Diesel_Thunder

Wanted to link to the thread I made regarding cockpit dimension over in the Home Cockpits sub forum, as it's directly related to the F-4. Cheers!

Martin Baker Mk 7, USAF version: Seat Pan width - 21" Seat back to forward most corner - 23" Seat pan width at side pull handle - 21" Seat pan depth (fore to aft) - 25 1/2" Seat pan to top of seat - 42" Bottom of seat to top of seat - 47 1/2 Seat cushion depth (fore to aft) - 18" Main chute bucket width (widest point) - 17" Face curtain handle width - 12 1/2"

I had some requests from some sim pit builders who've commented on my Youtube channel, asking for dimensions and measurements on the F-4 Phantom that I get to help maintain. I have yet to find any dimensional drawings in our Tech Manual library, and I've not been able to source any documentation or drawings online. So this past Saturday I got out a tape measure and a notepad and just started measuring. The ejection seats have been taken out, giving me a better opportunity to get good measurements. Below are measurements from the front cockpit, plus photos for those who want to extrapolate other measurements. The first post will be for the cockpit only. The second post will be measurements from a real Martin Baker Mk 7 ejection seat, U.S. Air Force version. If there is interest in the rear cockpit I will get those measurements too. If there are other measurements or photos that I could get, please ask below. All measurements are in inches. Canopy: Canopy Bow width (inside arch) - 26 1/2" Canopy Bow height - 18" Canopy Rail length - 40" Canopy Rail height to floor (forward edge) - 29 1/2" Canopy Rail height to floor (aft edge) - 35" Instrument Panel Floor to bottom edge of instrument panel - 18" Floor to top edge of glare shield - 39" Aft wall to instrument panel - 43 1/2" (this varies as the aft wall is canted vertically to the rear) Bottom edge of instrument panel to highest upper corner - 15 1/2" Altimeter gauge width - 3 1/2" VSI gauge width - 2 3/8" Round engine gauge diameter - 2" Consoles: Center console width (top edge) - 10 3/4" Master caution and warning panel height (tallest edge) - 7 1/2" Side console width, forward end - 11" Side console width, aft end - 14 1/2" Side console height, forward inboard - 16" Side console height, forward outboard - 18" Side console height, aft inboard - 11 1/4" Side console height, aft outboard - 14" (approximate, was hard to get a good read with this one) Width between left and right console - 22 3/4" Controls: Stick height (floor to top of stick) - 25 1/2" Throttle handle height (in full aft position) - 5 3/4" Throttle handle width, combined (left and right, excluding switches) - 4 3/4" Throttle handle width, single (excludes switches) 2 1/8" Emergency brake pull handle, L x W - 3" x 1/2" Drag Chute handle length - 8 1/2"

No, ours is a hard wing F-4D, built in 1964.

I have the Tomcat, and rarely ever fly it single player. The 14 is best enjoyed with two humans flying it together in my opinion. That extends to other multicrew aircraft as well like the Mosquito and Apache. For the single seat aircraft, there are some that I enjoy more than others and tend to stick with my favorites.

I recall that in years past, the forum gets the Christmas Lights at the top of the page. Will that be a thing this year too?

Welcome to DCS! The sequence is fairly easy: Master Arm - ON For fuel tanks (bombs and A2G missiles too), rotate the selective jettison knob clockwise to STORES Select the appropriate stations using the buttons to the left of the IFEI engine display. (I have a feeling you are missing this step). Push and hold the red JETT button until the selected stores have released. Rotate the selective jettison knob back to SAFE. De-select the stations you previously selected. Master Arm - OFF Hang in there! Getting started with a new aircraft is always a challenge, and all of us have been there before.

I believe I hit Cargo Release so I could drop the cable an go try again. As far as breaking the cargo, I'm new to sling loading. I'm sure that won't be the last one I destroy with a hard landing.

From my reading on the GAU-8 in the Hog, there were only three types of rounds that it has used and none of them have been tracers. PGU-13 High Explosive Incendiary PGU-14 Armor Piercing Incendiary. These have the depleted uranium penetrator. PGU-15 Target Practice. These are essentially a solid slug that has similar ballistics as the other two rounds and are a lot cheaper.

I think I may have found a bug with Laser Spot Search. If the TGP is the SPI, and you engage Laser Spot Search, the SPI will immediately revert to the the current steer point. Once the TGP detects and is tracking a laser spot, I can TMS up long again and change the SPI back to the TGP. This behavior is the same regardless of laser source; JTAC or buddy lase. Before DCS 2.8 the SPI would stay with the TGP during LSS. I don't have a track as I discovered this in multiplayer. I can make one if needed. DCS 2.8.0.33006 Steps to recreate: 1 - Start with TGP as SPI and SOI. Verify TGP as SPI in lower left corner of HUD. 2 - Command a Laser Spot Search (China Hat aft short) 3 - TGP will start searching and the SPI reverts to STPT in lower left corner of HUD immediately.

I was able to test this last night, both with a JTAC and buddy lasing, while watching the bottom corner of the hud. The SPI does change to STPT each time you initiate a search. Once it detects and shifts to laser track, I can change the SPI back to the TGP and then slave the Mavs to that laser spot. Reflecting on this, I think this SPI behavior changed when 2.8 released. I don’t recall this being an issue before 2.8, and I’m not certain if this is how it’s supposed to work or if it’s a bug. Thanks for the help guys!

That’s the puzzling part, the TGP was already SPI before starting the laser spot search. Next time I fly it I’ll check it and try making it the SPI again after it finds the laser.

Not sure if I found a bug or if I have a procedure error during a mission with a JTAC over a target and illuminating with its laser. I have the TGP on the right MFD and it is set as SOI and is the SPI, Mavericks selected via DSMS and on the left MFD. LST code set correctly and initiate a laser spot search. The TGP will find the laser and move into spot track. So far so good, and everything seemingly working as intended. At this point I move to the Maverick screen and set as SOI, then China Hat FWD long to slave to SPI. Instead of the seeker moving to the SPI, both the TGP and seeker shift to the current steerpoint. Very odd behavior as China Hat FWD long is supposed to slave all sensors to SPI. If this sounds like a bug, I'll make sure to get a track and make a bug report.

Doing a little sling load practice

Was practicing sling loads tonight and was doing alright until I went to drop the cargo off. I flew from Andersen AFB to the Orote Point airfield. THe takeoff and flight went well, as did the approach. The moment the sling load touched down I had a massive FPS drop into the single digits, and it did not recover to normal like a transient lag spike would. I had to quit the mission as it would not recover back to normal performance. Track attached. huey sling load lag.zip

Hi Flappie, I was able to reproduce the problem. Attached is my DCS log. I've also linked a short video that I captured showing what happens as well. dcs.log

I don't know what this is about either. Seeing the same on PC, as well as my tablet and phone.

That's awesome, thanks for sharing! Hopefully the next update is soon.

Been having an issue since 2.8 released in that I am unable to join another player in multicrew capable aircraft. I don't get any errors or crashes with this. What happens is that I will select the role, the pilot will get the message popup on their end, hit accept, and then nothing happens at all on my end. I don't get the acceptance message and my name does not appear in the seat on the selection screen. I've had this happen over multiple sessions, and it does not matter where the aircraft is spawned. I don't know if this is related to the F-14 RIO crash to desktop bug or not, but I've heard of similar issues happening with other multicrew aircraft (Apache). Here's an example of what is happening. This screenshot is after the pilot accepted the request, it will just sit here with no status change. I've waited for several minutes with no luck. No problem though with hitting cancel and jumping in a single seat aircraft.

I’m doing good, you? My experience is like my first post above. Doesn’t matter if the pilot is on deck, in the air, or on shore. They can approve the request which they see and seems to work as expected, but I never get the confirmation on my end nor get slotted into the RIO seat. I haven’t gotten the CTD though. I’ve waited for minutes with no status change. I’ve been flying single seat aircraft in the meantime. Been really wanting to check out the new features in the backseat since 2.8 released but haven’t been able too yet.

I'd like to echo this request as I almost exclusively fly backseat in the Tomcat. Couple other DCS RIO's I know are also kinda out of business as well.

I'm kinda getting this too. I don't get the CTD, but I can't join another player at all. They will get the request and approve it, but no status change on my end. Doesn't matter if it is my first flight of the session or not. Also makes no difference if it's a carrier based spawn or land base. The request for me just sits here like this:

We had 4 aircraft out for the show, 3 as static displays and 1 that flew. The TA-4, F-4, and F-100 were static displays, and our Me-262 flew both days in the show. Wings Over Houston is hosted annually on the airfield where we keep the aircraft, and are more than happy to participate every year. Our goal is to get the Phantom back in the air, and once that happens she likely will go back on the airshow circuit. I don't know for sure as that is down the road, and we have to get her flight worthy again first.

It’s a lot of work, but worth it. We had quite a few former crew stop by during the show while she was out. We would let them inside the rope so they could get up close to her. There was a retired Israeli Air Force pilot that flew their Phantoms stop by and was happy to see a Phantom again. We even had a USAF Wild Weasel Captain (G model) that was very happy and emotional as he reconnected with his past when he flew them. Certainly puts things in perspective and gives the crew and I even more purpose as we keep up the work to preserve and phly our Phantom!

I agree with the above posts. I’ll also add that the Formation knob overides the switch settings. Unfortunately for us, that knob defaults to on no matter if it’s a cold start, hot start, or air start. It’s become part on my process to turn that knob off when I jump into the Viper.