The_Tau

I use that in DCS, and it works quite well. I would even decrease range of "ACM" shots to more like 10-15nm and use STT Yes 54C goes active but it goes to extrapolated track, so where system thinks the bandit is and not where bandit actually is with APG71. So obviously newer radar is better.

Jester is not AI RIO, he is an interface for radar. He doesnt look for targets, he just presses buttons. You have to baby sit him and tell him exactly where to look : Scan at distance 20nm at 0 FT etc. You have to constantly look at TID and check if AWG9 sees tracks. No Tracks, Jester cant lock it. Make sure that its RADAR TRACK and not DATALINK TRACK. These are two different things. Only exception is ONE command, lock specific track, which allows jester to TRY to lock to datalink tracks if its currently outside radar scan range but WITHIN gimbal limit Of course AWG9 limitations still apply, so beaming and cold targets are very hard to lock in PD STT.

F-18 has very nice and bright AAR light... Maybe too bright, but at least night AAR is possible...

yeah i think there is something linked with firing on close flying two-ships. I just had the same during my squadron mission. 1 missile goes to space, another one tracks nicely https://we.tl/t-6Gn8GdLhWm at +01:25:39

Not really broken. Its just not implemented. Which to be clear, is a shame

Jester is just interface for radar for pilot, not advanced AI RIO. Jester doesnt do any active searching for targets or sorting, he just presses buttons. Its you as pilot that have to babysit him, tell him where to look and what target to lock. TWS prioritization is done automatically by AWG9, and following track as well in TWS Auto is also done by AWG9. If radar doesnt return a track of target then Jester WILL NOT LOCK HIM, tell Jester first where target is by telling him where to scan (radar elevation at what range), and when you got track back, then you can tell Jester to track him in TWS (by switching to TWS AUTO, then its AWG9 following the track and Jester just sits back) or STT.

i know in USAF you fire AA missiles with pickle button, and trigger is pure gun and in USN you use trigger for "shooting" weapons like missiles, rockets, guns and pickle for all "droppable" weapons like bombs, talds, illumination flares etc.

which plane use detent for bombs?

AIM 54 was never designed to fight vs AIM120. If you want realistic setup you should fight MiG-21/-23s/-29As or at most Su-27 armed with R-27Rs (VERY rarely ERs) armed with 54C, and all Blue fighters in the same time have AIM-7s. Against those threats AIM54 is still very capable weapon, by simple fact its only one which is Fox 3. Yep, it is worse, but are those players using at least 120B from 1994 or 120C-5 from 2000? Why would they stick to latter - always? mmm excellent target for 54 if you are in correct launch parameters, and you can easily outrange them. But also dont forget that AI cheats in DCS. they see missile always at 10nm (for players in 8ish nm, quite big difference) and they know exactly when to dump chaff to get best chance of defeating missile with it. And in modern setting PvP and especially in cybersport, everyone is slinging 120C at each other, which frankly i find extremely boring now.

Apparently just 10 made

Technically yes, you can hook and press STT button, but Jester already knows this with "Lock specific track" command in Jester wheel. Its really powerful and allows locking datalink targets currently outside radar scan. It was shown before what i mean It would be simply better, than for hooking tracks method, as first you need them to be inside radar scan range, and then if they flies perpendicular to you, it would be very hard for AWG9 to get lock this way without using DDD. And its not because of notch.

well treat Jester as new RIO, which need babysitting. Also i strongly recommend Voice attack and tell jester what to do. It aint perfect but it makes whole experience way more enjoyable. Also there is a RIO controls mod, IC friendly, which allows your from pilot seat to get access to RIO controls and you can use MLC switch, hook stuff or switch chaff/flares on DLC button, among other things

I dont belive that arresting gear crew would adjust anything when plane call the ball. They would have like 15s to do it. They are done adjusting way before. Recoveries are tracked even before aircraft launch. They have flight plan with number and type of aircraft, their tasking and when they are forming in the Marshall stack they land in particular order. Most often planes with lower endurance/fuel quantity will land first. So in our DCS world, with 2 official cv capable planes, Hornets will land first then tomcats. Remember that in RL, there are specific launch and recovery windows and its pilot's responsibility to fit to this timetable. Strongly recommend guide to CV landing procedures

In ziplip you dont call ball, You call "see you at 10nm" with state update at marshall and then you switch to tower freq, which ideally should stay silent, but of course tower and plane can transmit in emergency, depending on EMCOM policy

Under BVR category (combination A, A, 2, 7 for nose cold; A, A, 2, 6 for nose hot)

AIM54C will turn on its own radar if track is lost AIM54A it will be trashed 99% of time.

well, write down DDM coords and then you type that in to WCS? But it will not be accurate anyway for JTAC accuracy. You then have to slew TGP and see if coords in TGP QDES match JTAC coords

do you have special option selected - "Allow Jester to switch to PSTT when entering WVR"? Disable it. When you are twisting and turning when he switches to PSTT then AWG9 will lose lock. Best to tell him to switch to PSTT when you fly straight and level for a second or relock target with PAL. Issue would be same with human RIO. Also you have to learn AWG9 limitations. Way you fly also impacts the quality of lock, PDSTT have 100 +- kt closure filter. So you closure drops below it, you will lose lock. To mitigate it you have to change your intercept geometry and increase speed to keep closure over that filter. Or switch to PSTT with the instructions mentioned above

I wouldnt expect much better PK to be honest, as missile performance wouldn't drastically change. Remember that AIM54/AWG9 weapons system was designed in 1960s and put operationally in 1970s, so yeah no wonder that missile from 2000 - AIM120C-5 is better. However for nearly 20 years of F14 until 1991 (when first 120As appeared), Tomcat was only fighter with true FOX3 capability. And F-14B we got is essentially from 1987, so in typical "modern" setting pvp fighting against F-18s/F-16s from 2005 with JHMCS/AIM-9X/LINK16 its no surprise that tomcat is "out teched". But if you had historical 1989-1990 settings with same F14 we got, with all its weaponry (minus BOL chaff expanders) fighting vs AIM-7 only F-15s/F-18s or AIM-9Ms only F-16s or R-27Rs 27s/29s, then everybody would fly F-14, isnt it?

you have to convert it to lat long decimal yourself. F14 accepts only lat long decimal

and from which year is AIM120? and AIM120C5 specifically? And from which year is AIM54? And what was the only other Western comparable missile for nearly 20 years before AIM120 arrived? So no, I dont think its weird at all. Just progress of technology. If Cold War lasted longer then F14 would have had AIM-152. But it is what it is. Just have realistic expectations AIM54 still have longer range due to longer battery life and actual radar that can use that range (if you compare it to F16 puny radar)

Its explained in the mod description how to install it, its just text file By updating it, i meant open mod file, and open current same file in DCS folder, compare the code in WINDOWS notepad program (or notepad++ <- recommended) and copy to mod text file lines from current HB text file that are missing

Well thats how Grumman intended There is mod for RIO controls in pilot seat, it doesnt break IC. I use it mostly for HCU hooking, CAP info and MLC but it got CMS switch too https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3319633/ It maybe a little outdated though so you might have to copy paste couple lines to notepad code to get newest bindings Personally, on start up I set Chaff program and I ask jester to use chaff program and then he deploys much more of it, instead of singles.

From pilot seat? 1. Yes, the VDI. Keep the vertical line of target optimal range inside the VDI screen and its within horizontal gimbal. For vertical gimbal you have to watch the radar elevation on TID repeater 2. You can snooze jester but they he will stop doing anything. I just got used to him switching to TCS for few seconds. 3. Remember that Jester is just INTERFACE for radar not AI RIO. He will not find targets for you, you still have to babyseat him telling what elevation to scan and which target to lock. I strongly suggest using other software like voiceattack so you can talk to jester, it will be much faster than wheel and more immersive