lmp

I think I know what your problem is. MSL mode has essentially three phases: searching, acquisition and tracking. The manual has this to say about the antenna scanning pattern in the search phase: And now the scanning pattern in acquisition phase: See the problem? In the acquisition phase the radar scans significantly less space in elevation (within 1.5 degrees of your antenna centerline, versus 5.5 in search). So if, say, your target is 2 degrees above your antenna centerline, you will see it in search but acquisition will NOT lock. Idea for BST - emphasize this potential problem in the manual more. I have a feeling people will keep running into this.

Both gunners shoot just fine. By that I mean they expend ammunition... I've yet to witness them actually hit something

You need to hold the cocking buttons down until you get a light (takes a few seconds), not just click it.

Great work guys and good luck with both projects! I can't help you with the 3D art, but I will definitely be watching your progress.

Perhaps you have your axis curves set differently?

The missions, at least the initial ones, are pretty easy once you get in the right frame of mind - plan your approach, get there, shoot/drop everything in one go, and get out. Don't try to kill every vehicle in the group you're tasked to attack and feel free to change your loadout to something more appropriate. Also I found that flying in at 3000m and doing a diving attack works better than actually flying the low approach that the waypoints tell you to fly.

It's this guy: It's hard to see down there, I had to move my head position down and forward. It's also visible on the image on page 177 of the manual, but its function is not mentioned there. I believe it might be used to pass control of the ADF unit between pilots in a multi seat airplane, but I want to be sure.

Anyone?

Nice, good to know. I thought it was my twist grip going bad.

There's a button below the РАМКА Л П switch. It's labelled управление or control in the cockpit, depending on the language setting, and there is no mention of it in the manual. What does it do?

Waiting for mine as well, ordered from amazon.de. Hopefully they'll send it soon.

You should be - there were some IFF related bugs in MP, but I don't fly MP so I'm not really familiar with the details. Barring any bugs, it should work as you described. It would be awesome if IFF was simulated in more detail... but it's not the thread nor forum to discuss that.

IFF transponders in all DCS aircraft are currently very abstracted - that is they are always on, compatible across all systems, 100% reliable and even present on aircraft that don't have them.

There are differences in the fuel system as well, most obvious one being the F-5E is no longer able to use wingtip fuel tanks. I can understand cofcorpse being careful not to jump to conclusions here.

Currently I'm waiting for Amazon EU to send me my preordered TWCS throttle. I already own the previous iteration of the T.16000M and I can say that for the price it's a very solid stick. Ergonomy could be better and the buttons are a little wobbly, but the precision of the X and Y axes is excellent and all the pots on the other axes still work like new after a few years of use.

One more thing. If you have no idea where he is, especially if you haven't seen him in a while (i.e. more then a few seconds), the most likely place where he'll reappear is behind you - since that is where he's trying to get to in the first place. Give your six o'clock some extra attention. Also, I find that particularly in the MiG (which climbs and accelerates better than the Sabre), rather than turning like a madman, it's best to just regain some energy in a shallower turn. So when you eventually find him, no doubt in a more advantageous position than yours, you have the speed and altitude to get out of the way of his attack.

It does have an IFF transponder, but not an interrogator.

You get better at it with training, as your eyes get used to it and you learn the patterns of behaviour of the AI. Part of the trick is knowing where to look. Use the zoom, map it to your hotas. It's easier to find targets with a wide FOV, especially with enlargement, and to track them against a difficult background with a narrower one. If the target is going to pass you closely and quickly, zoom out again, so you don't lose him in the process. It'll still be difficult and annoying, but manageable. I often do 2v2 or 4v4 fights with AI and I can keep track of what's going on now, but I went through the same frustrations initially. If it makes you feel any better, it's even worse if you fight against MiGs, cause they smoke less.

The aircraft AI is not exactly all seeing, you can sneak up on it. For example the F-5E (not the playable F-5E-3, but the old one) has no RWR and I managed to pretty consistently intercept it with radar on in the MiG-21bis without alerting it. The AI is too good at spotting targets, but not perfect.

Simpler and less invasive option - in the ME create a new mission and in the Coalition dialog move one of the F-15 flying countries (Israel, USAF Aggressors...) to the Red coalition. No need to mess with the game files.

One thing you might find useful. In the search submode of the MSL mode, the radar scans, depending on the range setting, +-4 (in the 40nm range setting) or +-5.5 (in the other range settings) degrees in elevation, relative to the antenna tilt setting. But once you press the lock button and switch to the acquisition phase, that goes down to just +-1.5 degrees. That means it can be challenging to lock targets because you have no indication if the blip you see on the screen is within that narrow acquisition zone. On top of that the antenna tilt control is very sensitive and even if you do know that the target is, say, 13 degrees above the horizon, good luck pointing the antenna pretty much exactly at it.

Flying an F-5E against a cold, non maneuvering target, both aircraft at 6000m, target speed was 500km/h, I was flying at maybe 700 - 800km/h: MiG-15bis - detection at 9km, lock at 8km. MiG-21bis - detection at 10.5km, lock at 8.5km. MiG-23MLD - detection at 11km, lock at 9km. The radar performance seems to be in line with what the table at page 160 of the manual. I used MSL mode, 10nm scope range setting and I found that placing the target at the top of the locking gate works best (but maybe it's just me). One thing to keep in mind when trying to lock the target is, that while in search mode the radar antenna scans +-4 (in the 40nm range setting) or +-5.5 degrees (in the other range settings) in elevation, that goes down to +-1.5 degrees in the acquisition phase. So if the target is between 1.5 and 4/5.5 degrees off your antenna tilt setting, you will see it in search mode but you will not be able to lock it. I find this quite limiting, especially considering how twitchy the antenna tilt control is at the moment. Against targets willing to put up a fight I only use the MSL mode for general situational awareness, without trying too hard to get a lock. Once I'm merged I use my eyes and switch to DM or DG to get a firing solution.

There is actually a ton of problems and different biases with polls such as this. For example, somebody with an interest in big helicopters is significantly more likely to open this thread in the first place than somebody who has zero interest. Also there is no mention what are the alternatives. If you ask me would I rather get "new content X" or not get it, my answer is more likely to be yes than if you offered several alternative "new content Ys" and "new content Zs". But I digress.

I'll take pretty much any Soviet/Eastern Cold War era plane or helicopter.

I had that stick and the potentiometers in it are garbage. It's a very comfortable stick, but after trying to control the Huey with it, I upgraded to a T.16000M. Some here will say you need a full HOTAS set with pedals to fly helicopters in DCS and nothing else will do. Well, I manage to do just fine with just a twist grip even though I did use pedals before, but they won't fit under my current desk. In case of the Ka-50, it should be possible with just a stick and keyboard. Better controllers will give you a better experience certainly, but you don't HAVE to spend a few hundred bucks before you can have fun.