Unguided bombs hit ground before reaching the target?!

Hello...

I have the problem that i often dont hit the target when i deliver unguided bombs especially Mk-82/84 lo/hi.

They dont reach the target. What am i making wrong?

The pipper (death point) is over the target and pitch angle about 30degr when i release them (ccip man rel). Also, i let the pipper pass the target a while and then i press the release button. The result is comparable...Any clues??? Or is it some kind of bug ??? Or do i need simply need training?

Sincerely, Rico

Could you post a track file?

Maybe two things:

1) you need more training (we all do);

2) Wind. You have to compensate for it.

See this thread:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=66422&highlight=wind+correct

Cheers! :thumbup:

It could also be the elevation data for the waypoint currently pulled up.

The fire control computer uses the elevation data for the current selected waypoint to determine the impact point of bombs, so if you have, e.g: your waypoint has elevation data of 500 MSL, and the target is actually at 2000 MSL, the computer "thinks" the target is 1500 feet lower than it actually is, and will release the bomb too early and undershoot the target. This is why the JTAC gives you target elevation in the 9-Line CAS brief, and it's why it's one of the lines you read back to him- the fact that you have to confirm that data (along with the target grid) with a readback should illustrate to you just how important it is!

Obviously steeper dive angles will reduce this error since the bomb is coming down at a more vertical angle: yet another reason to get into a 30 (plus) degree dive for unguided bomb deliveries.

*edit*: Ha, just noticed you said you WERE in a 30 degree dive. Still, steeper is better... but not always practical with the less-than-stellar climb rate of the A-10 and the need to stay in the weeds to avoid eating a SAM sandwich.

How do we compensate for such elevation computing errors? If you're in a sort of "search and destroy" mission, where you have a general area to look for targets, the target elevation could be significantly different from the waypoint. If there's no JTAC, does that mean you can't attack?

I don't understand why a waypoint would be displayed as a point in the air. It just doesn't make any sense at all. If I'm in a mission, and I'm flying to a waypoint which is set to 5000ft, I would be screwed if There were targets around there, because my targeting computer would be calibrated to the waypoint altitude...

You can always create a mark point on the ground and set that as your steerpoint. Or, you configure the system to use the stored terrain elevation data. With HUD as SOI, press the data down button, and the steerpoint elevation will start blinking. Then press the button to the right of the data button, I think it's SEL or similar, and it will cycle between "DTS" and the steerpoint's elevation.

I think DTS should be your standard setting, and you'd only fall back on the steerpoint elevation if the stored elevation data was either unavailable or incorrect.

Waypoint elevation is usually used to indicate the height you should be flying at when you pass the waypoint. Different phases of the mission may call for different altitudes.

Edit: related discussion occurred in this thread.

You can always create a mark point on the ground and set that as your steerpoint. Or, you configure the system to use the stored terrain elevation data. With HUD as SOI, press the data down button, and the steerpoint elevation will start blinking. Then press the button to the right of the data button, I think it's SEL or similar, and it will cycle between "DTS" and the steerpoint's elevation.

 

I think DTS should be your standard setting, and you'd only fall back on the steerpoint elevation if the stored elevation data was either unavailable or incorrect.

 

Waypoint elevation is usually used to indicate the height you should be flying at when you pass the waypoint. Different phases of the mission may call for different altitudes.

 

Edit: related discussion occurred in this thread.

For whatever reason, I've found DTS to be less accurate in hilly and mountainous terrain that the waypoint altitude-markpoint method. If it's hilly, I have been turning DTS off and getting alot of dead-on hits.