Cytarabine

I found dogfighting in VR to be such a great experience, it was so much easier to keep track of my target than using head tracking. Haven't tried air to air refuelling in VR yet - but that is high on the list of things to do (when my replacement headset arrives).

Or just below the hud where there is a nice big, easy to read AoA meter.

Just remember the Tomcat will do what you tell it to, right up until the point where it won’t and at that point you are in trouble. I generally go for a one circle fight either vertical of going fast (with the aim of getting to corner speed without bleeding too much energy) or horizontal if close to corner speed at the merge. She fights well, just don’t fly her like a hornet.

Not unless you know exactly where the target will be at the time of impact. There is a version with terminal IR guidance but that won’t make this version of the Hornet (maybe a paid Super Hornet update down the track :)). Use a Harpoon at stand-off ranges of an LGB at TPOD ranges.

Just ordered my Rift S, arriving next week, cannot wait (perfect timing along with the VR performance boost in 2.5.5).

I try conserving my missiles but it costs me. Last time I tried to get in for a guns kill on the Mig-31 and ate an AA-9 for my trouble.

The six (F-106) employed a system to allow for GCI controlled intercepts (the Hughes MA-1) through the SAGE network... and first flew over a decade prior to the Mig-23.

Hmmm well go nuts but I fail to see the appeal of it unless for portraying one of the conspiracy theories. At any rate DCS has a functional enough mission editor for you to use.

So I did it with CCIP for the first time successfully. After killing my Mig (with guns while still having bombs on the racks for good measure) I flew highish (25k feet) waiting for the SEAD to attack the SAM sites then came in fast from the south, full burner, went into a 30 degree dive over the target, initiated countermeasures, released and got the heck out of there.

I would certainly buy an F-14D if they made one, really though just for the this is what the Tomcat could be rather than a desperate need for a modern HUD. The HUD along with the other instruments provides plenty of information. Ultimately there were relatively few D models made. As for Tomcat being iconic, my country never operated then (they were offered at a discounted rate back after the Iranian revolution but our government st the time declined) so for me if I think fighter aircraft it is a Hornet. However there are few planes as iconic as this big beast and it really is the first fourth generation fighter (and whether we get a D variant or not I am glad we have such a high quality representation of at least 1 variant with another already in the works).

If anything I would think a substantially different Viper (like a block 20 A variant which would be modern enough yet fit within a late 80’s/early 90’s Cold War scenario) or if they could get enough information a Sufa. However I expect we will be getting our block 50 to perform cameos as all sorts of Vipers as any additional variant would be seen as low yield (excluding hardcore Viper fans). Hey the Lot 20 Hornet performs a few cameos as well.

I think the trigger is that you deliver the right bombs in the zone so delivering a JDAM doesn’t cause the mission success trigger.

+1 DCS has given me countless hours of enjoyment and I really appreciate how they have listened to the community on the carrier DLC.

I have completed it using AUTO and a spread of bombs. Not exactly precision bombing but hey why put yourself at risk needlessly. In CCIP I often bomb the wrong building trying to spot it while dodging SA-6 shots. I did the mission with JDAMS as well... didn’t cause the trigger but if it did it was fun to see the difference it made (think releasing way out of any risk of getting taken down by the SA-6 and knowing your bombs are going to hit the target).

my approach has been to fire order my wingmen to engage and accelerate and fire at around 20nm then bank away and throttle back. At this point I want to avoid the furball as long as I can. I expect my first missile to miss (so use a sparrow) but hopefully have forced one to go defensive. My second missile is fired closer going for a kill - in the 8 v 8 mission I use an AMRAAM here knowing it will go pitbull then turn cold again avoiding the furball. I then turn back in to the nearest foe using my second AMRAAM to take them before turning cold. Hopefully by now numbers are on my side and I turn into the fight using up my last sparrows and sidewinders as needed. The major threat here is losing SA and getting the surprise R-73 in the tailpipe. Once the Hornet gets TWS this would become very interesting with an AMRAAM payload.

As I found myself creeping into afterburners all the time I bound a switch in my HOTAS to the finger lifts and set the throttle detent to always. Now I can comfortably switch on for take off or if I need burners in flight, without worrying that I am going to burn excessive fuel during cruise.

Thanks. Yeah it worked fine next time. It is one of the standard missions in DCS (on the Nevada map). Is a lot of fun actually delivering LGB’s to with JTAC support before engaging a couple of Su-27s (no spoilers there, that is all in the briefing)

Absolutely. I humbly suggest an upgraded F-111C Pig (late 90's early naughties pre their retirement from the RAAF?) :) (Lets face it I would buy any F-111 in a heartbeat)

Well I kind of do this already (if I am bringing AIM-9M's and Sparrow's the JHMCS stays off) but yeah might be interesting, perhaps as an option for scenario makers to use to make planes functionally period correct?

Just like the F/A-18. They have RAAF liveries despite the fact that the AF-18 has many key differences they don't simulate (and land-based ILS for one).

Will the campaign use the new carrier and comms module? One of the things I really enjoy in your M2000 Red Flag campaign is dealing with more realistic radio and ATC procedures (even if it did mean me failing a mission because I flew over Groom Lake (I wasn’t UFO spotting I swear!)) I understand it might raise the cost to entry, but having seen the video of it in action I am really keen on the immersion it will add.

Thanks Wags and NineLine, it looks great. More excited about this than the Viper to be honest, even though I am sure some of my just catch the wire approaches will turn it into a waveoff. I can understand both sides of the argument, particularly where it divides the community into have’s and have nots and could lead mission makers to omit the new carrier to keep it open to everyone, but on the flip side I would rather pay for something like this than face a stream of incomplete modules pumped out to keep the lights on.

I would have thought do. In the initial prototypes it did not but this was found to be disconcerting for pilots so the stick was given some movement (at least that is my recollection of what I had read).

Manual, Chuck’s guide, cold start to familiarize with the cockpit then tutorials. I often watch YouTube videos as tutorials as well. At current though the FC3 modules, Harrier and Mirage are all gathering dust as it is all about the Hornet and the Tomcat currently. Given the number of systems the Hornet introduces the drip feed of early access is actually suiting me.

What aspect where they firing from? We’re they firing from outside the detection area of the RWR?