Bahger

With apologies in advance for asking another very basic question after coming back to DCS somewhat rusty for the first time in four years, the -- very welcome -- kneeboard feature is new to me. Can anyone explain how the selection is made, i.e. is it contextual, depending on where the a/c is in relation to certain airports or is it up to the player to load images into a directory which then show up as kneeboards? Where is this folder? Can the player add images and, if so, what are the restrictions re. size and file type? Many thanks.

The y axis zoom is how the mapped function is described in the profile’s own schematic. I really appreciate your expertise Frederf, thank you. As I said, this TARGET programming is way above my pay grade but it seems I can reduce the jumpiness of this combined button function by making the TrackIR response slower and smoother. Thanks again! I know a lot of people feel that mapping all controls in DCS is the best way for someone like me to do this but I really like an expertly put-together profile that goes deeper into the functionality of the Warthog. Y

Yes. That’s why I use NUM 5 in all Track IR profiles. I’ve dampened the speed and jitteryness of the y axis zoom considerably by using deadzones and adjusting the TIR axis translation speeds but I think I’d still like to take out the zoom mapped to the throttle slew button push function alongside TIR Center.

Good suggestions, thank you. I have NUM 5 assigned for TIR Center but the problem is that I have to lean so far forward to hit that key in flight that it messes up the centering anyway. I will need to jury-rig a solution to this which might include slowing down the TIR movement scaling and giving myself a larger deadzone in the middle in order to minimize the need for too much re-centering.

I have a niggling problem whose solution evades me. I am running a really good TM Warthog Profile through TARGET for the DCS L-39; it's much better and more complete than anything I could ever concoct. The one problem occurs with Track IR integration. In the TARGET profile, TIR Center has been given a LCTRL LSHFT F1 key assignment that is bound to the Slew Control Push function of the Warthog throttle. The problem is that this also zooms right in (a Y axis zoom) and is very sensitive, which means that every time I recenter TIR I get a very disorientating zoom that I don't want. As many of you know, when you run a configuration in TARGET it creates a blank Virtual Device column in the DCS Controls interface alongside the columns for TIR, Keyboard, etc. My problem is that I want either to give the TIR Center key combo (above) a new button assignment in DCS or to disable the annoying Y axis zoom mapped to the same button. I don't know how to do this, as I cannot identify or isolate those commands in the DCS controls list with the profile loaded (the TIR column is blank) and the idea of editing this very sophisticated profile in TARGET terrifies me; I have no idea how and it's probably above my pay-grade. I am therefore hoping I can fix this in the DCS controls interface but I have no idea how. I would be very grateful if someone could advise me in easy to follow terms and I apologise in advance for my lack of advanced knowledge in these matters. Many thanks.

I've just reinstalled DCS World after three years away. I have the non-Beta version at the moment. The DCS front-end has changed enormously since I last used it. Can anyone please tell me how updates to this version are handled? Are they installed automatically or does the user install them after receiving notification? Thanks!

Thanks, Griphos. I'd be happy to seek out a "how to" video for setting up a TrackIR profile but I am simultaneously reinstalling DCS and TrackIR for the first time in three years, learning a new aircraft (the L-39) and new HOTAS software (TARGET for the Warthog, and, yes, I know it's not strictly necessary) so getting a small break by having a good user-made profile for TIR is welcome.

This is really helpful, many thanks.

Got it. Thanks!

Thanks, gents, this is very helpful. I haven’t needed Winzip or WinRar for quite a few years now. I am happy to get it unless someone can send me the un-compressed file. Gruman, that Dropbox link is lines of code, not a file, or am I misunderstanding something? Again, thank you for your helpful responses.

I am busy reinstalling or updating all my flight sim software after a long hiatus and I'm very rusty. I could re-learn how to make a custom profile in TrackIR but I'm wondering if anyone could help me out with a good profile for DCS because the three supplied profiles are too jumpy and the FOV is too unlimited. There is one TIR profile on the DCS Downloads page, by Spudknocker, but even though I have figured out how and where to install it, it doesn't show up in TIR, because it's not an .xml file, for some reason. I guess I'm just looking for a good, smooth flight sim profile. Many thanks in anticipation.

These are great utilities! I've never flown an Eastern Bloc jet before in DCS and I'm facing a steep learning curve when it comes to navigation so thank you very much.

It's like a flying Kalashnikov; just because it's eastern European, cheap and there are a lot of them, doesn't mean it isn't well-designed and effective!

After much bouncing off the asphalt, I finally worked out how to land the ZA yesterday. Such an interesting, unusual, yet completely credible flight model. 80% thrust all the way to the threshold; how many aircraft have you ever flown (in sims or RL) that need to be landed like that? And how many aircraft have a VFE at about 20 kts above best airspeed for landing (150 KIAS)? It's wonderfully counter-intuitive, an underpowered airplane that doesn't want to stop flying once you've hauled it into the air. I think it's the most "live" a/c I've flown in a sim for a good while.

Many thanks.

Interesting. I am going to teach myself L-39 navigation by using both systems in the Caucasus map but I've looked closely at the Nevada map and some supporting documentation and I think there's only one NDB (at Creech). Is that correct?

I am new to the TM Warthog HOTAS and the TARGET software. I'm using a user-made profile in DCS. I've been told that when TARGET loads the profile, making a "virtual device", windows can no longer see the joystick and this is fine but sometimes my otherwise flawless Warthog joystick stays disabled after I quit TARGET and I have to fiddle anxiously with unplugging and plugging its USB connection in again before it comes back to life, even though, oddly, Windows sees it. Can anyone comment on this and even suggest a workaround or solution? Many thanks.

I have new Thrustmaster rudder pedals and a TrackIR that I am about to hook up again for the first time in four years. I found a way for my small office to accommodate both racing and flight sim hardware by mounting my HOTAS on my chair. I generally don’t fly the prop aircraft but I can now with rudder pedals and they will be needed for the F-14 too. I haven’t really had to lean on the rudder so far in the Albatros except for taxi, takeoff and approach/landing.

I've been dying to try the L-39 in DCS after I was fortunate enough to fly one from the backseat over Mojave several years ago. The owner/pilot was hired to fly it as an Aggressor aircraft during various Flag events at Nellis. As you will see in the video attached, we pulled 5-G (its limit, I believe) and flew some mild aerobatics which I am hoping to replicate in the sim. I only just bought this module. I haven't run DCS for almost four years, yet once upon a time I was a very dedicated A-10C pilot and mission designer. Only recently has a new PC (and a TM Warthog) rekindled my interest in flight simming in DCS. So far, I love the DCS L-39 (both variants). It flies exactly as it should; under-powered, reluctant to land, lots of turbine lag...and I wouldn't want it any other way. It's a fantastically well-modeled jet trainer and even for a rusty old weekend pilot in RL, it's possible to stay ahead of it with purely stick-and-rudder competence and no FBW assists. Its very analog character is beautifully reproduced in this creation. I am going to learn to navigate it and to fly some aerobatics; not sure that I really want to fight it. I hope you will enjoy this video and be merciful with your judgement. I am attaching it here not out of self-glorification -- far from it -- but in case it is of interest. I wonder if any of you know Dave Riggs, the PIC...

Thank you. I didn't realise that TARGET will deactivate your Warthog joystick as long as a profile is loaded (or possibly while the program is active). I am now finding NOiD's sophisticated TARGET profile for the L-39 (both variants) to be immaculate and so much better than anything I could ever have cobbled together in either TARGET or DCS. I could never have got it up and running without your help so I am very grateful indeed; thank you once again.

NOiD's TARGET profile for the L-39 is a work of genius and he has downloadable profiles like this for almost every aircraft in DCS. I am completely new to TARGET and coming back to DCS after a long break so it took me four hours to get it to work but, boy was it worth it. A full-featured TARGET profile with modified button functions and use of the LED lights is a thing of beauty.

Thanks! I'm glad it's not that stupid a question!

Er, sorry to ask such a basic question but can anyone advise whether the L-39 manual comes with the jet? Is it accessible within DCS World? I can't find it in my DCS install files. Many thanks.

This is great, guys, thank you so much. I will definitely study all this and then do a little light IFR in the L-39. I need to get my TrackIR working first so I can peer at those small analogue gauges without too much fiddling about with view commands. Thanks again; I really like this jet.

Thank you! If I can find reliable documentation about how to use these Russian nav systems I might learn them, otherwise I will treat it as VFR-only and attempt to use the map and/or kneeboard once I've figured them out. It's amazing how much of an adjustment it is to go from HUD-based navigation, or INS to pure analogue.