Dethmagnetic

These are great suggestions, thanks! I will add these to the to-do list. I don't have any experience with Android. I am planning to make the app open source, and if someone wants to take a shot at porting it to Android, I am more than happy to help out however I can.

DCS TacBoard DCS TacBoard is a kneeboard application for iOS devices. It includes checklists, airport information, reference data (including performance charts, weapon information, etc.), and a notepad for in-flight notes and diagrams. It is free with no ads, and is completely open source: https://github.com/xchrishawk/TacBoard Beta Release I (finally) have a beta version ready to go on Apple’s TestFlight platform. If you’re interested in testing it out, I would really appreciate any feedback, comments, or suggestions. Here’s the link to join the beta: https://testflight.apple.com/join/J1qprUnI You will need to install the TestFlight app from Apple on your iOS device, and then tap on the link above to join the beta. It will download the app to your device, then you can use it just like a normal app. The beta build will expire after 90 days, but I’m hoping to have a released version on the App Store well before then anyway (hopefully within the next 3-4 weeks). I want to emphasize that this is a *beta* and isn’t complete. The main issue for now is that I only really have content for the A-10C, Caucasus, and Nevada modules. Those are the ones I’m most familiar with and I wanted to focus on those while proving out the app. Here’s what’s working: Checklists are fully functional. There are complete/comprehensive checklists available for the A-10C. Hoping to have more aircraft soon. All airport information is complete for the Caucasus and Nevada regions. There are links to airport charts produced by Virtual JaBoG32 (https://www.virtual-jabog32.de/) for the Caucasus region and 476th VFG (http://www.476vfightergroup.com/) for Nevada. Notepad is completely functional. Reference documents are functional, and have a ton of content for the A-10C. App supports dark/night mode to save your retinas when flying at night. Here’s what’s not yet complete: User-created checklists. This is my next goal. “Advanced mode” for checklists. This will condense checklists for experienced pilots. Checklists for non-Warthog aircraft. My next target is F/A-18C. More reference information, especially “general” military aviation topics like missile threat types. I am hoping to have regular updated builds over the next few weeks to fix bugs and add new features. I will post updates to this thread when each new build is available. Hope you enjoy! Screenshots

Ugh, ok. Wish I'd known that before I spent like 5 hours fiddling with DSMS settings and dive angles, although at least it's good to know that I'm not just doing something wrong. Thanks!

Hey all, I've been working on trying to improve my dive bombing skills in the A-10C. I'm trying to use the profiles in the 476th VFG battle book, but I'm struggling to get the CCIP to ever not be Xed out. It seems like no matter what I do it's almost always Xed, unless I start the run from stupid high altitudes (like 12000+ ft AGL) and use a really steep dive angle. I figured I was doing something wrong - admittedly I'm a crappy pilot - but after watching some demo videos on YouTube (for example see the ~1 minute mark in ) it looks the pipper is Xed out even for people who are (presumably) doing it "correctly". So is the X just expected? What does it actually *mean* when the pipper is Xed out? The manual says (on page 374 that An “X” in the middle of the reticle indicates the aircraft is below the set Minimum Range (MRS/MRC) altitude, however that doesn't appear to be true AFAICT. It will be Xed out even if I'm thousands of feet above my set minimum altitude.

Most of the navaids (ILS, TACAN, marker) are obnoxiously loud at the default setting, I turn them way down if I'm using them. For the original question - what's the point of the intercom knob if it has no effect in the real aircraft? Is it just a carryover from the A-10A?

Here's a good basic joystick - it's only $23 from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Extreme-Joystick-Silver-Black/dp/B00009OY9U. It has a throttle and twist control for rudder, and a decent number of buttons. I have one that I use for Battlefield 3 and other games where a HOTAS/rudder pedals is overkill, and I have no complaints.

That web site I linked has a "best bang for your buck" table - it looks like they recommend the GTX 480 (~$200), GTX 660 (~$210), or GTX 570 (~$250). I'd suggest looking into those.

8 GB RAM should be enough. Your problem is probably the HD 7450 - it's a pretty low end video card and is probably what's causing your poor frame rate. Check out the benchmark here: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+7450. If you upgrade to a newer video card you'll probably see a big improvement.

Either the X-52 or the TM Warthog are both excellent choices - I've owned and used both, and you can't really go wrong with either of them. That said, the Warthog is specifically designed for the A-10, and is far superior in terms of quality/durability/reliability. It also doesn't require you to spend many hours setting up a profile (which is kind of a pain with Saitek products). Unfortunately, it also costs 3-4 times as much. My recommendation would depend on how much other gear you have. If you don't have TrackIR or rudder pedals, I'd suggest getting the X-52 and using the money you save for those. If you already have everything else and the HOTAS is all you need, I'd suggest saving up for the Warthog. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

There's a TrackIR 6?? Or is that just a typo?

It depends on the mission. If the objective is something like "Support armored company to waypoint Alaska", then no, there's no assigned targets, your success is only based on whether the ground units reach their target. If the objective is something like "destroy target bridge" or "attrite command units at X coordinates", then yes, there are specific targets you have to destroy to complete the mission. The first type of mission is the trickier. The JTAC can sometimes guide you to appropriate targets, but sometimes they will send you after units that are nowhere near where your ground units are advancing to. You have to use your best judgment whether the targets they give you are worthwhile to attack or not given your mission objective. Many missions (especially in the campaign) have multiple JTACs - if one is giving you garbage targets, try switching to the other one.

The JTACs in this game are pretty dumb when it comes to mission objectives. They don't seem to have any knowledge of what your specific objective is, and will blindly point at you whatever has caught their eye instead of the targets that are highest priority for your assigned mission. For missions where I have a specific objective (kill a specific group of tanks, blow up a specific bridge, etc) I normally just ignore the JTAC completely until I've completed my primary goals. If I have any munitions left, then I'll call up the JTAC and let him guide me to some targets. Also remember, if you run out of stores but haven't completed your mission yet, you can always return to base, rearm, and head back out to fight some more. The ground crew can rearm a running airplane, you don't even have to shut your engines down.

IIRC ATC works correctly even for neutral airfields. Refueling/rearming is disabled unless the airfield is friendly to you.

Turning PAC on (from the gun arm switch) will switch to a different pitch trim "mode". When you turn PAC off, it reverts to your previous pitch trim setting. Is that maybe what happened?

Cool, thanks for the info.

I've been working on practicing AAR the past few days, here's a couple of things I've learned: Follow the tanker, not the boom. You should try to maintain a constant position and attitude relative to the tanker itself - the wings and the big yellow stripe on the bottom of the tanker should be your primary visual guidelines. Don't chase the boom. Keep your focus on the tanker and remaining steady with it - don't try to fly to the boom. The operator's job in the back of the tanker is to "fly" the boom to you, your only job is to keep the aircraft close enough and steady enough for him to do his job. Don't overreact to small movements. Don't try to "ride" the airplane and respond instantly to every motion. If you see your position changing relative to the tanker, stop and think for a moment, and then make a *small* control or throttle change and hold it. After a second or two, evaluate if the fix is working enough (or too much), then repeat. Keep a loose grip on the stick. Keep your hand relaxed - it's impossible to fly smoothly if you've tensed up into an iron hand of death. Also, you'll get horrible cramps after several hours of practice :( Don't forget to hit the NWS switch after you disconnect. This just killed me for like three hours of practice until I realized what I was doing wrong. Any time you disconnect, hit the NWS switch. If the indicator to the right of the HUD doesn't say READY, you won't get a connection, no matter how perfectly you're flying. It seems like a lot of people also like to put curves on their stick response - I tried this and wasn't a huge fan, it made the aircraft seem sluggish in regular flight, and I didn't really want to switch back and forth between curved and non-curved depending on whether I'm doing AAR in a given flight.

Like the others said, just hit the NWS switch right after you disconnect. That was killing me for a while as well. If the indicator to the right of the HUD doesn't say READY, it won't connect.

The speed you set in the editor is TAS, so the indicated airspeed will be lower at higher altitudes. Put the CDU repeater on one of your MFDs, set it to POS mode, and toggle the airspeed to TAS and you'll see it cruising right along at the speed you set.

What's a realistic altitude and airspeed for in-air refueling? (assuming the KC-135 and A-10). Side note - I just learned the hard way that the KC-135 is an absolute speed demon compared to the Hog. I'd set up a practice mission for in air refueling, and once the tanker reached its last waypoint it turned off course (I'm guessing to RTB) and just left me in the dust :shocking: I love the A-10, but it's a bit funny that we can be happily and easily outrun by a flying gas station :D

Yeah, that gets me all the time. It's even worse when you turn your head and the guy in the video turns in a totally different direction at the same time - totally disorienting.

The only way (that I'm aware of at least) that can happen is if you're totally out of fuel. If that's the case, the APU will spin up to ~30% and never get any further. If you post a track people can help troubleshoot some more.

The pitch ladder is always horizontally aligned with the TVV (the flight path marker). If the TVV isn't pointed straight ahead for any reason (normally crosswind, uncoordinated turns, excessive drag on one side) the HUD will move from side to side.

Set your CDU mode to Other. Press the NAV button. Press the ALIGN LSK. Press the INFLT LSK.

It indicates that there is a strong crosswind. The arrow points in the direction you are being blown by the wind. Check out the A-10 free flight air start mission - it has a really strong crosswind, and you will see the arrow if you're flying perpendicular to the wind.

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