kingfish

Well, unfortunately a both of these problems are a result of the fact that the MiG-21 is from a different era than modern fighters, before fancy nav computers and targeting pods. But here's my best advice: Navigation: The first option is just cheating. I forget the command, but there's a button that marks your current position on the kneeboard map. Cheaty-cheaty for sure, but at least you won't get lost. The way that it was done in real life was with dead reckoning and using angles and ranges to RSBN beacons. This is tough to get the hang of, but kinda cool once you do (or at least I think it is). If you can plan your missions so that you're moving along RSBN radials, that is super helpful, cause then you can input the heading on your HSI and select the right beacon, and the indicators on your artificial horizon will tell you what to do to get back on track. I'm sure others have better advice than I do. Locating Targets: Yeah, its tough. especially when they're tiny or similar colors to the ground or they're hiding somewhere. If you can, study the target area for landmarks so that once you're in the combat area you can orient yourself via noticeable things on the ground. Fly around (out of range, if possible), bind something to zoom in/out, and try to get an idea of where things are and where they are going in the area before starting any attack runs. I don't know if you can chat with JTAC in a MiG-21, but if they're there, use that. The MiG-21 was designed with heavy GCI in mind for air combat, and it wouldnt surprise me if it was similar for ground attack. Though given the nature of the MiG-21, I suspect it's ground attack role was less intended for CAS and more intended for a high-speed strike. Like, a building or a ship or a factory where you can study the map and get a good idea of where the target is and the best approach vectors, zip in at high speed, pop up, blast away until you run out of ammo, then duck back down and zip out. Anyways, I'm realizing after typing this that I don't know if anything here will really be that helpful. But rest assured, that stuff is kinda tricky in a MiG-21 because most of the technology we solve that problem with today just didn't exist. Practice, Practice.

You can't deep stall a MiG-21. The tail is clear of the wing wake long before a stall. You can, however, get it into a spin if you kick the nose left or right when you stall.

Bow shocks are oblique shocks, and flow behind an oblique shock can still be supersonic (though it does necessarily have a lower Mach number). If the aircraft is travelling fast enough (i.e. thoroughly out of the transonic regime), all of the flow, including that behind the bow shock and any other oblique shocks coming off the body, will be supersonic. That said, inside of closed areas like intakes, flow may be subsonic, though this is generally not considered as far as the "is it supersonic" question. Formally, "supersonic" occurs when the free stream velocity is greater than 1. "Transonic" is a bit of a fuzzy term without a precise definition. Its generally about M0.8 to 1.2, but thats only because thats where the transonic effects are most dominant. At M0.75, you'll still have supersonic regions (probably, it depends on exact geometry), and likewise at M1.3 you'll probably still have some small subsonic regions.

In my experience this setting is usually around 80% throttle, though it does vary depending on your exact load as you land (it will be higher with more fuel and external stores).

What exactly do you mean by "the best way to fly and manuever"? If you mean in combat, generally speed between 700-900 kph and AoA at like 14 degrees and lower, otherwise you will bleed speed very quickly and drop like a rock. Every different aspect of flight has a different "best" way to fly, so you'd need to be more specific.

Full burner and go around. And dump flares for giggles. But seriously, if you aren't able to get a good look at the runway/runup/nearby taxiways during the last 15-20s or so of your descent, you are not going fast enough. The visibility thing is less about staying on the runway (which is difficult but totally possible when totally blind), but more about making sure there isn't someone else in the way as you come screaming in.

I wouldn't suggest touching down that slow. 340 kph is plenty slow enough to not risk damaging anything, and at 250 kph it'll be much harder to see the runway around your nose. Assuming you keep your vertical velocity under control when you touch down, your gear will easily handle anything under like 400 kph without an issue, so it's better to get close to that to lower your AoA keep your visibility in case there's obstructions on the runway.

A helpful tip: If you haven't, do the tutorial for the RSBN landings. While you dont really need it unless you're in super bad visibility, it did help me get a feel for the descent angle that I want. Your mileage may vary, but I did a bunch of practice landings watching the RSBN glideslope indicator until I had a feel, and then started just mimicking that approach without it. Also, someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but the fixed net has roughly half-degree marks on the vertical line. If you keep an eye on your AoA indicator, you can sort of approximate your total velocity vector, like what is seen in more modern HUDs (i.e. your AoA indicator says about 4 degrees, so count down eight lines and put that one on the numbers of the runway). Do that to keep yourself aimed at the right spot, and keep your glideslope and airspeed on target, and you should grease it in every time. Also don't be afraid to use a little runway for a flare in ground effect to kill your vertical descent rate. The 21 stops real fast once you're on the ground and idle your engine, even without parachute or brakes.

Dont think of the 2x R-60 as two missiles, think of it as a single missile that you can shoot twice. Select pylon 3 (for example) and shoot just like you had a single R-60 on there. except now if you select pylon 3 again, you can fire again. or you can select 3-4 and ripple R-60's, which is fun, if not entirely practical. As a related issue, the fact that the aircraft refers to pylons 1 2 3 and 4 but the ME and the Refuel & Rearm menu refer to them with slightly different numbers has always bothered me and might be worth a fix. (or maybe just a mod? shouldn't be too hard to change those numbers around on the R&R menu).

Are the Hawkeye's systems de-classified enough to make that work? Even older models will have enough in common with the modern stuff that I don't think the detailed operating capabilities are available to the public. AWACS would be totally rad though, I'd love a hawkeye.

I would be interested in some more "utility" role aircraft, AWACS, EW, SEAD, etc. How much fun would multiplayer missions be with human AWACS? Player JTAC is already an awesome experience, AWACS seems like the logical continuation.

Thanks for this, I found a copy online and it has some very useful tables. Certainly accurate enough for my purposes. Thanks, sounds useful.

I thought I remembered one of the LNS team saying its not going to be a Phantom because too much of its systems are still classified. That said, I'd love to be proved wrong on that one.

I cannot find anything in the manual or the forums (or any other resource, for that matter) regarding the range of the Mig-21. What I want to know is if I am going to fly some distance at a certain altitude and speed, how much gas do I need? Or even just a fuel burn rate table for various altitudes/throttle settings so I can calculate. Does this information exist anywhere?

Yes and no. While they are nice in enhancing the feel of the sim and the immersion, you can get by just peachy on any of the current DCS aircraft with a twist stick. I would say a separate throttle quadrant, TrackIR, and a stick with enough buttons and hat switches should be much higher priority on your purchase list.

I don't think the issue has ever been CPU power, its a matter of programming the AI to behave realistically with damage, which is probably pretty difficult (aside from sort of "approximate" methods, like King_Hrothgar suggested). Definitely something that would add some interest to flying against AI. Its always frustrating to launch a slammer at a MiG-23, watch it splash and manuever to engage a new target, only to find out the MiG just sorta ate the missile and ignored the damage. At the very least, AI should try to RTB after they take a missile hit, even if their performance doesn't degrade.

They did their jobs admirably but the political scene changed such that they were no longer necessary. and in the case of the B-1, eventually got modernized to fit the new political landscape, and are still incredibly useful.

Ok, that makes sense. Sounds like from that Dora pilot interview they didn't really pay much attention to warm up and just sorta went and flew. It does make sense that way though, because by the time you get to the runway in normal weather, the engine is up to temp, even with the cowling flaps open.

Now I know its not the most necessary thing in this game, but for both my immersion and my curiosity, I have a question about the warm-up procedure. The manual says that once the engine is running, keep the cowling flaps closed and the engine at 1000-1200 RPM until oil temp reaches 40C, then slowly increase throttle to 1800 RPM until coolant temp reaches 60-70C. However, in my experience at 1100 RPM with cowling flaps closed, the coolant temperature reaches 60C at the same time or before the oil reaches 40C, which pretty much negates the need for the second step. Is this how it is supposed to be? Perhaps step 2 is only there for certain weather conditions where the coolant would take longer to warm up?

Your best defense against grass is momentum. If it looks like you're gonna hit the grass and you don't think you can stop, then keep your speed and try to punch through. You can only go so far that way, so don't try to make any cross-country trips, but I've found its usually enough to get back onto the taxiway. The -21 has strong enough gear to survive it, as long as you don't come to a complete stop.

The other thing I've noticed is that the HSI doesn't seem to like being tilted at all. In my experience it can get pretty inaccurate if you're banked more than a few degrees.