rikkles

It does look buggy to me though: the IP waypoint isn't picked up in game when the RIO selects IP as the destination.

Your best option is to use CMPTR IP mode ("computer initial point"). In the mission editor, set a waypoint with name "IP". This will be the initial point for the strike. You can set bearing, altitude and range changes from the IP for the strike (see the docs) to basically say "the strike point is just off the IP point by this much" but it's not necessary. Then while flying, set the plane to A/G mode (pilot master arm on, a/g mode on the right console), and the RIO activates the pylons etc... At that moment the pilot should see ORD on his hud, with a bomb fall line and a diamond where the ground target is. Align the bomb fall line to the plane, and when you see the solution cue line (perpendicular to the bomb fall line) show up, press the ordnance release button and leave it pressed until the bombs are released.

TWS at 40nm most often will result in Jester losing lock on the planes before the AIM54s go active. It also helps keep lock if you're slightly below the enemy altitude. In my experience the ideal is to fire off the sauce at around 25-20nm, still in TWS.

Technically it should start tracking again. From the docs:

Generally the issue (in PvE) is that Jester loses lock multiple times when firing from longer distances. At distances of 25 miles my AIM-54s get an easy 90% kill rate. Soon I'll be testing with a human RIO, I expect things to change significantly.

My best landings are manual, no HUD, no glideslope indicator. Just a good trim, speed and altitude control using 70% throttle and 30% stick. The throttle control is always to overextend the movement for about half a second, then go back to what I actually want. This makes fixes happen faster but also smoother. My biggest problem is actually seeing the landing "strip" to align perfectly to it. I have to make those small changes when very close to the ship due to lack of VR resolution.

Happens all the time to me. I've become an expert at connecting, and an even bigger expert at spurious disconnections. I haven't yet managed a full refuel. Also the instant action KC13x is too fast. That may be part of the problem.

I confirm that if you load proper HEI or AP&HE you're good to go. I just set up a mission against 4 MiG 23s, for missile training. Unfortunately I can't seem to understand how to use the Phoenix yet, but I splashed 3 MiGs with cannon fire. Short bursts, very close range. The 4th one limped home.

Yes, don’t try to analyze your (pathetic — welcome to the club!) performance when flying against the AI. The most amusing (once you’ve accepted it) dogfights are when you do F-86 vs MiG-15, where energy conservation is critical. If you’re flying the F-86, the MiG is utterly amazing. It never bleeds energy, shoots vertically like an F-15, and turns as well as you do. Same if you fly the MiG, the F-86 is a super weapon. Ultimately the strategy against any AI on a plane of similar capabilities is either to let the AI overshoot, or get down to the deck asap and make him crash.

Thanks Maverick. I am going to have to move forward 3-5 feet upon contact, focus on the pod as you said, and also work my throttle better, not using brakes unless critical. Practice x300...

I still use my X55 Rhino and it’s perfecty fine. Don’t worry about that part.

Speaking of, any tips on how to keep it steady while refueling? I’ve gotten to the point where I manage 3-4 times to connect the boom, but within a second or two I get disconnected. And managing the throttle is fairly difficult, I can never really be at the speed of the tanker. Always slightly faster or slower. I tap the brakes to fine tune but clearly this can’t be done while refueling. Thanks.

Video is only useful when describing an operation is much harder than showing it. For example, tying a special type of knot. In a sim where everything you're supposed to do can be properly described in terms of cockpit actions, distances, vectors, etc..., video is next to useless.

+1

Absolutely. Pop into a Huey in VR, and everything changes. Absolutely everything. Makes landing on a ship in rough seas with gale winds and rain a perfectly normal thing.

No no. It's an AC Cobra. Or just like the last of its breed: a 2005 Ford GT. Analogue to the core. As someone in this thread said, it's a Huey with wings. And I just love flying the Huey, it's 100% feel.

Well at least I want to fire off a couple of sparrows at the start of the engagement, then break and get a better position. The problem is that I can't figure out how to tell my dear Joker to use the correct radar mode to get a lock. I assumed he'd do that by default, but I guess not. I tried some of the modes where I say lock target, etc... but no dice. And by then I'm fully engaged and don't have time to breathe.

Tried instant action op constant peg, Gen 3 fighters. So you're up against a couple of Mig 23s and a Mig 21. That's somewhere around 25 missiles minimum. You're closing in. You switch to sparrows. You try to tell that imbecile Jester to lock SOMETHING in front of you. By then you have at least 2 launches. You jinx and counter. Now you're in heatseeker territory and you get another 3 launches. Jester still smoking a cigar and spotting nicely but hey, let's not use the damn radar, eh? What for? Oh yeah, thanks for the report that "we're hit bad", buddy. Am I missing something?

For now I don’t even think about the e-bracket. The one thing I have trouble adjusting to is the lack of air speed indicator on tbe HUD. But I’m now nailing 90% of my landings even with violent winds like the one in instant action in normandy. Can’t wait to read your dissertation. There are many possible trims, and just using the pitch trim makes a huge difference in flying stability.

I surmised as much, and I can't wait for your expert knowledge. Thank you!

I seem to be having a lot of trouble to get the AOA right on the carrier landings. I end up too slow and stall. The frustrating part is that I can land on the carrier pretty regularly if I don't bother looking at the approach light. I'm going to try going for autothrottle for a few runs to see what the approach speed should be. Loving the module right now, it's the only one that makes me happy to move away from the helos.

After a couple of crashes well before landing, and another one on the tower, I managed to land it on the Stennis. My problems are the following: 1- I have trouble managing the speed. My throttle is all over the place, and I more often than not buffet and stall. How do you engage the autothrottle? 2- I don't understand DLC I think. As soon as I engage it, it pushes the plane down. But I don't really know yet how I need to manage the throttle and AOA after engaging it. Also I don't understand what happens when one rolls DLC forward

It's about 3 gigs right now to switch from @release to @openbeta. On top of that there's about 2 gigs of F14 module data that you'll have to download anyway. So it's not that bad.

It's not out yet. We're waiting. Also note that you'll probably need the OpenBeta branch at the start, or wait a week or two for it to be integrated in the release branch.

Can someone explain the rationale behind not displaying messages in the F10 map? It's always struck me as something just not right.