CBStu

From what I have read and also seen on youtube RL videos, a plane w/ low fuel will get some priority over others. One could see it would be a tough call though. I am sure (I have no mil experience) that the guy in charge of that group of planes doesn't want either a lost plane or a lost plane and lost pilot on his record. I suspect it's like a great boss I had once said, I'll back you to the end if others are hammering you, but that doesn't mean I won't hammer you in private (maybe even harder) after it's over. IE, get them all back, but the problem pilot may have made his last flight. It only makes sense to do whatever is needed to get the most planes and pilots back on deck. One can also see a situation where helping out one could jeopardize several, so that one may be SOL.

Could you expand on that please? What do you have on your left DDI? I usually have the HSI screen there.

Jeez, why so complicated? You press AP and then press, say BALT, the colon appears and AP starts working. So if you press BALT again and the colon disappears, AP should stop working, right? Seems logical to me but no... I could even understand needing to press AP and then BALT to shut it off but...

I have yet to actually make a connection in AAR. But I am getting better at carrier traps and I think equipment had a lot to do w/ that. I use a $99 VKB Sim Gladiator stick and it is a very precise well made controller. I gave up using the throttle on the stick though. I even doubled it's length to no avail. I finally spent the $ for a TM Warthog throttle and it is just wonderful. The precision of making tiny throttle corrections is what allows staying on the ICLS lines to the carrier. W/ these controllers and TrackIR I am sure it is me that is the problem w/ AAR.

When I do a straight in approach from 10nM out I don't usually bother watching TACAN. I set it up to use in case I bolter. If I am planning on doing the correct pattern (which I am still not very good at) I do pay attention to the TACAN and the BRC. I do my turn to downwind and stop turning at 180 deg from the BRC (watching the normal heading indicator at the top of the HUD). I watch TACAN mostly to see how close I get to the 1.2 - 1.4 NM I am supposed to be when abeam the boat. I am generally too far so that tells me I will be doing a somewhat lazy turn to get to the final approach. Mid way through that last turn I start to watch the ICLS lines. The glide slope or altitude line shows up first. The localizer (left-right) shows up later. Apparently it is a somewhat narrow beam ( I am guessing only maybe 10-15 degrees left and the same to the right) so you need to be within that cone before the line shows up on the HUD. Once I have both ICLS lines on the HUD that is all I watch. I never use the Ball to guide me to the deck because I can't see it until maybe .2-.3 NM out. I use it as a flashing light that guides me to the boat from 10NM out and that is it. I don't know if a newer PC that would allow me to run graphics better then 1920x1080 would help w/ that or not but I am stuck w/ what I have for now.

I am beginning to think you are correct.

Yesterday I did a couple of flights using lat/lon numbers that I programmed in as way points before I took off. It will take more flights before I get competent at doing the # entering. I had to swap back and forth between the cockpit and Chuck's instructions. So that is helpful other than one is still flying directly to the airport rather than to an outer marker point. I spent some more time looking at the moving map. I don't think that is going to do anything for me. I am running 1920x1080 resolution and the map is not real good. Also, no matter what I do to the aircraft's display settings, the labels on the screen for the buttons are mostly not readable. I am using TrackIR and positioning my self to see the screen over the stick isn't comfortable at all. It would also be impossible in RL w/ shoulder straps. I will try turning off the stick next.

I liked Tacan in the Caucuses and used it along w/ the course set to the runway heading to get lined up. Unfortunately the PG map mostly has just adf #s. And they usually are not in the list of facts you get in F10 when you click on the airport. You have to zoom way in and and look around the map to find a tiny icon and a number. I always get to where I am going but it just seems pretty crude.

Over the last several months I have figured out TACAN and ADF. But it seems these are both very old tech. And they take me right to the field but don't seem to have any provision for taking me to a point say 5-10 miles out to start an approach. So I thought I'd look into using the moving map to help get from one airfield to another. I haven't figured out any way to make it useful. In real life I suppose it would be handy but in DCS I can use the F10 map a lot easier. Chuck's manual kind of mentions the moving map in passing but says most nav is done w/ TACAN. In another sim flying a 737 I am used to ATC directions to a point where I intercept the ILS beam. Do you have any sources for tutorials that would help me in DCS or is this just the way it is?

Isn't there a 'game' mode already? I keep seeing it brought up as a possible fix to a problem where controller settings are done in sim mode but maybe the person inadvertently switched to 'game' mode.

I happen to have the FA 18 but was thinking the same thing. I bought the Persian Gulf and found it has a bunch of missions. I started w/ a ground mission using gun and rockets. Just me and a bunch of stuff to try to blow up. Then I found a mission that is 1 on 1 w/ an SU 30 w/ guns only so have been flying that for the last few weeks. I use L Shift + R a lot to restart. I am only doing that maybe 50% of the time after a win while the others are after I blew up or at least had to eject. But oh well, it is a ton of fun and it started w/ maybe 25% wins.

I agree on the FA-18. It is a great plane. I first bought the A10 but was just blown away w/ all the computer setup stuff. I ran through one of the tutorials and had to look up so many terms, I gave it 2 weeks and bought the FA18. I started w/ a logitech stick w/ twist for rudder. I upgraded to a VKB Gladiator ($99) which is a wonderful stick w/ twist. But then I started carrier traps and found that one needs really fine throttle control so I bit the bullet and got a TM Warthog throttle ($240). It is quite expensive but is a really quality piece of equipment. It is what made carrier traps possible for me. I still use the Gladiator because I just am not interested in pedals and it is one of the few good sticks that also has twist for the rudder. Most others seem to assume that if you are going to spend that $ on the stick you will also buy pedals.

When I got the Hornet a while back my main focus was carrier traps. I am OK at straight-in but still lousy at doing a correct pattern so I will keep at it. When I tried landing on land I had problems there too. So I just do carrier traps on land also and they work pretty well. Takes a while to get the power for glide slope and stick for lineup, but it works. I have read a couple of threads about the weak braking and agree, sure seems weak to me. But then I started hitting the air brake as soon as the wheels hit. That helps. In the last week I saw again, the recommendation to pull the stick fully to the rear. What do you know that helps too. For me anyway, on speed AOA landings work everywhere even if they aren't normal in RL.

Having one type of switch actuation won't work for all the things switches do. IE landing gear could be a toggle since it is only either up or down. So the toggle moves it to whichever position it is not in now. But what about flaps which usually have at least 3 positions? Up, half, full. How would you do them w/ a single button that is a toggle?

I just did an upgrade from an old HD. I looked an it was a 1T and it was right at 50% and that is for everything on the PC, not just games. So I got a 1T SSD also.

SSD is in I got the Crucial MX500 recommended by Bitmaster. I decided to do the clone process and completely replace my 7 yr old HD. It wasn't as easy as it should have been but after 2 calls to Crucial, I got it working. Yes it is much better. The PC starts in the Am and is up and ready to go in about 40 seconds. And DCS is a huge improvement. Not so much the flying but everything else. To get to the screen where I can choose my plane and then mission is about 60 sec. It used to be at least 4 min. The other big improvement is switching between missions. I used to dread that and usually time it so I could go refill my iced tea glass while it was changing. I will try some changes to settings later but so far, the $150 or so has been $ very well spent. Thanks for the help to all of you.

I don't know how realistic this is but I always drop bombs in pairs. And it seems to alternate between sides so the weight stays balanced.

I just ordered a Crucial MX500 1T SSD and the stuff needed to clone my existing HD and replace it. I've installed memory, a GPU, a DVD drive but never this. Crucial seems to have a great website to walk me through it so I am hopefull all will be well. Thanks guys.

I go through this every time I am offered an update. I have no idea if the update is a beta or a stable. I think I read somewhere that I can set my DCS to only do stable updates but can't find that option. Alternatively, how to find whether an update is stable or beta.

So my 6 yr old Dell PC has this HDD https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16822148697 I can't turn graphics up very high but I am able to fly pretty well. But the load times are incredible. I thought I'd upgrade to an SSD when I saw you can buy a 1T SSD for <$200. But I am not real knowledgeble so I called Dell who has helped me out before. They have plenty of <$200 SSDs but told me I need a $400 SSD to fit my PC. At that point, I will just live w/ it until I buy a new PC. Was that BS or the real deal? Also, what is the deal w/ many new PCs having an SSD and an HDD. Why not one large SSD? Thanks for your thoughts.

That is weird. I made my own practice mission and set the ICLS channel on the Stennis to 1. That way, in the plane, when you hit the 'ON' button, a 1 always shows up automatically in the channel window so I just hit 'enter'. No need to hit 'clear' or enter the channel number.

I have been flying the AA guns mission that came w/ the PG map. On most flights I get an 'inlet ice' warning. I have no clue what that means but it seems out of place at 5-15,000 feet in the PG. I am curious why I get that and how to fix it.

Thank you. I will into that.

Thanks guys. I am learning all the time. I bought the Charnwood campaign. WOW lots to learn there. Some how the P51 is suddenly hard to get down the runway. Have to look into that. Maybe I have had some help turned on w/o knowing it. Sure isn't there now. Having a hard time w/ bombs always falling short. I think I need to go to a steeper angle. It will be a while before I progress beyond the first mission and that is fine.

Thank you. I don't mind spending a little more and these are inexpensive so I will buy one or both of them. I was just surprised at the difference between Normandy and PG.