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Everything posted by lunaticfringe
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Sparrow cannot be fired and attain a target without a valid lock given the pre-lauch guidance and English flight bias instructions required to tell it where to look and what Doppler to listen for. Even ACM boresight shots get a simulated Doppler injection and a look angle a second before it comes off the rail. Just doesn't work.
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The AIM-54C's guidance was cribbed almost 1:1 for AMRAAM. There's this thing that keeps occurring with people who don't file FOIA requests thinking this work is easy, and the materials are provided carte blanche. They're not. IP rights of the developing party restrict them under non-classified terms (exemption type 4) as often as a manual has expired past its 5, 12, or 20 year date. Fall under that series, and you get the denial. And the mandatory declassification review appeal isn't free. Further, there are process influences that cause informational denials. Note the aforementioned C guidance; knowing the capabilities of what your opponent can do today with their coding, signal processing, and manufacturing techniques today tell you what their capability is going to be a decade or more down the road. This was how the purchase of information by the CIA from Aleksander Tolkachev was driving effective jamming techniques against all Soviet radars with the TEWS and ASPJ over a decade later- material/wafer capabilities drive density, and thus processing speed. Code technique coupled with processor time and peak power and frequency output specifications denote how well you can work that time now, and how far down the path you'll in accordance with your manufacturing development. We compare wafer process sizes between Intel and AMD- it's the same game between Phazotron and the former Hughes. And they're not giving any hints.
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*laughs in Ka-50*
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Issues with Virpil brackets only after a year? Questionable?
lunaticfringe replied to Raz_Specter's topic in VIRPIL Controls
If the shaft isn't being turned square as its installed, the threads won't ride true and will wind up being worn down. Overtorqing can cause this sort of thing as well, and at least in the image there does look like a minor amount of bend in the shaft near where the material is damaged- so I am seeing some of why they would question. They do rather have to ask the question, because they're not there in your work space, and don't know specifically what your particular usage case is. Lifespan of a product is going to be entirely based on how its used; the party making it can't account for every environment. And you'd be amazed at how many people walk into admitting they actually are at fault for something failing just by asking what happened. So it is what it is. Similarly, they need to confirm the address, because they don't know if you've moved, set up an alternate mailing location, etc. In the end, if they do deny your warranty service request, pop the clamp end off, replace the shaft with a same thread measure of bolt (clean the threads in the mount prior to replacement), and get back to it. -
Its interesting to follow the comments regarding the HUD by those for whom a decluttered forward view makes them uncomfortable. I especially enjoy the kvetching from people who state they can't fly formation or perform AAR without altitude and speed indications- as though rate of closure and relative position to the aircraft you're formating on the wing of isn't enough information. Similarly, they bark about pattern work and landing, when landing is all AoA- and you get the altitude and rate of descent on the HUD for that operation. Ergonomically speaking, for a high performance first out-the-door fourth generation aircraft that was bridging the gap between the analog and digital world, the layout is surprisingly consistent. Gauges that are most often used in conjunction with one another are grouped accordingly. The VDI/HSD combination is intuitive for both navigation and weapons employment, and is all centralized on the lift line- which is exactly where you're bringing your eyes up to when it's time to drop the hammer.
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I just mentioned Brunner three comments above. If its falling apart and on its last legs, I'd be a bit worried. But I'd also hope he'd have noted the name as he replied to me and confirmed that's what it is. Hence my interest for clarification.
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"I have a Warthog compatible FFB stick" Which one?
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Brunner recently stated that all Virpil grips will be compatible with current build CLS-E based with a firmware update. So you can have reasonably high end FFB if you want to pay the price of admission.
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Neither offering is realistic to the real stick, because the paddle should be below the grip where an extension would be installed. The choice to make it an axis where the paddle is a simple switch in real life is a concession to overall usability. Both the Virpil VFX and VKB offering can be converted to simply use that contact as a switch. Regarding the trigger, in lieu of an actual Otto drop in, I find I'm more comfortable putting the hammer down with the gentle comparative rocking of the VFX compared to the Hornet grip, even though the sensation is a bit more concrete than the WH in comparison because I find it to be more precise.
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Yes, there is.
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Hamilton, what country are you in?
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Suggestion: Reduce cockpit frame and improve visibility
lunaticfringe replied to yngvef's topic in DCS: F-14A & B
Visibility at Mach 2 is far superior in the F-14 to the F-5. Also far superior to the rear- from either seat. -
Suggestion: Reduce cockpit frame and improve visibility
lunaticfringe replied to yngvef's topic in DCS: F-14A & B
handicap It's the reality of what it was, and exhibits itself in VR as much as a flat panel- they have more compressed fields of view than can be experienced on an LCD. Operate regularly with your FoV relative to what one would actually see from a given seating position, rather than compressing the frame. It becomes far less of a bother- and, quite frankly, a useful tool for the employment and general handling of the airplane, especially in the panel-based world. -
Suggestion: Reduce cockpit frame and improve visibility
lunaticfringe replied to yngvef's topic in DCS: F-14A & B
The frame is the frame. Using TIR, I find no problem maintaining bearing on the boat during landing, and flying BFM the frame isn't a big deal- because you shouldn't be pulling the bandit into the windscreen until it's time to shoot him. Similarly, I'm hard pressed to think of a formation in which I'm holding a bearing at ten or so degrees. Even tanking is solved more reliably by a switch to a wider POV, and if required, a minor lowering of the view (in lieu of a seat height switch at this time). -
Not remotely. Behind the boat, behind the tanker, flying cruise formation, I want the granularity over something more than an inch and a half of travel, when 90% of my flying day is spent in that region. Afterburner is essentially an on-off affair, with very little time spent trying to find something "just right". If everyone was running a throttle with a large, realistic throw length, losing half of it with a perfectly 1:1 realization of the stop at half throw isn't a big deal (although the complaints about detents now being too far away would be just as intense). Instead, people are working with two and three inch throw throttles. The flexibility goes away, and it's far less comfortable. So maximizing where the real work of flying in lieu of the realities of what people are working with is fine with me.
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Questions: TM Hornet Grip on VPC T50 CM2 base
lunaticfringe replied to Chipwich's topic in VIRPIL Controls
Doesn't work, because the Virpil connector isn't aligned the same as the TM stick. The reason for this being the stick side connection is a cable, so the stick can be positioned as the user requires (see, 10-15 degree offsets for proper orientation in the hand, or sideways (or even reverse) for mounting in specific situations, since you can invert or swap axis orientation wholesale. Because the alignment isn't the same as TM gear, there is a bit of slack on the gimbal side as well, which is accessed by removing those screws, plugging into the TM grip, and then screwing down the grip at whatever offset you like for your use case. -
The throttle detents are more like polite suggestions. Having used a lot of gear over the years, I decided that in lieu of a throttle with an appreciably long throw coming to market anytime soon I'd go back to a Suncom TFS converted to USB and a full switch replacement rather than be disappointed with the current crop. I was able to refurbish the slide pots to a degree that a 12 bit processing board on the Arduino doesn't see any appreciable noise, and military grade switches beat anything else. But it's still a creaky TM knockoff monstrosity from a bygone era. If WinWing doesn't get off their duff and release their Taurus throttle standalone by the time I get a 3D printer in the new year, I'm going simply engineer the long throw mechanics myself and be done with it.
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The manual is a representation of the travel in the quadrant. If you shift your head over the throttle, you'll see said illustration is very much the case. Half way up you bang the gate, and have to essentially downshift into blower. But unlike the F-14A, there aren't specifically discernible zones in the AB. If the throttle axes were represented the same as the airframe, we'd have well less than half range for working out if idle and burner on a consumer sized throw, when there is much less actual analog gradation in the AB range.
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Gotta put your TOP GUN soundtrack cassettes on Side B and play Larry Greene's track, because those grips will have literally gone 'Through The Fire'. Enjoy the prime rib, folks- and be sure to tip your waitress.
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Change the contract setting in the Jester menu.
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Few things that would make my life with F-14 easier :-)
lunaticfringe replied to ViNiL's topic in DCS: F-14A & B
Duly noted. As one of the multitude who has spent countless hours over the last year assisting in HBs QA process outside of public release builds, you'll have to accept my apologies for apparently speaking out of turn on a topic issued within an open forum in an attempt to illuminate the circumstances under which we provide our time. -
Few things that would make my life with F-14 easier :-)
lunaticfringe replied to ViNiL's topic in DCS: F-14A & B
Bugs like Autothrottle aren't always able to be caught prior to shipping because of build differentiation. In the same respect are the drag changes taking place to stores. Testing isn't done on what's coming from ED, but rather what's already released to the rest of the community. Ultimately, third parties have to submit for the upcoming update well before ED performs their own internal cut. Thus, when something changes on the DCS release side that breaks something for HB (or any other third party), they have no idea it exists until the reports come in.