FaNCy CBU trick (nerd stuff)

So I've read through several CBU threads here and of course by now most people are aware that you can adjust the RPM of the CBU-87 and also the HOF on the CBU-87/97 and their gps-guided equivalent cbu-103/105. This is all well and good, and it is outlined in the flight manual for anyone not yet familiar with the practice.

However, one little item I had not been able to find any information on was the "FNC time" line displayed on the CBU-87/97 inv page. After a lot of self-testing I determined that changes to the FNC time were making zero difference when applied to a standard CBU-87/97 drop at any HOF/RPM setting.

Ah, but then I noted yet another fancy little button called FZU-39, yes/no.

The manual only briefly explains that the FZU-39 is a built in radar function that these CBU units employ to determine their altitude AGL. Well, I tried to switch it off and sure enough when you select FZU-39 "no" then the "HOF" selection dissapears! Well i'm sure many of you can now see where this is going..

So I loaded up an A-10 (offline) with 5 CBU-87 and 5 CBU-97 and took her for a spin at 25k ft. Switched all CBUs to FZU-39 "no" and FNC time to the lowest values possible. Released the bombs and presto! the CBUs all popped open less than 1 second after release, at 25,000 ft MSL!

Needless to say, IRL this would result in one heck of a spread! And in the sim it does too, but only a slightly larger spread than you see with a 3000ft agl burst. And of course, the effect on target is absolutely minimal. But, if you drop 10 of them all within 10ft spreads it makes for a pretty neat light show on the ground. And a bit of lag.

Nonetheless, I thought I would share this information with the community as the manual contains zero on FNC time and next to zero on the employment of the FZU-39 yes/no selector.

Also a word of caution: When utilizing these methods I highly recommend setting the FNC time to 1 or 2 notches greater than the minimal values. Some CBU bursts seem to result in bomblets travelling upwards which can result in the occasional engine fire or worse..

tl/dr; FZU-39: no FNC: 0.63/0.95

Sweet

+1 for creativity :)

Was not aware of that function, thanks for that.

Interesting find, Phuz. Thanks for sharing.

As you discovered, the FZU-39 is the proximity fuse that enables the CBU to burst at the desired HOF. Without the FZU-39, you're left with a mechanical timer that determines the Function Time in seconds.

Be careful with this setting, as it's possible to frag yourself with an intact canister if the TOF is less than the Function Time, but greater than the Arming Delay.

-1 because you didn't tell us about this last patch :mad: 10 CBU-97s dropped like this last patch would have been equivalent to a B61!!

Just kidding, +2 :D

+1

Does anyone remember the trick from Falcon 4.0. One would release a GBU without lasing enabled, wait for it to descend, enable lasing... GBU would turn into tomahawk for a while :) Was it realistic?

Be careful when in MP and your wingman is in about 1/2 mile trail and 1000-1500 feet lower....

It was not a good thing....:pilotfly: between the bomblets and the collisions there was not much left :devil_2:

I think your shares just went up a bit son.

Hey Phuz,

Sorry to ask, but would you happen to have a screenshot of the MFD setting you're talking about? I took a look but couldn't quite understand what you were explaining exactly.

I'd really like to try out this... Custom "Carpet Bombing" :)

Hey Phuz,

 

Sorry to ask, but would you happen to have a screenshot of the MFD setting you're talking about? I took a look but couldn't quite understand what you were explaining exactly.

 

I'd really like to try out this... Custom "Carpet Bombing" :)

Here you go:

Change the FZU39 setting to 'No' and then adjust the timer to your liking.

You get to this page from the inventory page of the DSMS.

bet it took alot of time watching the bomblets reach firma... thx though, will try.

This was originally posted when cbu-97s were modelled differently in game. Still works for cbu-87s but the 97 doesnt matter whether it bursts at 900agl or 9000. Just takes longer to drift down with the new model.

Heh, amazing how one pops into threads like these..