Doc3908

In the spirit of the "Can I stick my Harrier on this" videos, I decided that it's much faster to land the Harrier onto the lower deck of the carrier.

ROFLMAO!!! This is fantastic! That last one on Hoover Dam - how the heck???? Very cool!

I never had much interest in the Harrier, but decided to pick it up during the sale just to try something different. Boy, am I happy I did. Different she is, and wonderful - lots of fun to fly. Of course, as any "seasoned" pilot would do on his second flight in a brand new airplane that he knows nothing about, I decided that landing on a runway is too easy, so I went straight for the challenge - landing on the Oliver Hazard Perry. LoL! :) Here's the video. Enjoy!

Getting to know her a little better: Practicing spins, slow rolls, KE, etc. Surprisingly, the hardest maneuver for me to do properly is... the hammerhead. Still can't do torque rolls (any tips on how to do them are very much appreciated.

Fun video! Are you landing them in outside view or from inside the cockpit? For many of them, particularly the I-16, the cockpit view is so obstructed I will find it difficult to estimate the edge of the carrier deck.

With the 50% sale on DCS mods going on, I couldn't pass up getting the little Christen Eagle. This thing is TONS of FUN!!! Here's a compilation from my second flight - a pylon race and then some free-style aerobatics. Don't look for precision or professionalism here - this is just me having fun. Hope you like it! :) Doc

I had no interest in the Harrier, but downloaded it today during the free trial. OMG, it is SO MUCH fun!! Just pulled the trigger and added it to my collection. So far I'm just having fun doing VTOLs. Just landed on the Oliver Perry that was trailing the Tarawa in the practice landing mission. In many ways this thing is similar to a heli, but somewhat easier to fly/land. My (very limited) Mi-8 experience is certainly paying off when it comes to landing the AV-8B. Thanks RAZBAM for an outstanding module !!!

Couldn't resist the sale price on the Viper a couple of days ago. What a fun plane! Here's my attempt at guns-only dogfight against a MiG-29S (expert AI).

Mi-8: Night Landing on Ships Finally got around to trying landing on the Oliver Perry and the Ticonderoga at night. Fairly easy now that I have a bit of experience with the Mi-8.

Thanks for the kind words, but I'm just a newb - started a couple of months ago, but the bug really bit me. :) So much to learn... And yes, I agree, it seems like the AI is programmed to always pull into the vertical. And, boy, I mean VERTICAL - almost like there's no gravity. LoL! :)

Thank you for your service! As for the F-8, I'd love to try that mod, too. I hope it's made available soon.

Here's a video of my first MiG-29S engagement from last night. The actual dogfight is only about 1.5min - my mistakes notwithstanding. :)

Oh, of that I have no doubt. :) I was just commenting on my initial impressions of flying the F-15 against an AI controlled Russian jet. Flying against an experienced human pilot is a whole different game...

You're right, of course: Yes, the DCS aircraft do not necessarily represent the behavior of the real aircraft. And the AI is definitely different. Just tried flying the F-15 against the MiG-29S: Slightly more challenging to bring down, though still easier than flying an Su-27 (or a Mig-29) against the AI-controlled F-15.

With so many DCS modules, I hadn't tried the F-15 until now. I just set up a quick guns-only mission against an excellent-AI Su-27 and killed him in 30 seconds flat. Then I changed the mission to two excellent-AI Su-27s. Same result - one Su-27 went down almost immediately, the other one a minute later and only because I was playing with him, trying to get firmly on his tail. Tried one more time - same thing. It's almost relaxing flying against AI Su-27s. And, until now, I've had zero time in the F-15, so I'm not quite used to the way it flies yet... Now, I've been flying the Su-27 against an excellent-AI F-15 in guns-only scenarios for a while now, and every time it's a challenge. I have no idea how the real aircraft stack up against each other in ACM, but in DCS at least it seems to me that the F-15 is programmed to be superior to the Su-27. Any thoughts? (I did record a video and can post it if anyone is interested...)

I hadn't tried going up in an F-14 against a Viper. Turned out to be easier than I thought - at least against a "good" AI. This is one of three engagements I flew today - all fairly quick. I'm sure going up against a human opponent is a whole different ballgame, but I thought a "good" AI will be more challenging...

I modified Heatblur's default "Mig-28 Furball" mission, so that the Tomcats are armed only with Sidewinders. That means my wingman and I need to get up close and personal with the "Mig-28"s (F-5E-3s). :) My wingman is usually useless and, for whatever reason, after the first missile shot, the remaining Sidewinders refused to fire. So, after taking out the first "Mig-28" with a Sidewinder, I had to take on the remaining three "Mig-28"s with guns. The video is rather long, so feel free to skip around. Of course, any constructive criticism that would help me get better is highly appreciated (as are likes and comments on Youtube). If anyone knows why the Sidewinders won't fire after the first one, please let me know. Enjoy!

Reinstalled the Su-27 (got a prompt today to "install Su-27 and F-15C" - don't know what that was all about...), and things seem back to normal now. Whatever it was seems to have resolved itself with the reinstallation. Thank you all for your help. Moderator, please feel free to close this thread.

Thanks, BlackPixxel, but it's not that - definitely bandit F-15s. I'll reinstall later today and see what happens.

Sunset flight over the Black Sea

Cool! Thanks for sharing this story. Did you fly an F-8 in those days?

Hi everyone, I'd appreciate some help: I few days ago I reinstalled DCS and all my modules. Ever since, when I go up in the Su-27, I can't fire any missiles without first pressing LeftAlt+W: The radar is on, so is the EOS. Well within range - 10km or less (even as little as -3-4km) - and the target it locked. Before the re-install, under similar conditions, the "ПР" (launch authority) symbols would appear and the missile can be fired by squeezing the trigger for a second or two. Now, none of the missiles will fire - not the R27ER, not the R27ET, not the R73. The "ПР" symbols never appear until I press LeftAlt+W - then I can fire. The gun, however, works just fine (even without pressing LeftAlt+W)... Is this a bug? Is there some key that represents a safety switch that is somehow being turned on automatically now? What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions are very much appreciated. Doc

F-18C: Alert 5

This mission is interesting because every time I play it, it turns out differently: First time: Intercepted the Bear, but there were two MiG-23s flying alongside it, who attacked immediately. By the time I splashed them, the Bear was gone. Second time: The MiGs weren't there. I intercepted the Bear, then flew alongside until it headed home. Then the controller told me that the job is done and we should head home. Nobody got splashed. Third time (this video): Intercepted the Bear and, again, no MiGs. But things got interesting after a while... :) Hope you enjoy the video.

Thank you for another excellent tip, Frostie! I have a different problem now: In the last 2-3 attempts at this mission, my wingman gets killed and I run out of missiles. That's not a problem - I can take out the F-16s and the F-4s with the gun. But after taking out 3 planes (F-16, B-52, and one F-4) with the gun, I run out of ammo when chasing the second F-4 and then all I can do is fly behind him and hurl insults at him. :) To make sure every round hits, I started flying real close behind the bandit before I squeeze the trigger. But in the last couple of encounters, I hit the bandit, then his flaming wreck drops on me and kills me while I'm trying to maneuver out of the way at just above stall speed. Clearly, that's not working either - I have to keep my distance when engaging with guns even if it means wasting a few rounds. If only my wingman does his job without getting killed all the time... :)