bonesvf103

Here is another attempt. Again I had the jammer on and I was killed by a Super 530D even though there was no RWR warning. Track also attached https://youtu.be/45aSUWXOBkw v6, boNes LastMissionTrack.trk

THANKS so much for confirming I was not going crazy!!! v6, boNes

Several times I have been killed by a Super 530D even though there was no audible warning on the RWR. Is there a problem here? LAst time I checked Super 530D were SARH so they should set off the RWR. The only thing I can think of is I had my jammer running...can Super530Ds home on jam? If so, would they be able to guide on me without setting off my RWR? v6, boNes I have a track for when it happened: LastMissionTrack.trk

So in both the DCS manual and the NATOPS it says about the Case III marshall: "The holding pattern is a six-minute left-hand pattern. Unless otherwise briefed, the pattern will be flown at max conserve fuel flow or NATOPS holding airspeed. Two-minute turns and one-minute legs are normally used for the pattern." Since it is a 6 minute pattern, then I read this to mean you enter a turn where you will complete 180 deg of turn in 2 minutes, fly straight 1 minute, then turn back 180 deg in 2 minutes, then fly straight for 1 minute. All of that means you are completing a circuit in 6 minutes total. Coming from a general aviation point of view, when I read "2 minute turn" I understand it as a 2 minute standard turn, ie you turn 360 deg in 2 minutes. So am I right in thinking that though it is a standard 2 minute turn in a civilian hold, in the NATOPS hold you will actually do a slower turn rate turn? In the civilian hold it would take you 1 minute to turn 180 deg, but NATOPS suggests it should take 2 minutes to turn 180 deg. So in actuality when following NATOPS, you are actually doing twice a civilian hold turn (a 4 minute turn rather than a 2 minute turn). So when I turn, it should take me about 18 seconds to do 9 degrees of turn per NATOPS. Which is a pretty wide turn compared to the civilian hold. Is my thinking correct? Also I found the attached pic in "Aircraft Carrier Operating Procedures for DCS World Rev 1." Looking at that, it shows that it takes 2 minutes to turn 180 degrees. However, it also shows that it takes 2 minutes to fly straight. NATOPS says a 1 minute leg. So is this pic wrong? This pic shows an 8 minute left hand pattern not a 6. Or am I missing something? Maybe it comes down to this all being recommended since there are no hard and fast rule how to do this except to stay at your assigned altitude and DME and make your push time? Thanks. v6, boNes

Well, I thought of that too, because it was in the guide. The only thing I could think of is if you are letting AWACS now so that they know which group of friendlies out of the many out there were going go after that group of bandits. Now of course by saying your callsign, they would know too, but like I said it was in the Chuck's Guide and it made me question it, so I wanted to ask here what they do in real life so that I have something to back up my suspicion. v6, boNes

IRL, when someone makes a bullseye call when they see a bandit on their radar, do they say the bandit's bullseye position as seen on the radar, or do they say their own position from bullseye? In DCS, when an AI friendly makes a bullseye call, are they saying the bandit's bullseye position or their own? I ask because I think I've seen it both ways, and in Chuck's guides (such as in the F-14 one on page 492 or 639 in the F/A-18 guide) it appears that when someone makes a bullseye call, they are giving their own bullseye position, not the bandit's. Thanks! v6, boNes

When I said basically an expensive Sparrow, I was speaking metaphorically. I was referring to how you have to guide it all the way to the target like a Sparrow except that Sparrows don't cost $1.5 million each hence the "expensive" part. Thanks for the info, but what is "English bias?" v6, boNes Can it be fired in P-STT? Do the same rules apply (break lock= "A" is trashed and "C" goes active)? v6, boNes

Thanks for summarizing and simplifying things, Naquaii. If I have the cover down, and I get a PDSTT lock and fire the Phoenix, then the lock is broken, is it that the AIM-54C will then go active and try to find the target on its own, but the AIM-54A will not unless I reacquire the lock? How about if I have the cover down, have a PSTT lock (like from VSL Hi or LO, PAL , PLM), fire, and then the lock is broken? Is it the same? If it's an AIM-54C it will go active and try to find the target but if AIM-54A it is trashed unless I happen to reacquire the lock? I'm also trying to also determine when the Phoenix basically becomes an expensive Sparrow, ie, when I have a lock and fire, and am required to guide it all the way to the target. Is that only in the case of an AIM-54A? Thanks. v6, boNes

There is another one you'll see eventually where there is Scotch tape over the GUN RATE/SW COOL/MSL PREP buttons. Heatblur was just simulating for more realism some Tomcats that may have had some "fixes" made to it by the ground crew after years of wear and tear. These were actually on a few Tomcats, all custom fixes, in real life. It's cool and funny but some of us miss the "clean" version too. v6, boNes

<sigh>. This is why I find it so difficult to learn how to properly employ these weapons--manual outdated, changes along the way that you may not be privy too immediately, conflicting information as a result, and so on. Ah well. I did actually make a test mission with an F-14 carrying 6 AIM-54Cmk47. This is the same mission I used to test what happens if you lock up a bandit with PDSTT, launch, and then break the lock (it did go active and kill him). But I tried situations for each of the points above and the results were mediocre. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn't, and nothing was consistent. I think for the most part the missile tried to track; there were a few instances where it just flew blindly straight ahead. It seemed like the LTE was 1 second if the ACM cover was up, if PH ACT was on and in BRSIT mode...I also discovered for the first time that when the ACM cover is up, it automatically goes to boresight mode. That was interesting. There were so many different ways to execute this and so many varied results that it was really hard to figure out a set procedure and whether or not the conditions are correct to implement it. I wish there was a black and white way to set up the system and fire for each situation, but since things are all over the place, it doesn't seem like it. v6, boNes

You mean in boresight mode? I can understand that, but I don't think they loft in PH ACT mode or with the ACM cover off either. Besides at range in TWS, I don't think they loft in any other mode but PDSTT at range. v6, boNes

OK, but so does boresight mode, so why not just hit that? Also, if the RIO sets missile options to PH ACT, the missile is active off the rails, but only if the target is within 6 miles when on its six or 10 miles if on the target's nose. As far as Phoenixes go, is flipping the ACM cover up give it any further advantage if there is BRSIT and PH ACT mode available? v6, boNes

What does flipping the ACM cover actually do besides setting the gun to high rate and allowing access to the jettison button? I question this now because with the cover down, I have still been bale to use PAL, PLM, and VSL HI/LO which are ACM modes, so what does flipping the cover actually do? v6, boNes

I'm confused about the Phoenix's active abilities. I read up on it again in the Heatblur manual, but I'm not entirely sure if what they are saying at the beginning of the Phoenix section (https://www.heatblur.se/F-14Manual/weapons.html#id3) is what the Phoenix can do in real life, and the last part of the article what it can actually do in DCS (https://www.heatblur.se/F-14Manual/weapons.html#aim-54-in-dcs). Refer https://www.heatblur.se/F-14Manual/weapons.html#id3: Section TWS/SARH/ARH: It says in the absence of the command to switch to ARH, the missile will still be guided by SARH. What would cause the absence of the command? Section PD STT: I understand this to mean that if you get a PDSTT on a target and fire the Phoenix at it in with NORM mode in the backseat set, that it basically is a very big expensive AIM-7, is that right? If so, if the lock is broken and it's an AIM-54A then it's trashed, but if the lock is broken and it's an AIM-54C, it will immediately go active in hopes of still catching the target. Is that right? Section Active-Radar Homing (ARH): I understand this as saying that if you set the switch to PH ACT before launch, then when you fire on a target it will be mad dog off the rail so long as you are within 6 miles of the target's six or 10 miles of the target's nose. This is only when using TWS or if you have a PDSTT lock. So, when in TWS mode, do you have to hook a target for this to happen, or can you fire in the general area of the target and hope that it sees the target to go after it? If you have him in PDSTT, and you fire within those range parameters, then break the lock, the missile should still guide because it is mad dog off the rail, right? The PDSTT tells it where to look with its ARH seeker so you shouldn't have to keep the target locked in PDSTT, right? I suppose since if the missile can't find the target with its own ARH, it falls back to SARH, so it would probably be best to keep a PDSTT lock without breaking it for that reason. Section ACM Active: This is where I'm most confused. Do you have to have the ACM cover up for ACM active launch? It doesn't say so in this section but I thought you had to. In the manual it says you have to select BRSIT only. It says there are three conditions for ACM active mode launches: 1. BORSIT mode selected, 2. No WCS tracks and 3. A non-pulse doppler radar mode OR a TCS track must be used. So I understand that to mean the radar must be in pulse search or pulse STT. Since pulse search and PSTT are not doppler, then basically the TID should not have anything other than datalink tracks in it for this to work, right? Are PLM, VSL HI/LO, PAL,and MRL modes considered pulse doppler modes? Section ECM Mode: I understand that the Phoenix will automatically home on jam without the pilot or RIO having to do anything, and no special symbology would be displayed anywhere, correct? Section Missile Operation: "When used in boresight or ACM without a WCS track the HUD will not indicate any symbology apart from the ADL which is used to aim the missile." So, if I had a lock and then I broke it, say by hitting PLM then releasing it, then the only symbology in the HUD is the ADL cross? Again, there would be no contacts in the TID since contacts are only in the TID when in a pulse doppler mode or if it's a DL. Section AIM-54 in DCS: This section seems to override everything about Phoenix operation described in the previous sections. It keeps what is said about TWS and SARH mode, but simplifies things down to regardless of what mode you are in, if you fire less than 10 miles away (never mind about the 6 miles astern and 10 miles on the nose) or if you are in any ACM mode, or if the RIO has the PH ACT switch on, it will fire mad dog off the rails. Am I reading that right? Thanks for your help. v6, boNes

OK, thanks! I tried it and locked a target into PDSTT and launched at about 30 miles from angels 30 at a target that was between 10k and 20k hot, then I purposely broke the lock. The Phoenix tracked it anyway and killed it. I did it again another time and the Phoenix was tracking it but I think the bandit was able to trash the missile. Still, it looked as if the Phoenix was still trying to track it all the way until it self-destructed. I will need to explore this more. v6, boNes

OK, thanks, that's what I thought. I saw it in a tutorial video and was thinking, "That doesn't sound right." v6, boNes

If you fired a Phoenix in TWS-A and then changed the TID range afterwards, does it trash your missile? v6, boNes

I just heard in a tutorial video that if the AIM-54C loses a track, it will go active automatically and try to find the target itself. I thought that in DCS this is not the case. Which is true? v6, boNes

@MAXsenna beware of the scan low command in VAICOM. I've noticed that when you do that the top and bottom of the scan (numbers on the lower left of the TID) go to 0 and 0, which is useless. v6, boNes

Well yes and no....there are F-14s in the background. I took this photo when VF-103 came back from their final Tomcat tour and VF soon to be VFA-103 had their new Super Hornet waiting for them when they ceremoniously arrived. So it really is a Tomcat photo more than a Super Hornet photo. v6, boNes

Has anyone else been getting an issue where if you tell Jester to "Scan low,", he puts the scan so low that the TID upper and lower altitudes are 0 and 0? v6, boNes

Here's my menu and loading screen:

This particular one is MP v6, boNes

In the same mission, I noticed sometimes if I put a map marker on the F10 map then tell Jester, "Map marker X to fixed point," for example, he doesn't do it. BUt if I do the same thing on another mission, it will probably work. So do you think there is a possibility that it depends on how the mission was written/setup where I get this Icemma/Jester anomaly or the map marker one? v6, boNes

I've noticed on random occasion that if you jump in the backseat and give a command to Iceman, when you go back to the front seat and give a command to Jester, it will not be carried out and you will get a message "You are in Jester's seat!" even though you are in the front seat. Then if you go to the RIO seat and give an Iceman command it will say, "You are in Iceman's seat!" Anyone else get this phenomenon? v6, boNes