TheSauvaaage

From a design standpoint I hate it (just like navigation displays in older airliners like 737/757)... But from an operational point of view I dont see a problem because either you are checking a long range scan so you can comfortably look around or, if the situation intensifies you have the RIO. But I can only by using DCS VR, not a RL Tomcat :D

Have you tried the Cage/SEAM button? I dont know the KB from memory, it's mapped to the throttle (red pinky pushbutton on the Warthog by default)

So what does PCD stand for? The manual says: AWL/PCD - All-weather landing/precision course direction, selects glideslope guidance (ILS/ACLS) for landing or PCD for air-to-ground engagement directions as steering command source. Edit: one German was quicker than the other ;)

What about the following: - Check the target's coordinates in the briefing - give Jester the coordinates to put in as Surface Target, which creates the required steering point - set the steering cmd on the Display Control Panel to AWL/PCD because: AWL/PCD - All-weather landing/precision course direction, selects glideslope guidance (ILS/ACLS) for landing or PCD for air-to-ground engagement directions as steering command source. Shouldn't that place a diamond on the coordinates (on ground level)?

I can only (ONLY) imagine that you have to set it to fixed coordinates that you command to Jester like you can do with steering points currently. Otherwise, I also have no clue... :huh:

Duh! :lol: Now I ask myself how long it would have taken me to figure out that a simple plastic filter could have been used. Anyway, nice insights, thanks! BTW: Is there a thread/post/blog/whatever of you detailing your military bio?

Sorry, I meant "simple" by the technical/avionical side of target acquisition. I should have been way more precise :D I mean generally the target acquisition and execution of the strike package. That's it. Although the planning around it is super interesting but I didn't ask for deep look into it. At least not here, because for real I would love to get detailed look inside of such a planned out task. Like "generally, fixed targets are acquired by putting a waypoint on top of the target that is set according to the coordinates determined by satellite recon". Flying in DCS, I wonder if there would EVER be a reason in a real situation where a fixed target should NOT be an actual waypoint/fixed point programmed into the computer preflight and instead (like some DCS missions are created) you fly to waypoint X and have to visually look for the target building/artillery/etc. If available, I'd guess laser targeting by ground units would be even more reliable and precise and first choice. Moving targets is another story obviously.

In a pre-designed mission, how do I do that?

It seems like Finger Four is the closest formation you can order your wingman to. Is there a reason that we can't have an even closer formations? Or is there a way and I wasn't able to figure it out?

In every Sim I ever used, if I remember correectly, everytime you wanted the fastest bird, you chose the Tomcat ;)

That explains a lot lol And I tried so hard to make my issues clear.... On the other hand, that Nuke facility has been bombed to pieces, so Mission Accomplished ;)

I must admit I rarely use the 18 currently. For one because of the Tomcat but also due to air to air issues. It was a lot more fun when we had the unrealistic stop gap of simple Auto IFF. Quick engagement on air targets is simply impossible or in best case feels retarded. Funny thing is, they want to implement a realistic auto IFF, so where is the difference between that and what we had before manual IFF? Especially in WVR, what we had was gold and honestly I expect a modern combat machine (even the Legacy 18 ) to be able to auto IFF everytime. Manual IFF sounds obsolete to me but this is pure sim fighter experience and by no means do i have the right nor knowledge to criticize real avionics and/or electronics. But feel free to enlighten me.

Yes, but at least not in this mission. If you set IP or ST as steering by Jester you don't get anything. It seems like the Mission creator forgot to assign points/coords to the ST/IP. It is probably "blank" or not in use.

In a real life combat situation, how are strike missions carried out? Especially immobile targets like buildings etc. I expect it to be pretty "simple" by using fixed coordinates as being tied to the surface target and using the adequate ordnance and computer assisted targeting methods to hit precisely. Or is visually searching for a target a regular task? I guess due to satellite reconnaisance this shouldn't be necessary, but maybe due to rules of engagement it is? Thanks for clearing this up :)

Okay, I give you an example... but feel free to tell me how you did the mission. I am still befriending the 14 and I love to take it out, no question about it! 18 is collecting dust atm ;) The first Single Mission (forgot the name... Iran something... where you carry out a strike mission after a pretty long flight) has 3 WPs and the briefing tells you that the Nuclear facility is the Surface Target. Initia Point is also mentioned, but neither ST nor IP can be selected as a steering point (or at least I don't get any info on the HSD in regards of bearing) So, by default you would have to find your target roughly on your own. You could use the ruler to find bearing and range, but this would be determined as unrealistic during flight, right? ;) That also means you can't precisely set a marker on top of the target as a ST which would make it easier to slave onto it in the HUD. But because enemy units are not displayed in F10 (which is also realistic, I know) I had to note the coordinates in the briefing map and during mission let Jester enter the coords as a ST, because the mission doesn't give you one as per briefing. On top of that, the coordinates can't be entered as precisely due to the Cat's tech (1 digit less). Nevertheless, if you handled the mission well, let me know how you accomplished it. How did you find your target, how did you destroy it? (CCIP I guess) Due to my real life experience as a fighter pilot (which means non at all) I would iamgine that strike missions on immobile targets would have been based on precise coordinates, even back in the 14's days and in general on whatever aircraft. And these coordinates would be the precise dropping point/surface target you could slave your marker to... No? (maybe I will make that a separate thread :) )

I think this is a big problem in general. We should not have to fiddle in the Mission Editor, as someone who has created a mission already had things in mind. You should find an easy solution with what you have, not edit the mission to your likings. For example, I check the Editor for a strike mission, noted down the coordinates of the target and during flight, I let Jester set a manual surface target point with these coordinates because during the mission F10 doesn't show enemy units. In that case, that worked nicely. AS LONG as you know HOW TO work around the initial issues... and THIS can sometimes be a bit frustrating in the 14 due to her primitive technology. In real life, from the briefing room to actually TALKING to your RIO and tell him precisely what you want, I expect this to be a much easier task simply because of real communication :) What is given by Heatblur is sometimes not enough for DCS. Or, another problem, visual identification is much easier IRL (as if I would know lol) than in VR, due to technical limitations of the headset. Finding a Manpad for example is almost impossible...

lol, same here :lol: today i learned...

I find the F-14 much easier to bring to deck as I actually feel like I can control the thrust. With the 18, I can only properly bring her down with MIL power, no matter the weight, until trap. And still the indexer shows I am too fast

In the real Tomcat, did you indeed have to push the VDI display to put it into night (red) mode?

Enlighten us! :P

At least the Harrier's canopy looks pretty much the same if I remember correctly

For a strike mission using a flightpath along borders or outside SAM ranges is more succesful when having more waypoints. For CAP, which usually patterns rectangle, 3 WPs are enough.

I get along pretty okay by letting him auto set azi and elev... So far

Makes sense and I thought about that too, but in VR it's a bit tricky ;)

After I got shot down several times and didnt quite get the hang of the controls (i have no rudders) and didnt figured out how to read the TID and how to use Jester, I didnt like it and went back to the 18. And then came back once... twice... again... and now the Cat and I slowly become friends and I start to love it and it's quirks and character :)