Zeus67

Nice pics. I'll talk to the texturizer.

Rocket and gun sights test. Anyway, one big difference between the AV-8B and the M-2000C is that on AG mode you can go with both the selected AG ordnance and the gun hot at the same time. Except when using Sidearms since both use the same firing mechanism. Small bug on the rockets sights, the slant range is given the value in meters, not feet as it should. I will fix that tomorrow.

I'm resting from the TGP development. But that does not mean that I am not working. I'm working on other pages until i feel that i can finish the TGP. Now, the ENG (for engine parameters) MPCD page is ready. This page shows you all you need to know about the engine. Also the PHOVER, which is a special page used to test the hover capability, has been enabled but its functionality will wait until the EFM is ready. MPCD ENG, for engine parameters, page PHOV, for performance hover, page. This page is used to test the engine capability for hovering. On other news, the AG gunsight is now ready. It includes a slant range indicator. Since there is no radar to indicate true slant range, the value is calculated from onboard sensors, including the radalt. AG gunsight. The engagement range is between 1500 to 6000 feet. The two "V" show the selected minimum and maximum engagement ranges. The last three ticks show 6000, 5000 and 4000 feet range respectively. AG gunsight. You can see the slant range indicator counting down. In this image it is indicating about 4000 feet slant range. AG gunsight. The slant range indicator is showing that the aircraft is now at the selected engagement range. (The arc is between the two "V"s).

I wanted to know if I could take off with this heavy load: 8 GBU-12s TGP DECM Fuel Tank Well, I did but it was a struggle. Not sure if I will be able to do so later when the EFM is more advanced.

Yes, any documentation will be highly appreciated. As I said, the only one I have is quite old.

Basically, yes.

It is used as such. But it is measured FROM the target TO your aircraft.

The angle marked B, that is the B angle.

Yes. In the sample it is 10º.

The number at the end of the target speed vector is the B Angle or the angle made by the target's vector and yours.

It is an annoying bug that so far neither us nor ED can replicate so it can be squashed. The workaround is to edit the controls when you are flying the aircraft.

Remember that the other aircraft, AI or human driven, will do everything it can to lose radar lock. Check the B Angle value and try to keep it below 90 degrees.

The aircraft has the following AG HUD reticles: - Free Target Designator (diamond) TD - Laser Track Target Designator (A crossed diamond) LTTD - TV Track Target Designator (A square) TTTD - Maverick Target Designator (A bold X) MTD - TV FOV target designator (A big rectangle) TFTD - Iron sights (roll stabilized) - Rockets sights - AG gun sights. I think that anyone of those can be used with the TGP. In the case of the GBU the LTTD would be used.

Flying at night with the NAVFLIR

Doubtful. Unless I am wrong, civilian traffic is handled more like scenery.

Probably because the LITENING was a late addition. In the first AV-8B (DA, NA and Plus) versions, you needed to press the MPCD buttons in a certain pattern to display the LITENING mode. A MPCD main menu option was included later.

Okay Folks, let´s calm down a bit. 1. The hot spot detector will be implemented since the real aircraft has it. Our only concern is FPS stability. 2. The NAVFLIR is not a radar. It is not steerable although it is stabilized to keep it pointing down. It has a narrow FOV, no more than 20° overall since it can fill the HUD. 3. Yes, the hot spot detector is quite sensible and can see sunlight reflecting on something shiny and display it in the HUD/MPCD. But none of these false terrain returns last more than 4 seconds. A detected hot vehicle would remain in the display far longer than that. The manual advises the pilot about these false returns in order to make him understand that they are a normal feature and not an indication of sensor damage. 4. Overpowered? Who ever claimed that combat is a fair fight? The hot spot detector was developed by the British, since GR.7 was the first to have it, to help pilots with their Mk 1 eyeball detector. Americans would rather use radar, thus the Plus version. And the Plus version also has the NAVFLIR with its hot spot detector. 5. I cannot put in the HUD any TGP data if the documentation I have says that there is no TGP/HUD integration. That may have changed with later versions but I have nothing, not even symbology so unless someone gives me a document it cannot be done. I doubt they did that because the latest NATOPS I have says that the HUD is maxed out in symbology and that it has display problems on certain modes for some symbols/data. 6. Originally the TGP could be carried only in Station 5, innermost left pylon, but now it can be carried on Station 3 and Station 4 (centerline pylon) as well. Prowler told me that Station 3 was enabled in 2003 and Station 4 in 2005. Now, like I said, we have to work within DCS limitations, which are plenty. DCS is a simulator after all and running it uses most of your computer resources. ED will develop the hot spot detector taking into consideration these limitations. Once we have it, we will talk about fake returns. Oh. BTW, the manual says that the IR Maverick suffers from the same hot spot noise problem and that it is a huge factor in missile accuracy. The missile will lock to the hot spot only to have it disappear while in flight. The explanation is a lot more complex but that is the TL;DR version.

Yes, that is how you find a hotspot. Watch the video and see that the "v"s only appear at points where you would expect large temperature differentials. Like the lake shores instead of the center of the lake. In this image all the "V" are in dark or cold areas (the snow). So there is a temperature differential between the spot and its surroundings that the NAVFLIR detected. Of course, in this case they are very likely reflections of solar light that the IR sensor caught. I don't think so, although the pilot can modify the IR sensitivy but that is overall and not specific to hot spots. Hot spot detection is automatic and even the documentation acknowledges that a lot of "noise" can be generated. In real life, yes. In DCS, no because it is limited to "live" vehicles. And those already have their own thermal signature that make them stand out over their surroundings. The problem is that ED does not want to touch the terrain. It is complex and requires a lot of computational resources. Specially if you have lots of objects. I had a similar problem with the radar ground ranging for the M-2000C. In the beginning, it used so many resources that in Nevada the FPS dropped to the point of becoming a slideshow. It was even affecting other radar equipped aircrafts, since all of them share the same basic radar code. It took quite some time to get it working without bringing DCS down. So, ED does not believe that it is possible to do a terrain hot spot without bringing down the sim.

It is, that is why the real aircraft has it. Of course all DCS pilots will have it easier since only "live" vehicles will be detected, unlike the real one which shows every single hot spot. In that respect if you see a hot spot in DCS you will already know that it is a vehicle.

It is a bit complex with terrain. I tried to have buildings included but I was told that it would bring down DCS if you try to run the hotspot detector in heavily built areas like Las Vegas. Of course it can detect the hot engines of helos and aircrafts but the NAVFLIR is stabilized towards the horizon and always tries to look down, except on pitch up values above 7.5º, which is when it will look straight ahead. Otherwise it will try to look at the terrain. You can select a hotspot as a target by either using TDC or aligning the aiming reticle with the spot and pressing the designate button. If you carry a TGP and it is in AG mode, it will immediately slave to the spot and will track it.

Regarding the NAVFLIR, it has a very interesting function: a hotspot detector. Any hotspot detected by the NAVFLIR will be displayed as a "v". It could be anything, sun's reflection on water, a bonfire, the hot engine of a vehicle, etc. That it cannot tell nor discriminate, it just tells you that something hot is down there. Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8bmk4yZAJI&feature=youtu.be&t=2m20s At first we thought that only the GR.7 and GR.9 (British Harriers) have it, but the AV-8B N/A does too. Since the feature currently does not exist in DCS, we requested to ED the creation of such feature. They are keen to do it, on their schedule of course, but with one caveat. Due to the limited resources available only "live" vehicles (AI or human driven) will be detected by the NAVFLIR. Otherwise the FPS hit would be huge. I'll inform you when the hotspot detector is delivered by ED and of course you will see it in action when we implement it.

The diamond is target designator. The hex is unknown, probably a new cue or a specific cue for the selected weapon: APKWS. In the documentation that I have there is no HUD interface for the TGP. It is all heads down. The only HUD integration is with the NAVFLIR and the DMT.

That's the target designator. One of several, depending on AG mode, weapon type and release mode.

Yes, it will restrict maneuverability due to irregular fuel flow. You can get a flameout under certain extreme conditions. The engine does not need the pumps to get fuel since the system is gravity fed, but the pumps are there to insure that the engines get fuel no matter what the aircraft is doing.

If there is one of course, but so far I have not seen anything indicating TGP HUD indication. The HUD image is from the NAVFLIR, which is on top of the aircraft's nose.