Alright, the problem WAS indeed with my lack of properly aligning the HMCS and boresighting the Mavs.
HMCS align tip: disable Track IR, center the view, zoom in on the HUD, and use numpad slow zoom keys to align the crosses, if you want it as close to perfect as possible (it's also just quicker). Also, I didn't realize AZ / EL and Roll meant using the Radar Cursor X/Y slew knub and not twisting my head around like I'm having a stroke.
Is there an F-16 hotkey shortcut that automatically aligns the HMCS and boresights the Mavs? I appreciate the realism here, but there is only so much time I (we all) have in the day. Would rather go through the real procedure once to "note" it, then skip it and spend the time working on other things. I know it's only a few minutes each total, but 10 cold starts... that's 30 minutes. The TM Warthog cursor slew switch is also notoriously twitchy/sensitive - I have the X/Y curves tuned way down.
Pics:
1. Result after mav boresighting (also after hmcs alignment). The mav cross is skewed slightly left, and same result after a few boresight tries. However, WAY better than before. When I deselect the TGP and slew it (or maybe CZ it), then the Mav cross seems to align near perfect (See Pic 3). Note: The HUD TDC box is skewed slightly left, but WAY better than before.
2. Now zoomed in HUD TDC from Pic 1. Note the box is slightly skewed left of where TGP point track is looking (assume this is just the imperfect nature of the HUD TDC / parallax etc.)
3. After Pic 1 -- after undesignating / moving the TGP (and maybe CZing too?), then moving TGP back on, the Mav seeker cross seems to align near perfectly.
4. Zooming in, the HUD TDC is still slightly skewed left of where the TGP and Mav are looking. Again, WAY WAY better than before. Again, assuming this is just the imperfect nature of the HUD TDC / HMCS / parallax etc.
Are these the alignment results you guys are getting? Would laser ranging w/ TGP tighten up the HUD/HMCS boxes? I imagine IRL, the HUD box and HMCS box will never be spot on like the TGP. I suppose to reduce this offset and get a more accurate mark point using the HUD / HMCS box, you just need to be as close as possible to the target. Makes sense -- if you're 100 miles away, your VIS mark point could be several miles off target.
Thanks all for the help.
