Kirk66

Easy solution for weak-wristed pilots of DCS I-16: use a CH stick. It has physical "trim" wheels for pitch and roll. Problem solved. As far as F/A-18s flying hands off - Blue Angels add some forward trim when performing to take up the slack in the controls and give them a better "feel" for the jet. Also they don't wear g-suits, so their arms don't move when the bladders inflate under G. I don't have the I-16 module (yet) but it sound like fun (the IL-2 BoX I-16 is a hoot!), trim or no trim. And it seems to me, if it is pitching down, just go faster! Eventually you should get to the trim speed for your configuration and weight. Every plane I have flown IRL reacts the same: go faster than trim speed, it will nose up, go slower than trim speed, it will nose down. They are built that way! Cheers, Kirk

Looks like an "A". Hard to tell without a better picture of exhausts and props (3 v 4 blade); but definitely not a D (which has long nose with sensor ball). I was lucky enough to get a few flights in USAF OV-10s in the PI and out of Patrick AFB (FAC school). When I win the lottery, it's the first plane I'm getting! More fun than a bag of monkeys, fully acro, and you can take all your stuff with you when you want to go camping out! Navy did some testing a few years ago with a couple of upgraded OV-10Gs flying out of dirt strips in Syria, using APKWS laser guided 70mm rockets to take out ISIS mofos. Worked beautifully, apparently: https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/ov-10-broncos-were-sent-to-fight-isis-and-they-kicked-a-1764407068 Good vid: Instant buy for me. Vulture

Ah, OK, understood; my comprehension low light must have been on. Wonder how they will implement the F-16C (noticed you sig) - If I remember it was also a spring "mini-stick" kind of slew device. Cheers, Vulture

FireCat, OK, thanks; will do! Vulture

And odd as it may seem, in a fighter the engines are hardly heard at all; most of the noise is from the airflow and air conditioning system. In the F-4 you could not hear your afterburners lightoff (you could feel them, of course), the engine sound was more vibration than noise. Now, on the runway you could hear your leader/wingman's burners, of course, but in the air you had to be real close (like during a crossover in formation, or close trail) to hear the noise of the engines. Switches? Not after engine start. In the F-4 the outside mirrors made the most noise; when you had two of them installed and were cooking along at 540kts/200ft, IT WAS LOUD. But at altitude it was OK. In my few flights in F-16s one of the things I noticed was how loud the AC was in the rear cockpit. Way louder than the F-4 - you had to wear earplugs under your helmet in the Viper, while in the F-4 you could take your helmet off and talk between cockpits (at cruise, of course). All the in-cockpit videos of F-16s sound so quiet - Fake news! Vulture

Deano87, Real world, F-15E (and probably F-15C) radar elevation control is rate sensor, when released the radar stays at last commanded elevation. I haven't flown a DCS F-15 so can't comment on it. In the F-15E, the WSO controls the radar elevation by holding the trigger on his hand controller to half action, then moving the radar el up on down via TDC forward or aft. Not as easy as the pilot's mech. As long as the radar elevation stays put when you release the el control, either would work just fine! The only system I didn't like in the various jets I flew/worked on was the F-4E's; it had a position wheel on the hand controller in the WSO cockpit that didn't have a physical stop - when the radar reached max elevation the wheel kept turning without effect. You had to learn how many "rolls" of the wheel resulted in how many degrees of radar elevation change; challenging when head up in a WVR engagement (in the days before auto-acq and VTS!). Cheers, Vulture

MilesD, Have you seen this? Logitech VR keyboard: This would be a nice addition to DCS in VR; hope they eventually make it compatible with all devices... Cheers, Vulture

Firecat, please add me to the list. V/R, Vulture

Just found this thread - and it is just what I've been dreaming about - I am definitely in on a set of FCU's. Miles, I am impressed! I can see this turning into a simulated laser finger pointer - that would be cool in DCS! Cheers, Vulture

Delta, looking forward to getting my slew/TDC kit. About the radar elevation mod you are working on: Having been fortunate to work with the real thing for too long that I care to admit (and still "hands-on" at work - in full-up military sims these days), a mod that would replicate how the F-15E works would be great (and apply to other jets as well). On the Mudhen, the radar elevation is a displacement sensor, spring-loaded to center. Looks like a wheel but only the front 180 (?) degree arc (where you little finger touches it) is actually used. The rate of radar elevation change is proportional to the displacement of the "wheel" from center - small displacement from center gives a slow rate of elevation change, while full up/down against the stop moves the elevation rapidly; when you release the up or down displacement the "wheel" snaps back to center and the radar elevation stops moving. It's not a very big movement - Monday I'll see if I can get a value in degrees for the movement up and down. Bottom line, it's not a rotary pot, more a one-axis rate joystick. Not sure if that would be easy to implement. All that being said, a limited rotary action would work just as well, and probably more accurately represent how radar elevation is controlled in most other aircraft (F-4, F-16, I think; it's been a long time). Most radars are +/- 60 degrees of elevation, so full rotation (to a fixed stop) would give 60 degrees of elevation change. Combine with a soft "detent" on center and it would work nicely for radar work (and gyro gunsight ranging...) Then again, your lever might be even better! Whatever you come up with I will definitely get! Finally - in the F-15E the toggle switch on the left side of the left throttle is oriented up/down and spring loaded to center (and has a "Paddle" cover that you can see in the pictures in the later post). Called the "pinkie switch", it controls chaff and flare dispensing. That would be an interesting mod; replace the existing Warthog toggle with a spring loaded (momentary up/down) one and mount it oriented up/down... Cheers, Vulture

The problem with TrackIR and zooming is that it is TOTALLY UNREALISTIC! It reduces the wonderful simulation of DCS to the level of a game. VR, while currently not perfect, is a LOT closer to real life. Hard to spot targets? Try that in RL through a dirty canopy on a hazy day with sweat in your eyes - it's a bitch! Tough checking 6 with your Rift - yeah, well, it's tough in the real jet too, and their ejection seats don't swivel! In my opinion, even at the current state of the art VR is way closer to reality than TIR. And zooming? Ever tried that in a plane? Not that easy - although to be honest FACs and A-10 drivers have been know to carry binoculars, and the F-15's used to have a rifle scope boresighted to the waterline - after a lock on they would simply put the TD box on the waterline and look through the scope for the VID. Dont see those anymore due to advances in ID systems (and Link 16). I say go VR-only and find out what it's really like to get to the merge without a tally! BTDT! Vulture

Now that many of us are using VR and have to use different graphics setting, it would be nice if during startup of DCS the option was available to select either starting a mission using regular monitor options for graphics setting, or using VR graphics settings. This would be especially nice when tweaking options, as right now if the last mission was flown in VR, one has to startup in VR, deselect the VR option, then restart, and if using a monitor (for eye-candy), have to reset all the graphics options. Caveat - I'm relatively new at DCS so if there is already an easy way to do this, I apologise. Vulture

Having the great fortune to have flown in both the Tweet and the OA-37 Supertweet, I can personally vouch that the two are as similar as chalk and cheese! The T-37 is an underpowered little easy to fly trainer (although it will actually run pretty close to a P-51 in most numbers...), while the OA-37 is an overpowered hot rod of a plane that is an absolute blast to fly! Twice the thrust, 8 pylons plus tip tanks, and a minigun? What's not to like. Only jet I ever flew that really felt overpowered and could turn on a dime. On a FAC flight during a Cope Thunder in the PI I was orbiting low in Crow Valley and got bounced by a roving Agressor F-5E who figured I would be easy meat. Now understand I was an F-4 WSO at the time, getting a ride in the visiting OA-37 from the 19th TAS , but was a PPL in my spare time and the pilot had pretty much let me do the whole flight so far since startup (including taxi and takeoff) so I was feeling pretty confident when the F-5 tried to close for a gun shot and made the mistake of getting into a turning fight. Twice I turned inside him and was closing for a tracking minigun shot when he would see the shot coming and exit the fight in the vertical, knowing I wouldn't try to follow him up but just wait in the valley for him to come down again and play... finally he realized that as long as we were watching him he didn't have a shot so he left to look for an easier F-4 to harass. We were configured with tip tanks, four (4) drop tanks, and two WP rocket pods, and still only managed a 1.5 before landing back at the field (again, the pilot enjoying the ride as I flew the overhead and landed). I also flew some interesting backseat rides in the OV-10, almost as much fun (a different story for another day). Either would be a great addition to DCS. Vulture

Trying to select the Nellis TACAN channel in the F-5 cockpit but can't seem to change the single digits - I can select channel 10 or 20 and X or Y but nothing seems to change the single digits so I can select Channel 12 and get some navigation going! Having the same problem in VR and on my 27in. Any ideas? Kirk

Most civilian airplanes use wheels or yokes, and the pilot flies with his left hand, right hand on the throttle(s). Co-pilots fly with their right hands on the yoke/wheel, left on the throttles. Cessna, Airbus, Boeing, Piper; you learn to fly with either hand - no big deal. Most military jets and helicopters use a stick and you fly with the right hand, using the left on the throttle/collective. B-29s had the reverse, throttles were outboard, so pilot had right hand on wheel, left on throttles; co-pilot reverse. Many smaller side-by-side lightplanes have sticks and a central throttle, so again pilot in left seat has left hand on stick and right on throttle, pilot on right the reverse Personally, IRL when I fly a plane with a wheel, I prefer to use my left hand on the wheel and control the throttle with my right hand. Planes and gliders with a stick, I much prefer stick in right hand and throttle/air brakes in the left. So - no big deal. Real pilot do it from day one, and no-one thinks about it. Try a wheel instead of a stick if you are a serious lefty - with a throttle quadrant on the right. But it will look odd in a jet fighter or helo! And if DCS ever gets a P-38, the wheel is held in the right hand and the throttles are on the left! Vulture

That would be a sight to see and hear! But the F-22 could just hang around at 30'000 ft or so, watching the chaos below and waiting for the survivors to land, out of gas. Then sprinkle some SDBs to stir things up and strafe a bit for the hell of it. Which brings up another question: How much would a Dr.I cost today? I doubt they only cost $5000 or so...Tony Fokker was too smart for that, so guessing they would cost about as much as a new Husky (pretty equivalent in size and power), which cost over $300,000 today. So if you figure $300 mil per F-22 (way too high - includes dev cost), you get only 1000 Dr.Is for the cost of one F-22. Much better odds ;^) Vulture

What is so different between a DR1 v F-22 or an Iranian Drone v F-15E, a Predator v Mig-25(!), Cessna v Cuban Mig-23 (?), or in my case, training to shoot down AN-2s (biplanes) with F-4Es? If you can see them (and they ALL show up on radar) you can kill them. If they see you, they can make it a bit harder, but then they just die all tensed up... We used to train against OV-10s (simulating NKAF AN-2s). Fun stuff. Especially when you joined up on the wing of the Bronco following an intercept, flaps down, going as slow as you could get that Rhino to go, and the Bronco pilot waved and pulled his throttles back. Unload and full AB RIGHT NOW was called for! I recently did some engagements against low altitude turning AN-2s in an F-15E sim (USAF, not Janes) and had no trouble killing it with guns, heaters, or slammers (bit of a waste of money, that last one). Vulture

I'm putting together a mATX rig for DCS, ASUS Z270G with an i7-7700K in a Fractal Design Define Mini C case. Question is how does DCS stress the GPU for heat?, is the FE cooler (with adjusted fan profile; screw the noise) sufficient? Not interested in water cooling, will be using a Noctua NH-D15S for the CPU, and upgrading the case fans to appropriate Noctua PWMs. I might do a mild overclock, but nothing extreme. Thanks in advance, Vulture

Well all that proves is that the Navy is pretty lax on releasing HUD video. War story time. Time frame 1986ish, I'm an IWSO in the Chiefs (335 TFS) out of Shady J. We get a call from the Enemy (the US Navy; the Soviets were the Adversary) that they (an F-14 unit on a boat returning from a cruise) wanted some DACT against our ARN-101 F-4E. So OK, we agree on time and date and location in the Whiskey areas off the coast of NC for some 2 v 2. Then we call the Marine AV-8C (these were the original guns and 9M/L British-built Marine Harriers, not the fancy new AV-8Bs) squadron at MCAS Cherry Point and ask if they would be interested in joining us in bitch slapping some NAVY F-14s? Immediate ROGER THAT!, and the planning starts... We end up with a two ship of F-4Es in combat spread, with an AV-8 in tight finger tip (radar resolution cell) on each F-4, going against a 2-ship of F-14s off the boat. ROE was AIM-7s/9s/gun. As soon as the Tomcats locked us up, we dragged and chaffed, while the Harriers post-holed into the bottom block and started looking for the turkeys. Which they promptly ID's (as the Toms were chasing us in our highly visible smoking Phantoms bugging out at the speed of heat) and proceeded to run a vertical conversion from below to a guns tracking solution on both Tomcats, unseen. As the Toms broke to defend against the Harriers, we pitched back into the fight for the classic F-4 slashing Fox-1/Fox-2/snapshot Guns/ Extent and repeat attack on the now slow and busy Tomcats... Result: Both F-14s killed, no losses on the AF/Marine side. Cheating is great! So - It's not about individual aircraft performance, it's ALL about tactics. And being sneaky. Vulture

And all this time no-one has mentioned the dreaded downwind turn! Shocking! David OC, to put it bluntly, you are wrong. That's OK, but listen to what your friends are trying to explain. Learning is fun! Relative wind has NOTHING to do with meteological wind - when the aircraft is AIRBORNE. When an aircraft is on the ground, then meteological wind affects it like a sailboat. Now if you really want to get confused, lookup what happens to the relative wind that is felt by a foiling racing sailboat going downwind... Vulture. Professional Navigator and Commercial pilot with considerable time in everything from fast jets to slow gliders and sailboats. And have actually had the farmer ask me, as I stood in a field after landing my glider due to a "momentary lapse of skill", "What happened, did the wind quit?".

Yes but; when you are twisted around checking six, your peripheral vision is not as good, so you reallly have to get your head around (unless the bad guy is REALLY close). Plus most WSOs (and a lot of pilots) wear glasses - so the limits of a Rift or Vive is not so bad. I was blown away when I flew my son's Rift in the F-86 and A-10! F-15s and F-16s have grab handles in the cockpit for a reason - to twist around to check 6. No reason not to do the same in DCS. Vulture

Javelina1 - thanks, but I did it because it was so much damn fun. Did my F-4 training at Luke in 77; remember getting bussed over to Willy to party at the Willy O'club. Fell off the bar that night (we were running on it, and it was of course covered with broken glass and ice...). When people ask me if Top Gun is realistic, I always tell them that the only realistic scene is the bar scene when they sing "I lost that loving feeling". Except real aircrew would be in sweaty flight suits... The old back bar at Nellis was wild - saw a buddy of mine remove a young lady's panties with his teeth (on a bet) while maintaining the sweet young things modesty the whole time - she was sitting on a barstool wearing a short skirt and we were all paying close attention! Is there a "war stories" thread? Cheers, Vulture

True story: Back when I was a WSO in F-4s, I had a friend (also a WSO) who would unstrap and kneel on his Martin Baker facing backwards during DACT against the Aggressors (or even worse, the Navy - had to beat those guys!). I didn't go that far, but would keep my lap strap loose so I could twist sideways, and run the seat down (counter intuitive but necessary in the pit of a Rhino) so I could look past the seat - otherwise the canopy would prevent you from turning far enough to check six. Lots of fun when the front seat stick actuator was getting enthusiastic! For negative G's (unloading the jet to get some speed back) I would hook my feet under the rudder pedals and use my legs to keep myself in position. Damn it was fun! Vulture

I just got a set of the Thrustmaster rudder pedals. They actually feel pretty good, nice brakes, smooth rudder action - for the cost I think they are great (a lot better than CH rudders, for example). As far as the width, oddly enough they are just about the same distance apart as the rudder pedals in my RL glider (an LS6). So I'm used to the position. The Pawnee that I also fly has the rudder pedals about 3 ft apart - now that's manly! Anyway, once you are off the ground, you don't need to be stomping on them - unless you are in an F-15 over 30 units AOA, of course ;^) Kirk

TFC and Hot Shots totally blow away TG. From my experience in the fighter business (including some engagements against F-14s; won some, lost some...), the ONLY realistic scene in the movie is the "You lost that loving feeling" bar scene. Except real fighter pilots/WSOs/RIOs would be wearing sweaty flight suits and helmet hair... Vulture