right a little bit, and that should take care of it. If not, nevermind. :doh:

Hey Topcat. Propeller pitch, aside from the forces of the engine revving or decelerating to match a new prop RPM, doesn't have any direct effect on what you're talking about. I'd start out with setting up your pitch, roll, and yaw axes with a good amount of curvature (I use a TM Warthog stick too, and I think mine's set somewhere around 20). It might also help to keep an eye on your bank indicator when you're in a turn and try to keep the ball indicator on the bottom relatively centered. In my experience, that was a bigger issue before 1.2.0 came out and they tweaked the flight controls. Other than that, I don't think you're doing anything particularly wrong, the plane just doesn't react nicely to as much pitch as you've been giving it. Get the curve set up and find the spot where you start to see the cockpit shake a little bit (they added that in 1.2.0 too, and that made a big difference for me), and that's as far as you should pull the stick back. Good luck!