Digitalvole

Thanks for the speedy reply. Though I do understand that the devs strive for authenticity, and we very much appreciate that, this particular issue raises an interesting conundrum when it comes to the authenticity of our Hornet. I for one would back what raus suggests for MSI etc. just my 2 pence worth.

Well said sir Do you know how the team feel about improvising a bit when it comes to these features and implementing some of raus’s suggestions re the docs used? Would be great to know one way or the other.

Haha I hate this feature of the Hornet! I assume this feature was added when they had “bring your granny to work” day at the factory. All the grannies agreed it was a a dreadful waste of electricity to leave it on.

Buy the SC in a sale and if possible use some miles, I paid about five of my English pounds for it. Money well spent, love having it and greatly improves the Hornet experience. Also I’d take ED making money this way over starting a whole new aircraft module. That being said I can see why there is some frustration but I’m sure it’ll all get sorted out.

Ahh, that makes sense. Looking forward to the DTC. I don’t want to sound like I’m just comparing the Hornet to the Tomcat but… some of the stuff that HB implemented via the kneeboard with the F14 would be most welcome for us too. Such as setting the laser code before takeoff and the carrier landing breakdown page after landing (love that feature!).

Dear Father Christmas/the Genii of the Lamp/ the CO of the Wishes battalion, please grant my wishes: Wish 1: it’d be great if the refuelling probe caused the aircraft to roll to the right a little like in the Tomcat. Assuming it does this in real life ofc. Wish 2: a separate view distance for targeting pods. It’s too easy to find targets when the buildings they are hiding behind are not rendered. Wish 3: 3 more wishes! Thank you. And a quick question, why can we program the laser code of the gbu when in flight? I didn’t think this was possible irl.

The last thing my posts need is extending! Hehe Good points mind you, though I do roughly line up the pod on the wing of the tanker with the top right corner of my hud when attempting to connect, but after that I only have eyes for the tanker and try not to over control the aircraft. Oh, and having had another go last night with both I did actually find the Hornet a fair bit easier. But then again I have practiced a lot more in the Hornet than the Viper and I had a few pints of beer in me (incase anyone is wondering, no beer definitely doesn’t help). I really want to like flying the Viper more than I do. Ok I’m going to stop there and try not to waffle on. Just a little bit more waffle, I tried it in the Tomcat and oh boy that is tough.

I love DCS, but when I read threads like this I realise that maybe I don’t have the requisite levels of intelligence for this hobby.

Having been recently spending most of if not all of my limited DCS time trying to nail AAR in the Hornet & Viper I can say I don’t think either is much harder than the other and they are both very much “doable” even if at first it feels impossible. I think, and I’m no expert, that the key is focusing on the tanker and completely ignoring your HUD, except maybe your speed read out. That and practice practice practice. It’s a hell of a lot for your brain to take in and the practice (x3) helps you subconsciously break down what is really an information overload at first attempt. Each of the two have their good and bad points when it comes to AAR imho. I find it easier to connect in the Hornet, but then again you need to stay connected for a fair amount of time longer than the Viper. The Viper on the other hand can feel like there is a third party involved, I’ve got all greens on the indicators, why hasn’t the bloody boom operator connected! But again the whole process is over a lot quicker when you do connect. But if you don’t have your Bingo readout on the HUD it’s very hard to tell if you’ve disconnected. Having now managed it with both I’d say the Hornet is a wee bit easier, and you feel more like it’s your own silly fault when you are having a tough time. But there really isn’t much difference between the two, but I haven’t tried the Viper at night yet or with critical fuel, and at the moment it defiantly takes me longer to get connected in the Viper. TLDR: Hornet: Easier to connect, harder to stay connected for full refuel. Viper: The opposite. = pretty much the same level of challenge, with maybe the Hornet being slightly easier. But that’s just me. I think collision with the basket is there in a rough kinda way, I’ve seen myself connect when I thought there really was no chance, in fact I think it’d a little too forgiving. Edit: Good God why are my posts so bloody long, I must get out the house more.

Right, thanks, I’ll up the speed on the tanker a touch. They have AAR tips in Hustler!? Teehee. I don’t know what the manual is but I’m assuming it’s best not to talk about it…. So I’ll use Hustler

What difference will it make if slower than that? My tanker is trundling along at 272kts. That is true, I get it up on the DED then flick the little switch that sends it to the HUD. I’ll practice more tonight and if I can keep the HUD on it’s one less thing to do.

You’re absolutely right, and thanks for the advice. Progress report: Progress! Last night managed to refuel from 20% to 100% (not including external tanks.) Only lost connection once. It was very twitchy and more than a bit all over the place, but it’s progress none the less. Much like the Hornet (and any other plane I’d, imagine) I can’t stress enough how important it is to focus on the Tanker NOT your HUD. I would have turned the HUD off (as recommended) but I found I need the fuel readout so I know if I’m still connected or not. As soon as you start looking at your VV POI quickly follows. The only two things I look at are speed and fuel. Doubt I could do it without those two yet. Thank you all very much for all the help and advice, and though I need a lot of practice to get good at this I now feel I can start to transition from the Hornet to the Viper. Woo Hoo! Now I just need to learn how to land this thing, apparently the controlled crash that is the Hornet landing is a no no here.

I hope ED find a way to make these things work, even if it isn’t 100% accurate (gasp!)

Ah very interesting, never thought to look at fuel flow. Never bother with it in the Hornet but it is very useful in the Viper, thanks for that. That’s a problem I look forward to having. Does the nozzle push you down when it connects or is it just me freaking out when the guy says he’s connected?

I’ll +1 that for you. Not a problem for me but I can see how much that must suck. Can’t have people missing out on the greatness that is the Apache.

If you let George fire at will get ready for some blue on blue, happened to me today. I’ve sent George to bed early, without any dinner!

Thanks for the clarification, that sounds super handy but if I’m honest not game breaking it we don’t get it. All the relevant information is there for us to do it manually. I just, rightly or wrongly, feel like ED are back peddling a bit on what they promised us with the Hornet. Official news would be great.

An excuse! Excellent that’s just what I was after! ;D Having done a bit of AAR in the Hornet earlier today the difference in throttle response was surprising, good old Hornet. I don’t tend to trim the Hornet when refuelling unless I’ve got to, ie I’ve dropped a bomb off one wing. Even then I can manage without it being perfectly trimmed out (roll at least). I’ll try what you suggest about anticipating the nose up and down with throttle. Im going to try this, as you say it’s easy to accidentally focus on the VV, which makes things worse in hurry. I would miss the speed read out though. Thanks for the help and advice guys.

Is that the MSI stuff? If it’s too sensitive, how come the Viper has it? (That question is aimed at ED btw). If they can model it for the Viper can’t we just have that if the proper way is not possible? From what I understand (and that’s not an awful lot, admittedly) we should be able to engage data link contacts with MSI, is that correct? If so, and I’m no programmer, that can’t be too difficult to make happen in the sim. But what do I know, other than the frustration of someone who has sunk many hours into something that now looks like it’ll never get “Properly” finished. But I’m feeling grumpy as I’ve finally got Covid.

Say what? What’s the deal there then if you don’t mind me asking?

Thanks Falconeer, to be fair I’m trying to do all of the above. I suppose I was hoping there may be some handy tips for transferring the skills from the Hornet to the Viper, such as maybe dead zone or curve settings for example. The nose of the Viper really likes to move about I find. Yup, good advice indeed.

I’m trying to learn to AAR in the Viper, I can manage it in the Hornet (not pretty, but I can get a full tank with only one disconnect, tanker turning and wake turbulence is on) but I’m having a fair bit of trouble in the Viper, and was hoping you knowledgeable folks may be able to offer me some helpful tips. I think I can identify where am having trouble, mainly throttle control and PIO when under the tanker. But it feels quite different to how I managed it in the Hornet. The throttle first, well it feels like the Viper is good at speeding up but not so good at slowing down. I feel I have to make bigger movements with the throttle and, though I know you’ll never find the “sweet spot” I’m having to work the throttle a lot more in the Viper and I’m really struggling to hold a constant speed. The other thing I noticed was, it seems to speed up by a knot or two just as I reach the boom. Which really throws me off. TLDR; I’m always just a bit to fast or a bit too slow when under the tanker. The PIO, this is the one I’m really having a hard time with. Once under the tanker the jet seems to like to raise or lower its nose quite often. I’m aware the throttle movement will cause this but it happens even with out throttle inputs. Basically I get myself in PIO (both up/down and left/right) far more than with the Hornet and I can’t figure out why. The Viper seems a lot less stable, like it doesn’t want to fly straight and level in the same way the Hornet does. Any help/advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

Ha, I’m a fool, I had no idea about TXDSG. Just watched some videos on it and like you say, pretty much the same thing. Excellent, thank you.

Just watched a viper video from a couple of weeks ago with transferring info such as spi or mark points over datalink. Surely we’ll get that, right?

Thanks LooseSeal, it’s just a matter of “git gud” I suppose. I’ve watched that video 3 times already, but a forth time can’t hurt I usually shoot the gun looking out the side, is this a bad idea? I try to adjust my shots but the bullets seem to impact in unexpected places every time. I just need to practice practice practice by the sounds of it.