Frederf

You can always access GM mapping type modes in NAV master mode. I don't think any mapping radar modes are available in AG GUN STRF.

The word "lock" is a little nebulous but in general yes, lock (or hard lock to avoid confusion) is STT and other methods are "bugged" or "soft locked" in the slang. As said above RWS's SAM modes with 1 or 2 targets get a little extra antenna attention every cycle whereas in TWS it's a simple scan. It's important to know that the radar is always attempting to correlate contact hits into track files even in modes that don't display them. When you command TOI on a displayed contact symbol the radar may already have an associated track file ready to go or if not it will go through a quick process to find that contact and generate enough data to have a track quickly. That second one could theoretically have difficulty succeeding.

If you look up the table of send/reply frequencies for ground X, ground Y, air X, and air Y you'll see why. A/A frequencies are altered from their ground config but with Y code both ground and air are already altered.

Yeah that's 5 mil release constraint. It shouldn't apply to PWII or PWIII weapons.

FCR modes are associated with weapon delivery modes. Which specific AG FCR submode are you after and what weapons are loaded?

PW2 have no or very relaxed lateral release constraints. It's not 5 mil like dumb iron. EDIT: Confirm looks like PW2 is using improper 5mil release constraints as in Mk 82 bombs.

I think this variant has options for EEGS, LCOS, and SNAP but it might be missing either of the latter two. EDIT: Think this variant of the F-16 is EEGS-only. Gun is selected in three ways: AA master mode, GUNS (press SMS OSB 1 to change from AAM), AG master mode STRF, and DGFT override. Top picture has an erroneous ASL in it for some reason and shows what looks like level 2 sight. Levels 3 4 5 are when MMC has knowledge of target range, velocity, acceleration respectively. You don't get the "death dot" until level 5.

In the F-16 the modes are "REC" "T/R" and "A/A T/R" or "A/A TR" (just a slight label change). REC and T/R are the ground modes. A/A T/R is the air mode. At least with the F-16 it's not possible to enable the air-to-air mode that is receive-only. The vast majority of air-to-air TACAN use requires the cooperative transceiving to get distance. Airborne bearing is quite rare and that's the only situation where air-to-air receive only would make any amount of sense. The full list of theoretical TACAN modes to select from would be: Air-to-ground receive-only (F/A-18 "RCV") Air-to-ground transmit-receive (F/A-18 "T/R") Air-to-air receive-only (F/A-18 no such mode) Air-to-air transmit-receive (F/A-18 "A/A") There is no situation where going from receive-only to transmit-receive suddenly adds bearing. Bearing service is a function of the host transmitting and the client receiving. The client transmitting adds nothing to the ability of client to find direction to host. Distance is fundamentally a cooperative mode where both parties must transmit. One sends a "ping" to the other, other transmits a "ping" back. Original aircraft considers the time from send to receive and calculates distance according to speed-of-light. Whether a KC-135 can do bearing service depends on if it has that equipment installed. Some do, some don't. In the F/A-18 it's not clear if "A/A" mode supports air-to-air bearing service or not. Thing is that air-to-air service happens at different pulse coding (24 microsecond) than air-to-ground service (18 and 36 microsecond). If a tanker was providing bearing and range service at 24 microsecond pulse coding then the only chance an F/A-18 would be compatible is in the "A/A" mode. If the F/A-18 was in "T/R" or "RCV" as configured for air-to-ground service it would be looking for 18 (X) or 36 (Y) uS pulse coding and would filter out the tanker's 24 microsecond signal. I feel progress is not possible until pulse coding is understood and how (as far as I can work out) "cross talk" between air-to-air and air-to-ground signal types shouldn't happen even the two different modes are using identical transmit and reply frequencies.

All modern USAF/USN (and every other branch and nation I can think of) tactical jet airplanes are INS-based. They may or may not have GPS as an assisting sensor. AGM-88C is entirely INS based without GPS JDAM uses INS relative offset until it has picked up a GPS track mid flight which filters in, takes 15-20 seconds so short duration trajectories are 100% INS JSOW should be the same as JDAM from memory WCMD is entirely INS based (the extra precision of a GPS sensor is not needed in area weapons) Accuracy is known by the number of satellites it can see and their relative geometry from the almanac, also having verified secure keys or not will affect expected accuracy Standard performance of the F-16's unaided INS is I believe 80% of the time less than 0.8nm/hr for a "10" alignment. In DCS the TGP is always perfectly accurate even when airplane INS is not (not fully simulated) Your expectations of "it's 2007 so it should be perfect" may not be entirely accurate It's fundamental to how the navigation system works, you probably won't ever worry about it in a GPS environment. F-16 pilot knowledge borders on PhD levels of education. It's going to be confusing if you haven't dedicated 10+ years of your life to it as a career. This F-16 has an INS-GPS system which is more loosely coupled than later genuine EGI systems but performance and operation are largely similar. I wish I knew more to more fully explain the difference between the two but it's best to think of INS-GPS as early or proto EGI-type systems, an earlier inferior design that has mostly been replaced by the improved product by now. In INS-GPS both halves come up with a position solution independently which may be blended. An EGI has the GPS and the INS "share notes" before they come up with a cooperative position. An EGI has the option of providing INS-only or GPS-only position solutions if desired. From limited testing DCS unaided INS drift is within limits for the various alignment qualities (stored align is inferior to normal even status 10 vs status 10). GPS is not a satisfactory device for sole reference in anything which is flying at multiples of 100s of knots. Everything that flies has an INS: AIM-9X, AIM-120, JSOW, HARM, JDAM, WCMD, the airplane. Getting a data point every 1 second or so just isn't enough. Your HUD would have just awful lag and jitter like playing Crysis 3 on a Pentium 2. GPS (without differential receivers) only really does position (and thus velocity, track history) but has no idea about pitch or bank or heading. INS isn't "old news", it's fundamental highest quality device for its purpose and at the heart of all of these systems. GPS-aiding is a nice luxury addition with its own unique benefits when it is applied on top of an INS. https://www.sto.nato.int/publications/STO Educational Notes/RTO-EN-SET-116-2010/EN-SET-116(2010)-05.pdf Seems like decent reading about the differences between INS-GPS and EGI.

That's the job of the master navigation filter. Horizontal and vertical position is being influenced all the time from a lot of sources. The filter (which is configurable in the DED to a degree) has to balance and evaluate the data from several sources and blend/prioritize which it uses to affect the sysalt/ownship position. It's a somewhat complicated subject.

Every pixel on the display is of the true position it was measured. DCS's handling violates this concept in two ways. First when the plane turns the prior image doesn't remain in its recorded position but sticks in screenspace. Second when slewing the image under the expanded cursor and slewing ceases the image snaps back to show the old position imagery under the new position (imagery in wrong position). F-16 paints its findings on a "world canvas" and then displays from that as appropriate. When the cursor is slewed to a new area it shows imagery for that area either some data if it is in memory or blackness until the radar can get new. But it doesn't show the wrong data in the meantime.

Yup, it's smack between the horizon line and the -5 line.

Ten miles is 60,760'. Normally you'd be on a 2.5° or 3.0° glideslope. That's 2652' and 3184' respectively. You always want to intercept from below and close enough to see the PAPI and not take forever on final. Typical is something like 2000' level at 10nm, 1500' is fine too for a closer intercept but they try to avoid that because that's overhead height. If you had at least 15nm and were committed to 3.0° then 2500' would be fine. Anything much higher is rare. Look around at approach charts for civil airports; they're around 2000. ORD ILS 04R 1500' at 4.4sm SMF ILS 17L 1875' at 5.7sm Those are ILS so on the higher end for distance, height, and steepness. Visuals can be comfortably inside these values.

It should be in KCAS. Obviously it can't be real pitot-static airspeed measurement over dozens of miles but it's a calculated equivalent based on various info. From memory it's in increments of 5 or 10 knots and the track symbol is displayed in only 16 orientations (every 22.5 deg). I think the other displays and calcs aren't limited to these steps.

Don't worry about it. It's not a thing worth wanting.

Overhead is 1500' until perch. Speed brake should be out since break turn. Lateral spacing is visual about at missile rail. Key position is where threshold shows up behind wing edge. Base turn is quite steep. Roll out on glide path about 300' AGL.

There can be up to 3 navigational routes, flight plans if you will. DCS only populates NAV1 from the mission editor. Lines1-4 have traditionally been up to 5 waypoint-defined connected line segments each which could outline boxes or other shapes on the HSD. We don't haves NAV2, NAV3, or any LINE yet so there's nothing to show/hide. NAV1 should show/hide the flight plan route though.

Ah, I didn't try that. I was deselecting OVRD from the STBY page which returned to the before-STBY FCR mode nicely. I didn't try navigating the menus from STBY.

You might be right. I'm trying to see if I can see if steerpoint diamond with limit 'x' is something that should be displayed in NAV/AG-CCIP. I think it might be but I'm not sure.

I have to say, the DCS behavior that selecting STBY from menus and then deselecting via the OVRD OSB which sends you back to the last FCR mode prior to selecting STBY from menus is really pleasant behavior. If it's exactly correct or not I don't know but current DCS behavior seems like the kind that designers would do intentionally and that pilots would appreciate. It's very usable as is.

Findings: HMPT and STPT should be independent selections while CRUS HOME is not highlighted, currently they are not. HMPT and STPT should be identical selections while CRUS HOME is highlighted, currently correct. Selecting uninitialized waypoint causes HOME fuel calculation to be to the X=0,Z=0 point defined in the DCS terrain file, it should either be invalid or calculated to N0° E0° (not sure). Placing * * around the HMPT number and entering the HMPT digits via ICP on line 2 is not possible in DCS, it should be. On any CRUS page ICP keys 1-9 should replicate the SEQ function of the DCS, presumably excluding when * * would allow numeric entry (i.e. * * for HMPT entry, line 2 CRUS HOME page). HMPT is a DTC-loadable value

Understanding is that HMPT is independent of current STPT selection but engaging CRUS HOME guidance will change STPT to match HMPT at the moment of engagement. It's a convenience feature as if you want CRUS HOME guidance to HMPT you probably want navigation guidance there too. But you can fly around all day with HMPT set to whatever and have constant bingo monitoring to that HMPT even as current steerpoint is different.

All I can tell of -56M is that "audio heard is equal to the PRF of the emitter". So if emitter PRF is 2050Hz then audio heard will be 2050Hz in the helmet. I don't know if that constitutes "raw" audio or not. There are clamping frequencies for surface and airborne emitters, if PRF is higher then the PRF audio is the clamped limit pulsed at ~5% cycle.

EXP is just NORM with a display change so the time per scan is identical in both. In this way A6 is slow and A1 quick just the same. DBS has special patch sizes so Az setting has no effect. Scanning the DBS patch takes the same time regardless of A setting.

Expand and zoom are similar but not the same. They both use the expand "pinky" button on the stick. Zoom is the newer feature and a temporaryish thing that changes range scale to accomplish a display of own team (so depends on if they are tight or loose) and changes the team member symbol scale (larger). When you let go of pinky button zoom feature ceases. Expand is the older feature and steps through expansion views. AFAIK the expansion and zoom are independent. As in you can be in EXP2 and then zoom and when you release zoom it will return back to EXP2. Also zoom is SOI-independent. When you hold pinky you get HSD zoom even if HSD is not SOI. DED should also change (maybe this software) to show some info during zoom as well.