bonesvf103

Also keep in mind when people say it has to see the laser, that also means it has to see the laser spot. For instance if your buddy is lasing the front of the tank, and you are in hot from the back of the tank, the bomb won't be able to see the laser spot on the other side of the tank from you and thus won't track. Smoke and clouds will also affect this. v6, boNes

You may have to undesignate the Maverick from the TPOD. When you have a target locked in the TPOD, the Maverick will look at it, but will not necessarily see it, it's just looking at that area/point that is designated. So if it is off a bit it might not see the target. Slewing the Maverick seeker will help it to lock, but the problem is since you have the target designated in the TPOD, the Maverick seeker won't move. You have to TDC to the TPOD, undesignate, and quickly TDC back to the Maverick and slew the seeker a tad and then it will lock up. I've done many tests with the TPOD/GMT/WPDSG and found that the general rule of thumb is that the Maverick will look at the last place any of these sensors targeted, but you still have to undesignate the sensor then quickly update the Maverick yourself. There are some times when the Maverick does happen to lock on to where the sensor was looking off the bat, but not all the time, so be prepared to adjust it. Another poster on the forum when I brought up the issues I was having like you made a good point: The Maverick doesn't work the same on the Hornet as it does on the Falcon. If you were designating with the TPOD or GMT radar for instance in the F-16, the Maverick would know to follow whatever updates the sensor was detecting. v6, boNes

Yes if you set the HSD to see the TID, it wil lbe black because in the RIO seat, the TID is displaying the LANTIRN feed to the RIO, not the radar. You will be able to see your NAV info as usual, ie, compass rose, waypoint and TACAN bearings, range/DME if you cycle to that display. v6, boNes

Another thought...did you program a PTT switch for "Transmit TX1 release (voice disabled)" I think if you don't program this in the config, then after you press your PTT button and say something, it won't know to "release" the PTT when you release it and thus it is still "waiting for additional input" because it doesn't know you have released the TX PTT button. Just a thought without anything in front of me right now... v6, boNes

I do actually use VAICOM Pro when I fly so there's that, heh... Now to see if this stuff can be applied to a boom tanker when flying the F-16 or A-10. v6, boNes

So after extensive testing I determined that when carrying other weapons with the HARM, the SP submode works as advertised. You can even have the HARM set to say TOO and if your active weapon is say a Maverick and you have HRM OVRD unboxed, the HARM will automatically go from TOO to SP. The only time you have to be mindful of the HARM when in this mode is when all you have are HARMs and have it selected. If your HARM is in TOO or PB mode and HRM OVRD is unboxed, when you are spiked, it will not let you fire the HARM unless you select and handoff the target if you are in TOO mode or select SP mode if you are in PB (or go to TOO mode from PB but then you have to select and handoff). It will not switch to SP mode automatically like it would if you had a Maverick selected. v6, boNes

It took me forever to be able to tank with the basket. But one day I was just like, you know? I'm going to sit and do this until I get it right. So I finally am able to--I'm not the best at it, but I can stay in resonably long enough to get fuel, or if I break away, I can get back in and finish. I'm getting better at getting in and staying in until fully fueled, I'm like 95% there. The funny thing is I had read all these tips and watched all these videos--even wiggled my toes per Rosencrantz to get it right. But the only things that worked were to get a good feel and sight picture, make teeny tiny adjustments in throttle and stick (I actually never use the rudders), and to focus on the "black ball"--the rear face of the fuel pod and zone out on it. Once my glance or even my mind go to the basket, I screw up because I track the basket, even unconsciously. But if you focus on that ball, even when the tanker turns, you can stay in. People tell you put the fuel pod here or there, use the HUD or such and such symbology as a reference point, etc. But I am of the opinion that that is all subjective, especially when using a head tracker and I'm sure VR. Your real life posture, height, distance from the screen, etc all affect that sight picture so you have to find what works for you. Even your HOTAS setup is subjective--you may hav ea dead zone different from others--but definitely the tiny stick movements (and a counter to that movement) as well as similar throttle movements are essential, primarily for avoiding PIO. Last, practice refueling from different basket aircraft KS-3B, KC-135MPRS, KC-130, even the IL-78. This will get you prepared for say a low fuel state and the only aircraft available to refuel is say the KC-135 (hope it is the MPRS so it has a basket!). If you fly the Tomcat, get proficient in refueling in that too. Getting a feel for different aircraft help you to home in on how a refueler behaves so you can react accordingly no matter what plane you are in. A few things I found that are important to note. Make sure you tell the tanker ready precontact and have them say "cleared precontact." Not only will they send the basket to you, but if you don't have them say "cleared precontact" it appears that the sim's logic for refueling doesn't kick in. You can be in the basket and it won't ever connect. But once they say "cleared precontact", there seems to be a window of tolerance where if your probe is within it, the basket will "snap" onto your probe, even if it's off. Of course being dead on will work and that's the proper way. See the video below at around 6:53 and you will see how the basket "blinks" into place. Also, determining which basket when there are multiple to use can be tricky. If by yourself, the left basket will work, but if you have a wingman, I think it defaults to the wingman gets the left backet and you get the right. I tried for the left a few times and either it wouldn't connect or give me fuel, or I would connect and get fuel but then my AI wingman who is angling for it flies up to me and collides with me. So keep that in mind, it will save some frustration. I want to try getting fuel again from an IL-78. It is freaky because there is a left basket, a right basket, and a middle basket that comes from the fuselage! I tried connecting to that basket for fun, but again, as in the paragraph above, the left basket was the only active one. I realized also that there are lights that actually clue you off as to which basket is active and whether fuel is flowing or not, and I think your proximity. See the video below at around 26:03 and you will see again how the basket "blinks" into place. To stay proficient, I will load up a tanker IA or SP mission and just plug and chug at least once per session. v6, boNes

Good to know! Also make sure you choose the right weapon as the LANTRIN cues are calculated for that weapon. A GBU-16 falls differently than a GBU-24, for instance. v6, boNes

If Jester has the target locked he will talk you onto it. He will also tell you when to pickle. There is also a "gauge" on the right side of the LANTIRN screen that will cue you when to pickle. Make sure these things are happening before you drop, and drop only when he says to or when the tick mark on the gauge reaches the drop point. Also, how did you tell him to select the target? I don't believe that there is an option for him to select a building (at least not like selecting say a tank). So you would have to either jump in the back seat, put the LANTIRN on the target yourself and then designate it or from the front seat use eyeballs/head control to get the LANTIRN on target then stabilize it with the "A" key then tell Jester to designate it. v6, boNes

Sorry if I was being misleading...I was just using the Maverick as an example of a situation. But yes in the video I am carrying all HARMs. But even if the HARM was my "other weapon," when HRM OVRD is boxed, it should still fire since the only thing overriden is the PLBK submode... I tried it again. This time I went to A/A mode. The HRM OVRD unboxed when I did. So the PLBK should work. I got locked, HARM came up in the HUG and AA stores MFD, no X's. The HARM fired even though Sidewinder was selected. So that worked as advertised. I next tried, while in A?A mode, to hit PB16 to turn the override on. It won't. If I turn off A?A (nav mode), I can turn on the override. EDIT: Tried the same mission but put on 2 Mk82s. Selected Mk82 is A/G mode. TUrned off override. Got the spike, HARM appeared in MFD and HUD, no X's. Pickled. The BDL flashed, but the HARM launched. Tried again, this time with HRM OVRD boxed. Selected Mk82s. Got spiked, PLBK in HUD and MFD. Pickled. Mk82 came off, HARM did not launch. So with another weapon, worked as advertised. I'm thinking it has something to do with when carrying all HARMs in A/G mode. v6, boNes

So there is the HARM SP submode where even if you have another weapon or master mode selected, it allows you to fire a HARM at a detected target. By default, this is overriden unless you press PB16 in the MFD. I used to have that working but now it seems weird. This is using the stock Weapon Qualification AGM-88C HARM Caucasus mission. When I start, I verify that PB16 has "SP HRM OVRD" boxed. I press the HARM button on PB5 to bring up the HARM MFD. HARM at PB5 is now boxed and X'd, and it is in SP mode. I select TOO mode. I get spiked. PLBK is in the HUD as I would expect since the override is on. I pickle--nothing launches. I try to cycle to the SAM and hand off. It cycles but does not hand off. I am in nav master mode so I hit A/G. Stores page shows up with HARM boxed and X'd in PB5. I press PB5 and HARM is boxed. I press PB5 again, it goes to the HARM MFD and TOO is still boxed. I hand it off and pickle. PLBK in the HUD and MFD turn onto HARM but X'd out but the missile launches. OK, next test. I remain in A/G mode, in TOO mode. HARM in PB5 is boxed but X'd. This time I press PB16 tu turn off the override, so now "TOO HTM OVRD" is not boxed. I get spiked. HARM shows up in the HUD and MFD but when I pickle it is X'd out and no launch occurs. I press PB5, bringing it back to the stores page where HARM is not boxed, then I hit PB5 again and it brings it back to the HARM page with HARM boxed and X'd ,defaulting to SP mode. I select TOO mode and pickle. No launch, HARM in MFD and HUD X's out. I switch to SP mode. It says uncrossed-out HARM in the MFD and HUD and a target is boxed in the HUD and I'm able to fire, but when I do, the HARM in the MFD and HUD crosses out. I pickle three more times and every time I do the HARM in the MFD and HUD crosses out but I get good launches. So I'm really confused. From my understanding if you have a HARM powered up and the HRM OVRD is boxed in PB16, then if a radar threat is detected and you pickle, a HARM will not launch because it is overridden. So if you unbox it, then there is no override, so when a radar threat is detected, it should launch when you pickle. Mine did not. It only did when I changed the mode in the HARM MFD to SP by pressing PB5. But then what is the point of the SP submode? I might as well just leave it in SP then. The whole point of leaving the override off is so that if I'm say attacking with a Meverick and I get spiked, I can fire the HARM without having to select it. But as in the above, it won't fire unless I press PB5 for SP. I seem to recall it working properly before, is it not working now? Track attached. Video is here: Thanks! v6, boNes HARM SP.trk

Yes, "F-14 RIO" or something along those lines. v6, boNes

That is a possibility. I don't think I did but maybe I overstressed the frame and didn't notice. Or maybe it is VAICOM Pro related. In any case, no harm, no foul, I found a way to get it working. I just looked at my video on it and there might be one other factor: The coordinates given were 41 deg 50 min 4 seconds. Not remembering that in the Tomcat it is degrees-minutes-tenths-of-a-minute, I put in 41504 when I should have put in 41501. Same with easting. Could .3 minutes have made such a huge difference? Maybe, maybe not. But I would think that the WP would be still pretty close to where the correct WP would be. v6, boNes

That's what I did, I put in the coordinates but it had no effect. I put the coordinates in for waypoint and had steering mode in DEST, the caret was showing I should fly west instead of east. So I put a map marker wast of Kashuri and told Jester to set it to waypoint 2. That failed so I had him set it to fixed point, and that failed so I had him set it to IP, which also failed--the caret would always be bearing around 270. So I went in the back and did it myself, for WP2, IP, fixed..same thing. That's when I just used the F10map to navigate. I did hit the 2 targets and made the decision to take the mission. I just left that out of my latest post because it was irrelevant--I was posting about finally being able to make it past the former bug point where the enemy would be stuck at the one spot and not move. v6, boNes

I finally found the time to try the mission as patched and updated stock as part of the beta update. SPOILER ALERT: It worked fine, the only problem I had was when I was ordered to fly to Kashuri and have Jester QWP to WP2. I couldn't get him to set the LANTIRN to WP2, so I set it myself. But it was showing a WP west of us rather than east. So I set a map marker east of Kashuri and had him add it as a fixed point. It still showed a WP west. Same with IP. So as a last resort, I put the coordinates for Kashuri myself. It still refused to show the correct waypoint direction in the HSI. So eventually I just F10 mapped my way to Kashuri and just went from there. I noticed that Jester would not be able to find targets but since I had eyes on it didn't matter. I did get worried though if we were tasked to kill anything I was delighted that the target made it past the bus station and checkpoint, I could finally go on in the mission! Also, when the Turks show up, Jester seemed to be able to take over LANTIRN ops as briefed. The theatrics and voiceovers of this mission were great, you guys did a great job on it. What I thought was really great about it was that it was what I expect a typical F-14 Bombcat mission would be like in terms of you may be circling over a target over and over but may never get the shot. The mission took 2 hours and I never got to drop, which sucks, but this is what could happen IRL. And yet it was still gratifying. The anticipation of what will happen next is great, and in this particular case (I took the moral high ground) the results from my decision were harrowing, but probably happens more often than we know. Which would suck, but that's life, right? v6, boNes

OK, I think I see what you mean by "Artistic license." She said, "Get angry now--AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!" and "Kill him! Put the pipper on him and kill him!! Burn that f*cker!!!" My kinda girl! v6, boNes

I dunno if the randomness was lost in the mod, but whenever I trap, JestHer only says what the wire caught was. I am yet to hear her say something witty after a trap like her predecessor, haha. v6, boNes

Yoda, Thanks, that's what I had been thinking too. v6, boNes

Thanks, makes sense. Just wasn't sure if there was a prescribed procedure like, "must be at angels 20 by 100 miles" or something. I also suppose that in terms of say the Tomcat, there is always max fuel endurance which is about 250 KIAS/1200 lbs every 15 minutes. Of course altitude will have an effect on that. v6, boNes

Is there a recommended altitude to approach the CCA? Are there different ones for Case I/II/II? By this I mean for instance you are RTB and you are say 100 nm from the boat, does the boat want you at a certain altitude by the time you get to the 50nm CCA? Thanks! v6, boNes

You're gonna keep us in suspense, aren't you? For some reason, I don't think it will go over the same way when she says, "Can we trap? I really gotta take a <sierra>" haha v6, boNes

So does she say, "Give my love to Meg Ryan" and "stop teasing it and stick it in?" v6, boNes

I have been noticing that if you make multiple passes with a waveoff, by the time you do catch a wire, your grades for the previous tries are combined into one grade for the last pass. Is that right? It doesn't seem so. I would think that you get a separate grade for every pass. So, if you had 3 passes and caught the wire on the third pass, you should get a total of 3 grades. Otherwise even if I nail a perfect 3 wire, I'm still getting a bad grade overall because of the previous waveoffs. It used to give separate grades. Is this a bug? v6, boNes

Jester that will actually give timely clock code calls? v6, boNes

Yes, there is only ICLS. So I can't do actual ILS approached but I can do VOR-A style approaches or TACAN approaches. I just have to make sure I am at my minimum altitude at DME. It's not exactly pretty but it works. I usually use the every DME mile is 300 feet of altitude thing or the minute to live rule below 2000 MSL. v6, boNes