Stuge

Side note: this functionality seems the to be the same in all russian fighters. Spike is given only if SARH is fired, and possibly when IR lock is lost(while radar lock remains), whether it is switched off, gimbal limit reached, or thermal signature disappears (haven't tested this thoroughly).

Yep dive bombing and rocket attacks with flanker can be very accurate. Also the high speed and agility helps with avoiding AAA. Still, using the standoff weapons of A-10s, Su-25Ts or Ka-50s is much safer and a must against any SAM-defended targets.

To first one: kilometers. To second one: F-15C RWR blind zones. Imagine two 45-degree cones. One projects straight up from your pilot's head. The other projects straight down from your pilot's anus. These projections tilt and turn as your plane tilts and turns obviously. This is why threats may disappear during turns. Let's take an example: you fly straight and level, and an AMRAAM is fired at you from 3 o'clock. You see the warning, and roll left 90 degrees for a defensive left turn to escape. When you're tilted 90 degrees to left, the warning disappears because you are now pointing your pilot's anus towards the missile :lol: However, don't be fooled, the missile is probably still tracking. Once you have either turned enough (so the threat is behind you) or come out of the roll, the threat reappears. In Russian planes the blind zones are similar, but larger (60-degree cones) Another way of seeing this is that the RWR sees 360 degrees around you, but only 45 degrees up/down relative to your attitude in US RWR and 30 degrees up/down in Russian RWR.

Let's put the "complexity" aspect this way: An experienced Mig-21 pilot transitions to the F-15C which he has never flown in combat. Meanwhile in another place, an experienced F-15C pilot transitions to the Mig-21 which he has never flown in combat. Facing a highly skilled adversary of the same aircraft type that they are now flying, in the sim of course, which pilot do you believe has an easier time to adapt to their new aircraft and eventually put up a good fight? I'll leave this open for discussion ;)

Had you actually tested the EOS you might have noticed that switching radar on (and thus IFFing) after an IR lock has already been established doesn't spike the target's RWR. Not even if you leave the lock on. This has been the case for several years now. Whether it's a bug or a feature, I do not know... it used to give a spike in the past.

The Mig21 is in my view a simpler, more limited experience than FC3. Why? Because the Fishbed lacks the capabilities and thus the tactical flexibility of more modern fighters. Radar, RWR, weapons and maneuverability are all very limited, thus making even a mig21 vs mig21 fight more of a cripple fight with woodsticks :) (a little exaggerated to make the point)

Heh yeah it's true that paradoxically, FC3 offers for me the most complex and satisfying air combat experience available, no contest. Clickable cockpit isn't very relevant when it comes to tactics. Also, I like the missiles the way they are. When missiles aren't ultra-effective-one-shot-kill-devices, it leaves more tactical options for the pilot, which is great :) I've flown combat sims for 20 years and this is the best. Eagle+Flanker PFMs are dreams come true. Thank you ED <3

Sure it does, sorta. You can judge distance if you know (or guess) the target type. Since the two most popular fighters flown online, F15 and Su27, have a very similar radar strength, just by assuming the bogey is one of these you can judge distance accurately. Now here a Mig29 radar can be deceptive, since it is weaker. Even more so the Mig21 which you could easily assume is 40 miles away, by looking at radar strength, while in fact it is close and about to kill you :)

BVR is such a complex game that blaming "super eyes", labels or hacking for your deaths is just... sad. It indicates profound lack of understanding AND practice. So just keep practicing, keep studying, and the kills will start coming. Su-27 pilots have sensors and weapons that can kill you without you ever seeing them coming, let alone being ready to defend a missile. Nothing magical about it.

Sure, use these for Su-27 stealth: -radar off. Use it only when necessary (for example if you have no idea where to even start looking for bad guys, or when you are obviously seen by an enemy) -IRST only, vertical scan works best in hilly areas -If hiding behind hills is not an option, put radar warning signatures on your 3 o clock or 9 o clock to disappear from enemy scopes and potentially circle around the enemy. -use ET as your primary weapon. -If enemy sees you, fire a long shot! If the enemy doesn't expect it, you may score a max range kill -If enemy doesn't see you, close the range so you can be sure of the kill when you open fire. Yeah. Most effective way to spoof infrared missiles: -throttle idle -point nose straight at missile (this minimizes heat signature from engines) -pop flares

If there is any chance of using terrain masking in the battle area, then considering a purely 1v1 situation the Flanker becomes superior because of its superior close-range scanning, combat and stealth abilities

The abuse of this "feature" was quite intentional in my attack :) Overall quite a battle I must say...

If you think which one is better at raw sustained turn rate, F-15 or Su-27, then the answer depends on their weight :D

Right now, I would be happy even if DCS titles were released in the modern FC3 fidelity. How long has the Hawk had standard flight model? (ok it's beta but still..yuck)

So you actually managed to recover from 2900 like that? Impressive, I'll definitely take a look, i couldn't do it the way you describe.. I'm moving today, so not possible to test til tomorrow, but will look at your track and see and test more :)

Spin compensation is not really the biggest issue of recovery, that can be done with rudder, but sure good idea if you got separate thrust controls ;) To NeilWillis: my point is that recovery IS possible. When the stall is entered accidentally, there may be very little altitude, and it may settle straight into that non-oscillatory position. Thus, knowing the most effective recovery technique is certainly very valuable. With the logic that such conditions should be avoided, the same argument could be used to say don't fly at all then you'll never crash (a very life-threatening condition.. in a sim) :)

In my track, the stall is more stable/deeper when the plane reaches 3000m. The point is not to force the plane too low to recover, but force the plane in a deep enough inverted stall so that there aren't initial oscillations that make recovery easier. With the technique I presented earlier, recovery ideally occurs after three up/down oscillations. If someone can do it with two or less, please post it also :)

Ok Ironhand, your recovery was easy because you started it significantly higher than me, at a point where there were still significant oscillations (it hadn't stabilized so much yet) Please bear with me, try again, watch my track, and take control at 3000m altitude, not higher. If you can do that as easy and post it here, then my earlier post is officially wrong :)

Doesn't seem so to me. If it is on, the elevons make only tiny tiny movements with full stick deflections. Doesn't seem very useful at all, and in that case recovery seems to be more a matter of luck, having a good combo of oscillation and center of gravity.

Sure, here you are :) To all the TrackIR purists: sorry for the hat switch. NOOOT! :D Su-27 Inverted Deep Stall Entry and Recovery.trk

I just spent an hour of testing the recovery from inverted deep stall, trying everything I could find on forums. None of them worked. So far this is the only method I could figure out that seemed reliable: -Throttle idle (the engine has to run, if it flames out then recovery seems extremely difficult) -Clean configuration (no gear, flaps or airbrake) -Fire away all missiles with launch override, otherwise recovery is more difficult or potentially impossible -Limiter OFF -If there is no up/down oscillation, induce one by pulling the stick fully back. This will pitch your nose towards the sky slightly. -Increase the oscillation by repeatedly pulling the stick back (when the nose is swinging toward the sky) and releasing the stick to neutral position (when the nose is swinging toward the ground) Don't push the stick forward at any point! -Once your nose pitch reaches -40 degrees you should be able to regain control and pull out of the dive -This technique requires ~3000m altitude for recovery, if there are no oscillations. If there are, recovery may be faster. -This seems to work for the full range of internal fuel, but missiles should be fired away. Feel free to test this method, and if it doesn't seem to work well after all, let me know ;)

To Pikey: the obvious stuff may not be so obvious for the new guys. Dropping tanks is very sound advice, the performance boost this gives seems far less than obvious to many. Especially in BVR. Drop the tanks!

You misunderstand me. My advice was meant for the person who has trouble even shooting down AI planes. All the theory or energy management or tactical geometry in the world doesn't save you unless you can, like i said: 1) keep sight 2) keep turning even half well in the bandit's direction(this includes not overspeeding and not spinning the plane) 3) hit with your weapon when it counts. If you do these three things very well, then the guy who doesn't loses, regardless of his informational prowess :)

I could post a track later maybe but here lets make it as simple as possible. How about three foolproof steps to a WVR kill: 1) get eyesight on bandit and keep it until the bandit is blown up! (lose sight, lose the fight) 2) turn as hard as you can into the bandit. Pull hard enough so you don't overspeed and gloc at full burner. Bleeding speed is a much smaller problem than overspeeding. If you manage to keep your airspeed anything between 250-400kts youre off to a great start :) 3) when the target presents itself, SHOOT! Take the gun shot regardless of the angle. Don't wait for a "perfect position", just kill the target first chance you get. Remember to use any weapon you have. Don't think too much. Don't think of "energy fighting", "corner speed", or any other too complex approach if the basics are not handled well. Don't plan the fight, it usually doesn't go the way you want it. The basics are keeping eyesight, turning hard enough INTO THE BANDIT (not to the side or away, always into if possible), and hitting the target when a shot opportunity is presented. Once you handle basics well, and are facing a relatively skilled opponent (not AI) then you might wanna start thinking of the more "finesse" aspects of dogfighting. What I see in many pilots is they try to "finesse" when they haven't mastered looking, turning, or shooting well enough for the finesse to matter. And these are improved by practice, not thinking or reading ;)

And with theses logics, one may realize the best missile defense for most BVR shots: Full afterburner, turn back (not beam), go low, and do high g snaking if necessary while running away. Snake FTW :D Beaming is highly overrated. It doesn't bleed as much missile energy as running away, and even if the evasion succeeds, your attacker easily comes closer for a far more dangerous follow up close range shot.