Zilch

Hi, everyone. I'm working on a few missions for the P-51, but am having a few problems getting everything to work correctly. It's my first attempt at making a mission that is more than just "go here and blow up this thing." I'm trying to have the player's element of two P-51's strike an enemy warehouse as a main target. So far the trigger zones for the group messages from the FAC as the player enters the combat area are working. At first, I could not get the menu system to allow my FAC to mark the warehouse with WP. I am trying to get around this limitation by putting secondary targets, trucks, nearby and having the FAC mark them instead. Unfortunately, the WP marker never goes up. I read somewhere that full FAC functions are only available to the A-10C. Is this correct, or can I also rig it for my P-51? Also, I added a triggered "Mission complete" message for when the warehouse dies. Somehow, the message is triggered immediately upon mission start while the player is still on the runway. Did I do something wrong here? It seems like DCS doesn't like static targets, but I'd really like to make use of them since they're ideal for the P-51's bombs. I also haven't found a way to order the wingman to engage static targets. Thanks for any input! EDIT: Attached the .miz. Should have done that from the start.

Some progress! I managed to scrap all of the AAA and two of the trucks...before I ran out of ammo. Sigh...need more accuracy.

Ok, follow up question after getting shot down again. How the hell do you see them that far out? I can barely see dots beyond 1.5 miles. Bear in mind, I'm running at my monitor's max 1680x1250. Labels clutter the picture pretty badly and I can't aim right. Is this a hardware limitation?

Ah! I thought the 23's out-ranged me. I'll try again and see if I can manage.

In an A-10, I would, too. However, the HVAR's in the P-51 are hardly a precision weapon. You spray six or ten of them at an area target and hope one or two hit. I've not had success using them against a specific target, like a AAA battery. You don't have any CCIP mode, obviously, so you fly at a known angle at a known speed and use a fixed point on your sight to aim. However, maybe someone else is good at this?

Hey! I'm loving flying the P-51, but I can't seem to actually kill much with it that is actually fighting back. I'm trying to focus on ground attack now. On the campaign mission to attack a convoy that is protected by 4 sets of 23mm guns, one of which is within the convoy itself. I got the idea to try to eliminate the AAA first and then take my time with the convoy. The problem is, the instant you line up your guns on a AAA target, they have to calculate for zero deflection. When this happens, the 23mm rips apart my Merlin engine like it's butter. The .50's don't have the stand-off capability compared to the 23mm to do the fire and break like I do with the A-10. This leaves you flying directly into a threat that can and will out-gun you. Aside from accurate high-level bombing, I can't think of a way to avoid this threat. I've tried rockets, as well. Here, you have the same problem. When you employ a weapon, you're probably going to be straight and level at least for a short time. When there are 4 AAA systems within a mile, it's just rolling the dice to see if you get shredded or not. I tried not attacking the AAA and trying to rely on evasion, and while I last longer, it's just a matter of time before they hit me while I'm strafing and can't jink. I've been trying the mission like mad, but I'm figuring there has to be a way to reliably succeed here that doesn't just rely on getting lucky and hoping you don't get hit. Any suggestions?

Go ahead! I'd read it. This, and the above posts, are exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Thanks, guys!

Hi, folks. I'm picking up the F-15C coming from the A-10C. Comparatively, it feels like a rocket. Fun times. Anyway, I know the best idea is to detect and engage targets BVR, but I seem to be having trouble engaging anything outside of dogfight range without having to wade through a few AA-10's myself. A few problems I've noticed using the F-15's systems: 1. There is always an annoying ladder line of rectangles in my radar scope. I'm not sure what this is but it obscures my target picture. Is it something useful that I'm overlooking, and, if not, can I shut it off? 2. I can see the big "29" on my RWR long before my radar picks up the target. I understand why this might be happening (target beaming, maybe, easier to pick up an active scan than a passive target) but usually, by the time I get within detection range, the MiG has already fired at me. Is there a better way to detect targets than to wait for the RWR, head out toward the general area of the RWR signal, and hope for the best? 3. My 120's themselves seem to have quite limited effective range. They're touted as having a ~40nm range, but usually my engagement zone restricts itself to about 10nm, max. Usually I don't get a good firing solution until about 7nm away. At this point I may as well go with my winders. It seems that although the missile is capable of long shots, the Pk outside of 10nm is so horribly low that it nullifies any BVR advantage I may have had. Am I doing something wrong here? Again, by the time I get a solid shot, I've already been fired at several times. I'd love to be able to use the 15 as it is intended instead, hitting with AMRAAM's at long range, instead of how I am now, which is evade until I can get WVR and go for my AIM-9's and guns. I usually end up just loading Sparrows and using FLOOD radar mode, which I think is tossing a couple of decades of technological progress out the window. Where am I going wrong?

Heh, I'd love to have seen your impression of the A-10 employed as an LCAC!

Hey everyone! I finally got a good DCS rig and am learning how to employ the A-10C to the best of my abilities. As it happened in one of the campaign missions, I was blasting some BMP's when some harassing MiG-29's decided to zoom through my target area. I queued up my AIM-9's and fired both into one's tailpipe, obliterating it in what must have looked like a pretty cool move. I saved the track, but unfortunately, just before the MiG's enter my target area, the replay track shows that instead of busting out some badass snap-decision ACM, I go full retard and and just spiral my hog straight into the ground like a moth to a flame for no reason. Since my A-10 ceased to exist in the track, he missile shot never takes place either, and instead of dying of humiliation and two AIM-9's, the MiG instead proceeds to shoot down our KC-135 and lives a long, fulfilled MiG life. Worst of all, I can't show the clip and brag to my friends. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks for the help, all. I've noticed quite a few more hits based on your input!

Thanks for the tips. I'll keep the brakes in and get a bit closer. Incidentally, when I pull out really low like that, I always take gunfire, especially from those pesky BMP's. Any suggested tactics for evading that aside from the standard jink?

Hi, I suppose I could record a track of this, but I'm having issues employing the lovely GAU-8 in its intended purpose: blowing up tanks. I'm transitioning from LOMAC/Flaming Cliffs 2 into the A-10A in DCS. For the most part, it's a smooth changeover but I'm finding that hitting tanks with the gun is much more difficult. I'll hit 7, then C to arm the cannon. I usually dive down on the target at about a 30 to 45 degree nose down angle, chop the throttle, open the brakes and get the target situated. Then, I line up the pipper right on the target and let fly with the rounds, just like I've done in FC2 with good success. However, in DCS, the plane pitches upward pretty suddenly when I fire my cannon. Additionally, I've made multiple passes at the same target, say, a T-72, and often end up running out of ammo before the thing dies. The debriefing often shows no hits. Bear in mind, I've been playing sims for a couple of decades and my aim at small targets is usually pretty darn good. That said, I'm fairly certain I'm lining up my target just right. I've tried long bursts while bunting the nose down, multiple short bursts in one pass, several passes against one tank, you name it. But, according to the debriefing, I can't seem to score any hits against tanks. I'll dump over 800 rounds at one T-80 and no hits are recorded. I have noticed much more success engaging lighter armor, like BMP's, or unarmored targets, like trucks and artillery. This leads me to think I may not be scoring enough hits against the thicker tank armor, or maybe the hitboxes in those particular units are funky. First, what's the deal with the sudden up-pitch? Second, is the problem with my aim, or maybe the hit boxes within DCS on certain ground targets? Thanks for any advice. If it would be helpful, I can record a track.