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Ice

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Everything posted by Ice

  1. Well we've kept it quiet during the setup period but now it is up and running. Thanks to 169th Helix for his efforts and "connections" we now own a 10Mbit Dedicated Server specifically for running Lock-On!! Located in Texas so pings should be good for most people wanting to join. Expect FULL REAL settings and tough opponents. A first for a server of this magnitude. So come on in and join the fun.
  2. Guns Only - Lesson 1 "The Merge" Large Animated Gif (2.5MB) Not enough people know how to merge correctly in a guns fight. Especially with full real settings. I hope that this will help some understand one way it can be done effectively.
  3. I tend to try to fly at multiples of 60 knots in the Eagle and Hog. This gives me a nice easy nm/min for time calculations. You can also use mach as I hinted before. Mach 1 is roughly 600 knots or 10 nm/min. LOMAC seldom has significant winds so you can get pretty close just using mach. It’s pretty obvious that the less sophisticated Russian avionics make this a less precise in their birds. Still, 1000 km/hour is close to mach 1 which yields 100 km/6 min. It’s not quite as slick but working time distance problems is doable. While we’re on the subject of ground speed and wind I’d like to stomp on a pet misconception. Wind does not blow on the side of an aircraft and affect its ground track as I often hear. The only time it blows on the side is when the aircraft is on the ground. Air is a fluid that travels along over the ground much like a river does. The aircraft in air, or the boat in water, has no way of knowing which way the fluid in which it travels is moving. It is not until you reference your movement with the ground that there is any relevance. This happens most often when landing. We have to somehow align the wheels with the runway so we roll out straight down the runway. Doing so causes the up wind wing to want to rise after touch down and together they will help you run off the runway. The tax payers get miffed if we keep running jets into the grass so we have to counter it. The two techniques I use for landing in crosswinds in LOMAC are the wing low and crab method. In the wing low method I add rudder to straighten the nose just before touch down while using opposite direction aileron to keep wings level. I use rudder to keep straight down the runway and aileron into the direction of the wind as soon as I touch down in the crab method. Both do the job so pick one that works for you. Even this isn’t a real consideration in modern jet fighters. They land in a crab (pointed into the direction of the wind enough that their ground track is down the runway) and use rudder to track down the runway and aileron to keep the upwind wing down after touch down. The reason for this is a swept wing characteristic called roll coupling. I don’t want to get into the details of roll coupling here and now. Let me simply say that a swept wing aircraft is very sensitive to rudder input. Rudder is normally used to control yaw and does so effectively even in swept wing aircraft. However, larger amounts of rudder, especially at high AoA, will cause high roll rates as well. Older jets like the F-100 and F-4 used rudder only for roll control at higher AoA. This had to do with the ineffectiveness, aggrevating effect on stall, or roll reversal effect of ailerons on these aircraft in this condition. Even late generation jets use rudder for roll control at high AoA because it is so effective with few deleterious effects on control and energy management. Roll coupling is most definitely not modeled in LOMAC and I just mention it for information. Aerodynamics I don’t want to get too deep into aero. I doubt there are many of you who haven’t at least a basic understanding of the four basic forces involved in flight. Numerous flight simulations have had varying quality discussions of lift, drag, thrust, and weight. The better ones will be quite sufficient for our purposes. Let me know if you feel deficient in these areas and I’ll find you some supplemental reading to remedy the shortcoming. The few topics I want to introduce are a little deeper than I’ve ever found in a sim manual. I wouldn’t even bother talking about them except better knowledge of them can help each of us fly the jet much more effectively, even in a simulation. So listen up and maybe you can find a tidbit that will make the difference between you gunning your buddy’s brains out or having him do you. All of you know that lift is the force generated by air moving over the wing. The amount of lift is dependent on the speed of the air and the angle the airfoil of the wing meets the moving air, AoA. The lift generated must always match or exceed the weight of the aircraft or it will soon begin to head earthward. The AoA must increase at lower speeds to generate a given amount of lift. Conversely, the AoA must decrease as speed is increased to generate the same amount of lift. One of the problems is that there is a limit to how much AoA you can get out of an airfoil before the air flowing over it begins to separate which results in less lift. That loss of lift is called a stall. There’s not much new there except perhaps the unusual way I look at some of the concepts. I said what I did to get you thinking about the amount of lift generated. That is because your maneuvering potential is based on the amount of lift that can be generated. Big point: All maneuvering is the result of directing lift in a useful direction. Got that? Any change in direction in any axis is based on the ability to direct the lift you can generate. We primarily use roll to get lift pointed where we want it and thrust to generate the speed we need to produce an AoA capable of enough lift to over come the weight of the aircraft times the G we need to move the nose. Let that turd sit there for awhile. It may not smell right just yet but I think you’ll appreciate it more as I continue. Drag is the force opposing thrust. The confounding thing about drag is that it increases with the production of lift and with the increase of speed. The former is called induced drag and the latter is parasite drag which is composed of a host of components: form drag, interference drag, surface friction drag, and dozens of others. There is a point in the overall lift-drag relationship where the ratio of lift to drag is the highest. It’s often called L/D max. This point is obviously different for different drag configurations, clean vs max eternal stores, and G loadings but is also close to the point of maximum sustained turn rate. It is the speed where you get the best climb rate or glide the best. Another problem relationship is parasite drag to thrust. Jet engines are more efficient and generate slightly more thrust as they go faster but only up to a point. Drag resists the acceleration by increasing as you go faster which works against getting more thrust. I think you can see there are a dizzying number of considerations for maneuvering your jet effectively. To turn you need to pull on the pole which increases you effective weight requiring more lift but producing more lift increases the drag, requiring more thrust which you get less of as you slow down….my head hurts thinking about it all. Again, pilot practicality lets us leave all of the nasty details behind. What are some of the things we can do to most effectively maneuver the jet? Here’s a partial list: The fastest way to accelerate is at zero G and maximum thrust. Why? You eliminate induced drag in the equation. The practical application is to be sure you always extend unloaded in full blower. Have an idea what airspeed you want or need to resume the fight or get safely out of the fight. Too much airspeed is detrimental to optimal maneuvering (Why?) and too little won’t let you separate cleanly. The proper way to enter a turn is to unload (zero to 1 G), roll to the desired angle, and load the jet to the desired G. You stop the turn in the same way: unload then roll. Why? Rolling loaded causes your nose to corkscrew out of the plane you were pulling in and, more importantly, the additional drag is a waste of energy that you may need later. Learn to use “God’s G”. A nose low turn’s turn rate will be higherer because of gravity’s assist. The turn radius will likewise be shorter for the same reason. Questions: Which maneuver will use the least altitude to complete: idle split S, full burner split S, or full burner Immelmann? Of those three which will be completed in the least amount of time? Answer the question and then go fly the maneuvers. Be careful not to pull too hard causing an accelerated stall. See how close you came to the right answer. Now, why did you get the results you did? The best turn rate is obtained at the corner velocity using maximum thrust at an attitude and/or G that will allow you to maintain corner speed. Turn rate kills. The pilot who can sustain the highest turn rate will always win unless he makes a mistake which negates his advantage. The key to maximizing your turn rate is airspeed and G control. Question: Is it better to be fast or slow relative to corner velocity when entering a fight? In a sustained turning battle? A mature dogfight usually degenerates into a flat scissors. The key to winning a scissors is getting slowest the fastest and then maintaining control of your jet. Getting the kill is almost always the result of carefully husbanded energy that permits you to point your nose at the critical time. Committing to a scissors is foolish unless you are convinced there is no alternative. Once you made the decision, however, your only priority is to get slow enough to get behind your adversary and stay there. In this environment the unloaded rolls and small unloaded extensions can be the small difference that decides the fight. Turn radius is a lesser important characteristic. Turn radius is a simple function of airspeed and G. It is independent of aircraft type of capability. A turn radius advantage can be overcome by out of plane maneuvering. A slightly inclined turn circle compensates for your greater radius. So, if you must accept a greater turn radius to maintain corner velocity and a greater turn radius, what would you do? Why? How? Dogfights are always lost never won. Why?
  4. This Post popped back up in our forums and is so good I thought I'd share it with everyone. We are very lucky to have guys like Tweet in our squad who have a wealth of information from "Real World". As his name suggests Tweet used to be a flight examiner in the USAF flying the Cessna T-37's. Affectionately known as the "Tweet" Bits & Pieces of Aerodynamics for LOMAC Pilots By: “TweetPuke” 169th Panthers I promised to cobble together some information about a variety of aeronautical subjects for the members of the 169th Panthers. Many of you asked for more information about navigation and the instruments that make it possible in LOMAC. Cobra and I are working on that project but it is fairly involved if we are to do it correctly. In the mean time I thought I’d try to squash some of the misconceptions and inaccuracies I’ve heard while flying with you. This information will also serve as a basis for the navigation module. I hope you enjoy this one. Airspeeds This might seem like too simple of a first topic but I often hear LOMAC jocks being confused by their inability to keep up with a team mate despite having coordinated their speed. I always point to the fact that the two of them are at different altitudes as the first hint to the cause. Lets look at why this is. There are basically five airspeeds we could be concerned about: indicated, calibrated, equivalent, true, and ground. The first four are directly related to characteristics of the aircraft and atmospheric conditions of altitude and temperature while the last is a vector sum of the air mass the aircraft is traveling in, wind, and the true airspeed relative to the ground. This might not seem very easy to understand but it is quite simple. Indicated airspeed is what an aircraft uses to fly. An airfoil will fly at virtually the same indicated airspeed regardless of altitude, temperature, or air density. It has to have a certain amount of air flowing over it to generate sufficient lift to equal the weight it carries. Only then will it fly. The instrument used to measure indicated airspeed simply uses a diaphragm to measure how much force the moving air is exerting. So, if you can determine how much force the air exerts you can figure out how fast the air is moving and, conversely, how fast the instrument/airfoil is moving. Almost. There are a couple of problems based on the atmosphere and the nature of the gas we call air. Our atmosphere is not homogeneous. It varies in density based primarily on altitude and temperature. The further you go away from the surface of the earth the thinner air becomes. Half of the atmosphere is below 10,000 feet. The edge of the atmosphere is generally considered to be something over 200,000 feet. We experience around 14.2 pounds/ square inch at sea level, half of that at 10,000 feet, and 0 psi at 200,000 feet. The temperature also varies with altitude losing 2 degrees C/ 1000 feet of altitude up to about 35,000 feet where the temperature becomes relatively constant at -56 C until near the edge of the atmosphere. The overall effect of this is that the density of the air changes with altitude and temperature which, in turn, affects the number of molecules of air that impact the airspeed indicators diaphragm affecting our ability to accurately measure how fast it is traveling. The other problem is that air is a gas which acts like a fluid, a compressible one. That is, at certain speeds the local density of the air changes because the measuring device is moving faster than the molecules can get out of its way. This causes them to stack up and create a false reading. Damn! That sounds complicated. It would be but pilots have a habit of condensing out the messy details to leave only what they need to know to do the job. Here it is: ICE-T. The indicated airspeed is the measured speed of the air at the instrument, a pitot tube. This speed is notoriously inaccurate due to instrument errors caused by position, mechanical faults, damage, etc. In older first and second generation jets the calibrated airspeed could be 50-100 knots different than that shown on the instrument. Imagine how confusing that would be to you as a pilot. Indicated airspeed corrected for instrument error is called calibrated airspeed. The advent of the modern air data computer, and better engineered instruments, all but eliminated this consideration as well as determined equivalent airspeed automatically. It is calibrated airspeed corrected for compressibility. Remember the jamming together of the air molecules that occurs at higher speed that I mentioned earlier? That is what this is. Finally, true airspeed is equivalent airspeed corrected for temperature. This all boils down to needing to know two types of airspeeds: indicated and true. Indicated (really calibrated in modern aircraft) is needed by the pilot to give him an idea about how to fly the aircraft. A good pilot knows how much IAS he needs to avoid falling out of the sky, how fast he can go before parts start to fall/burn off the airframe, and what he can do with the amount he has at any instant. He uses true airspeed primarily to help him navigate. So how do you use TAS to navigate? Well, if you know the direction of the wind, its speed, and your heading you can determine your track and speed across the ground. It’s a simple vector sum that modern avionics keep track of for the pilot. Have you ever noticed the velocity vector in the F-15 or A-10 HUD being off center? That’s the result of wind or you standing on a rudder. You’ll also notice your TAS and GS (ground speed) in the bottom of the radar display in the Eagle. This can be very helpful. The practical uses of ground speed are many. The one I use most is to figure out how long it will take me to get somewhere. We navigate over the ground so our speed over the ground is most significant. Timing is always important in military operations. (It will be very important in some upcoming scenarios I’m putting together for your enjoyment and consternation.) Let’s say I have to be at a point 32 nm ahead in 4 minutes. What does my ground speed need to be? That’s 8 miles a minute which is also .80 mach and 480 knots. How about 36 nm in 4 minutes? 540 knots and 9 nm/min. How do I do this? Shove the throttles into full blower until I see 540 on the left side of the HUD? Nope, think again. It might work if you are at sea level with no wind but it won’t work in all cases. The best way is to call up the radar and accelerate to a speed that causes a 540GS to appear in the lower part of the radar display. Note the indicated shown in the HUD and fly that while remaining level. You could also watch the number in the radar display if you need to climb or descend much. Continued..
  5. I found out today that 169th Moose does not have a Track Ir, and is allways positive in the forums and helpful with technical issues. He DEFINITELY gets my vote!!
  6. If someone started repeatedly bagging "My Product" on "My Forum" on "My Website" I'd probably do more than reduce their Rep Points. But that's just me. :icon_jook
  7. I narrowed it down to Microsoft Wireless Keyboard / Mouse Combo Scotty. Is that what you have ?
  8. Thought I'd mention the new blackouts also. They add a new dimension of reality in tight fights
  9. the other nice thing is you can have bvr missions that are more fun. Being able to make a fixed payload for an F15 for instance means you might have to think about what missiles to fire instead of spamming AIM120's all over the sky
  10. Very funny but how's about an english version :)
  11. Fly on DC's wing for a while, he'll bring you up to speed before you can say "music on"
  12. Hi Jason. Would it be possible for you to contact the Australian section of PC Aviator? I'm sure they would be more than interested in importing some copies of Flaming Cliffs to supply to us Aussies. http://www.pcaviator.com imo they are the best distributors of flight simulation software and hardware. Good people to deal with. They also sell Track Ir sincerely,
  13. Looks like you've put alot of work and thought into this Swing Has my vote
  14. Interesting Post I'll take a chance and say that Jaws will come back in here a month or two from now having to admit the F15 is every bit as dangerous as it was in 1.02 :horseback
  15. Well glad someone knows what Eagle is talking about :icon_mrgr
  16. 1.1 is Fantastic for all aircraft. All areas improved. Flaming Cliffs had made Lomac twice the sim it was before the addon without a doubt.
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