StrongHarm

From an old post:

F-35 aerial gun test vid: http://www.military.com/video/aircraft/attack-and-fighter-aircraft/first-f-35-aerial-gun-firing/4592613909001

I read that during the cold war, engineer Leonav Titsvonavich was granted an apartment which was below his station by the former Soviet Government. In retaliation he made it impossible to calibrate the KA-50 cyclic to zero relative pitch. When you go into the calibration settings in the ABRIS it simply says "Pitch calibration intentionally lacking several square meters." He defected to the U.S. before the KA-50s maiden flight. He now lives in San Francisco and works for Walt Disney Corporation. He has a very large dacha and a three legged dog named Kamov. Source:

That bird takes my breath away. Can you imagine DCS: B-2? Me heart can't take it..

I should mention, if I know I'm going to do a forward velocity change and heading change at the same time, I re-trim instead of messing with heading AP. If I know I'm going to maintain the same speed I'll turn off headingAP, turn to the new heading, then turn it back on to lock that new heading in. One major clear example where re-trimming to change heading is bad for me: When I'm unsure of a manpad threat and I need to get in close enough for them to be a danger, I'll put myself into a funnel maneuver and circle the target at about 3k out. I trim to maintain the side slip and lock my alt in. I'm then a very difficult target for anyone to hit and I can blast away at the target area indiscriminately. I'll use turn to target, but sometimes the weapons threshold is outside of my nose vector. In this case I'll turn heading AP off, make the correction, then turn it back on.. because re-trimming in a funnel maneuver is hell.

Again, I'm not saying trimming is not important. What I am saying is that retrimming all axees for the sake of changing heading requires a lot more effort than turning heading AP off, going to the new heading, and turning it back on. Yes, stabilization is important but not 'heading stabilization'. The bird will not be destabilized by turning off heading AP. I don't turn pitch and bank AP off to change heading. I encourage standing by what you know, but progress is considering that there might be a better way. Take 30sec to try changing heading with heading AP off (LSHIFT+H I believe, but I suggest mapping it to your HOTAS). You might just be surprised.

I'm not saying don't trim.. I'm saying not to use trim in place of fighting AP channels. Look at my last post and try what I said before you make any conclusions. I just finished a very successful mission and only used trim when changing speed and entering new wind patterns. When I change heading I simply turn heading AP off... go to the new heading and turn heading AP back on (which does the same thing as trimming without changing all your other trim axees). To be clear this is just heading and alt AP; the only time I turn all channels off is in an emergency evasion (i.e. I notice a missile headed at me .5k out).. this is most likely why it's called emergency AP override. Really I know it's far outside what you're used to, but do me the courtesy of not dismissing it until you give it some thought and actually try it. I don't believe it's unrealistic.. in fact, I would venture to say it's more likely what's done in real life (or some combination), and I can assure you it works a hell of a lot better for me. Hope it helps.

I would recommend not getting into the bad habit of trimming anytime you do anything. The only time I use trim is if I need to change the speed I'm maintaining or for wind affects, and I find flying much more enjoyable than before. Before you decide which method you want to use, take 30seconds to test it for yourself: TRIM METHOD: - Get in level flight at 50kph heading 000 - Hold your trim and make a 90deg turn to 270 - Release your trim and get back into level flight - Retrim if necessary to maintain 50kph at heading 270 AP METHOD: - Get in level flight at 50kph heading 000 - Disengage heading AP and make a 90deg turn to 270 - At the precise moment you hit 270, turn your heading AP back on - Allow the helo to stabilize itself, no retrim necessary (high winds not withstanding)

I have the AP channels set up to the CM hat on my HOTAS. I keep pitch and bank on at all times except when evading, in that case I can press the hat down to do quick all channel AP disable. As for trimming to change heading, I've never really understood this logic. I simply push forward on my CM hat to disable heading AP, go to the desired heading, then turn it back on. It zeros to that new heading without altering my pitch and bank trims. Alt AP is useful for popups: if you keep the alt AP off and zero out your Vertical Velocity Indicator (VVI), then turn alt AP on and give just a little up collective you'll still stay at the same altitude.. BUT when you're ready to do a popup turn alt AP off.. you'll increase alt nice and steady, take your shot, then turn alt AP on again and return to your original altitude. Also concerning alt AP; you'll notice that if you turn alt AP on while moving fast, then change altitude with it still on, the bird will fight the collective and your nose will oscillate. Don't fight the APs with the controls, it's a common mistake. Just turn them off, make the change, then turn them back on.

You can save yourself a lot of time and grief if you scan through the manual before using the other learning tools available. It provides subsystem familiarization and nomenclature that give the subsequent steps much more clarity. From a previous post:

Constant training and improvement is no longer a priority? In my day if you weren't doing it you were learning to do it better for the next time you do. Is mediocrity being pushed down into the ranks by the current administration? Please elaborate.

Thanks badboom! Nice vid! That IS a beautiful bird. What I wouldn't give to be an AT or AE on the deck working with it.. or better yet a pilot flying it off the deck. It's going to be just like the F-14.. people will bash the hell out of it.. until it's in it's first action where it cleans up OPFOR that is. Then everyone's going to have a poster.. and Tom Cruise's grandson will be flying it in a Top Gun remake LOL

I would read the manual all the way through even if you're overwhelmed and don't get it. That's the purpose of tech pubs. It gives you a foundational understanding of nomenclature and subsystems, so when you're in practical application it will at some moment click. Read it through, then use it as a reference guide later and skip around as you encounter questions.. your brain will lead you to the answer in the reference material. This method is very effective in the U.S. Military. I got only 6 weeks of training to work on ejection seats.. the most complex non-electrical device ever made (it's more than just a rocket under a chair.. nearly 400 operations need to be perfectly timed to get the seat clear and chute deployed within 4sec after actuation.. and keep the pilot alive who's going 600mph within 3seconds, pulling 20Gs). I was pretty intimidated, but then when I went out in the fleet and put it into practical application, I found that the information was brewing in my head just waiting to get out... thanks to the tech pubs.

If you've not read the manual, I'd highly recommend it. I was in the military and read a lot of pubs. This one emulates the structure of the real thing pretty well. The key is to look beyond the dry format and embrace the knowledge sync. I've personally read the manuals for each of EDs modules multiple times. I even play the manual with text to speech, on top of ambient techno in my office.. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit. After skimming through the manual completely once, you form a foundation for learning the content by using it as a reference in the future. That's why if you walk up to any U.S. Military barracks in the world, you'll find the highly competent devouring military pubs.. aviation, tech, specops especially. You create the foundation in your mind, then expand and evolve through practical application. Anyway, RTFM mate.. it works.

Ground crew embracing diversity: http://i.imgur.com/HxGRBNZ.gif

I worked with Liquid Oxygen (LOX) in the Navy, and it isn't flammable contrary to what you might read. It does however, make everything else infinitely more flammable. For instance, if you have oil on your boot and you step on some spilled LOX, it will not only catch fire but explode and send you flying. The highly concentrated oxygen brings the flash point of the oil down to below ambient air temperature and makes it flash burn. Lighting a match in an oxygen rich environment turns the match into an incendiary grenade... the match burns exponentially hotter and faster (not the oxygen). Remember your fire triangle.. any one of the three components in excess (heat, fuel, O2) decreases the required amount of the other components. It's also as cold as liquid nitrogen(-362f), so it's fun to freeze stuff to shatter (wallets, gear left on flight deck, Master Chief's cap) PROTIP: Catch a rat Soak it liberally in LOX for 3-5 minutes Find a running Jet Engine (preferably a huffer unit, since it's facing the sky) Toss the LOXy rat directly into the Jet Exhaust Watch the unwitting rodent's balloon knot become a rocket nozzle, propelling it at mach 6 WARNING: rocketRat has poor guidance, duck and cover

Carrier landing during a sand storm.

Oh P*Funk.. I knew I could count on you. The topic is about providing a stable platform for the Mav seeker head. If you're in a dive and pick up *too much* speed, then you no longer have a stable platform. The idea is to keep it around 300knts. I agree with the guideline of not decreasing speed and always maintaining energy.. but it's a guideline not a rule. I politely await your retort with no intention of adding 5 pages to this thread until we arrive at agreement. It's established that the hawg will sooner have an afterburner, my fine querulous friend. :)

Ack! Wrong thread.. meant to post in Photos/Videos. Disregard the picture of western aircraft my fine Russian friends.

Ever notice how hot girls surround themselves with ugly friends?

Well.. we take liberties here where it's not our real ass being shot off I guess. :)

Here's a previous post on the topic. Remove the step about acquiring with TGP and just concentrate on the part about providing a stable platform for the MAV seeker head.

I wish Russian vehicles smoked in DCS as much as they do in real life. They'd be a lot easier to spot.

Helo landing skills! http://i.imgur.com/PRQwIvX.gifv http://i.imgur.com/1RXbzjp.gifv

You can datalink up to 4 different IPs and navigate your bird and your wingmen to them. (see my previous post in your other thread)