jaylw314

They're not just normal DirectInput buttons like every other USB device out there? If they show up in the "USB Game Controllers" applet they are, and you could just map them to a vJoy device using Joystick Gremlin. Then the vJoy device wouldn't have the artificial limitations in bindings due to the Cougar device profile and you could assign them to anything

The meteo direction. There's a mod to put LASTE wind corrections into the mission briefing. https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2080541/ Also the original forum tutorial, although some pictures are broken now: In addition, OpenKneeboard puts the LASTE wind corrections in the briefing tab: https://github.com/OpenKneeboard/OpenKneeboard

Doh! You're right and it's not new. According to George Carlin, I must have been having a 'Vuja De'!

Well I'll be danged! I just tried it and it DOES work that way now! ALT allows you to change your bank without disengaging the autopilot and it works like a charm. I'm not sure if I'm remembering DCS wrong or what, but it works the way it's supposed to. Of course, for @JackFlash that doesn't really help other than to point out I'm not seeing what you're seeing...

According to the -1, that is the way it's SUPPOSED to work, but in DCS I've always recalled changing bank angle required disengaging and reengaging the AP in ALT mode. Now you have me doubting myself, I'll check it tonight.

That isn't how ALT hold works. ALT will hold your altitude and the current bank at the time it's activated, so if you engage it with wings level it works just like ALT/HDG. You need to engage ALT while banked if you want to be in a turn.

The 'E126' in the lower left between the 'TGP' and 'ARM' lines I've not seen before. Did it get added recently, and what does it mean?

Bind 3 vJoy buttons in DCS to Master Arm OFF, ARM and TRAIN. then for your joystick, you'll have "UP" and "DOWN" buttons you want to assign. Then for "UP" have the remap to the vJoy button for OFF if TRAIN or none of the vJoy buttons is held down. Also assign the vJoy button to for ARM if OFF is currently held down. I assume you'll also need to turn off the 3 vJoy buttons if you assign a new one, too. Basically, whenever you press UP, if the Master Arm TRAIN is being held down, it'll change it to OFF, if OFF is held down it'll change it to ARM (and if none is being held down it'll set it to OFF). Mind you I haven't tested this out, but it seems like it should work

I looked in https://github.com/Munkwolf/dcs-community-keybinds and there aren't any Master Arm keybinds that function that way either

Not that I know of. You could program that sort of thing in Joystick Gremlin, or probably in your Virpil programming software, but not in DCS.

As an aside, for those who are in a hurry or who hate pressing extra buttons, you can assign any bottom OSB to LOAD, and you don't have to change it back. Just press LOAD ALL, and it will also revert the MFCD program to the original buttons. For those REALLY in a hurry and hate pressing LOAD ALL because it takes 15 seconds instead of just 5 for LOAD DSMS, you could even press LOAD DSMS then LOAD PAGE. LOAD PAGE only takes 5 seconds and is the part that reverts the MFCD display programs, so by pressing both you've saved a grand total of 5 seconds from LOAD ALL

They swapped it out for the COMM page. You can set it on any other bottom OSB button, but it makes sense to replace the MSG (or STAT) OSB on the right MFD: Long-press any bottom right MFD OSB to bring up the button menu Press the OSB next to LOAD Press the OSB below MSG It'll replace that button with LOAD and you can do your stuff.

I thought it was only supposed to show the selected preset frequency if you press the 'Status' button?

Until they add this, you can do so using Joystick Gremlin or the like.

The fact that 476th names there documents like USAF documents scares me sometimes, I look at a post and think someone's done the WT forum thing Then I notice it's 476th and it's all good

IIRC, if the STEER switch is in FLT PLN, all steering is done in TO-TO mode, which means the CDI will read correctly no matter where the course arrow is pointed, so technically you wouldn't have to touch the CRS knob. Of course, if the course arrow is not pointing up, you can really confuse yourself to death...

The A-10 flies pretty traditionally anyway, so that's fine. I'm not sure about the design choice in the A-10 myself, it seems like ramping up the stick force with airspeed even a little would make sense so you had tactile awareness of your airspeed, but I'm guessing it was just simpler that way. LOL, if you haven't heard the story of 'Wrong Way' Corrigan, you should, it's hilariously awesome the 'seat of the pants' came from a news article about his (in)famous flight

Not to be pedantic (too late!), but flying by the "seat of your pants" originally referred to navigation, as in Douglas 'Wrong Way' Corrigan Nowadays, of course, we can use it to refer to whatever we want. Most commonly, I hear it in reference to using the proper amount of rudder to coordinate turns, as in using buttock-sensing instead of watching the ball

I don't believe there is much 'feel' from aerodynamic loads based on what I've read. The flight manual mentions that stick forces and positions for a given g load are essentially linear throughout the flight envelope, but that's about all the detail I've heard about, so I might be interpreting that wrong FYI the trim tabs function as servo tabs in normal flight (not MRFCS), so they also help to reduce aerodynamic loads proportionally. There is actually an 'artificial feel' mechanism that provides spring force to the stick. The trim control just adjusts its center point under normal conditions. This suggests that the expected aerodynamic loads are almost entirely cancelled out by the hydraulic and servo tab systems, but, again, that's just a guess on my part. AFAIK, the pitch SAS has limited authority so it probably doesn't contribute much to big control forces.

Nice work! That top image looks great, I might be a little higher so I can just see the operator window, but there's no 'right' picture, since your seat position matters. Yes, the actual connection point on the external view does look a little wonky, doesn't it? At least from inside it doesn't make a difference Congratulations! The A-10's nose refueling point is a unique challenge!

Yes, the director lights are tough to see, but you can if you tilt your head to the left while flying. Not great for posture I was referencing the director lights more so for when you're watching a replay in F2 view, though, it can be quite instructive for debriefing yourself! I put the boom operator window at the very top of the canopy arch and keep it there, so basically flying formation with the dude in the window. Another reference is to keep the tanker wingroots 2/3 of the way between the top of the HUD and the canopy arch. Both keep you on the 30 degree down line.

Watching your track, it's tough to tell how accurate the track is. It LOOKS like you're driving straight forwards to connect. The boom limits are defined by its angle, so you want to move forward and UP. Likewise, to back off, you want to move backwards and down. If you drive forwards without moving up, you'll move in and out of the allowable boom angle before it has a chance to connect. You want to keep the base of the boom stationary (maybe just under the canopy arch) as you move in (forward/up) and out (backward/down). It's tough to see the director lights, but the U/D light measures your angular position to the boom, not your relative altitude, and it should stay centered. FWIW, the telescoping section of the boom starts out mid-length, so once you connect, you only have HALF the allowable wiggle room in terms of distance. You REALLY need to creep up on the boom so that you don't overshoot. Once you do connect, then you have the full amount of wiggle room in and out.

I guess that makes sense since there's no flashing red or white anticollision light with the strobes off. I have to admit, if I was a civilian pilot taxiing at night at Fort Wayne Airport, I'd be pretty puzzled by a plane with a green flashing light, though

There's not any publicly available 'correct' that I've seen, I suspect it's up to the individual squadrons. Flashing position lights have no meaning in civil aviation, so I imagine (wild guess) that they're not used in National Guard squadrons that share airports with civilian aircraft.

After dropping a markpoint, I generally look at the target in the HMD anyway to verify I'm actually dropping it where I think I'm dropping it. Of course, if I'm dropping the markpoint with the HMD SOI, I can see it immediately